Stowage that Won't Break the Bank

Wouldn't it be great if it didn't cost a fortune to create professional stowage.  Doesn't everyone want a beautiful walk in China Store to house the yacht's collection of plates, flatware, glassware and accessories like the one pictured?
 

The problem is that even if you do have one there's sure to be additions purchased along the way that are not accommodated.  Here we'll share a few tricks for how to efficiently, attractively and often very inexpensively deal with the items that don't have professionally created homes.

Take the picture below.  Here we have the traditional stowage of espresso mugs and saucers that the shipyard provides combined with some creative DIY.

These salt & pepper vessels are kept secure with the simple use of high density foam. You'll need a ruler and a pen to mark out the design of your stowage on one side and then use a thin, long, sharp knife to cut through the foam. It certainly takes some practice but your skill should improve very quickly. In this instance the Christofle S&P shakers sit side by side but are firmly held in so that they do not move and will not break.


Their trays on the other hand have individual slots so that they do not touch each other much the same as the gold pinch pots on the right.

Unusually shaped items always present a challenge with traditional stowage but with foam they're quite easy to accommodate as shown with these salt votives.

There's several inexpensive ways to keep the yacht's abundance of napkin rings organized. Simple tray style holders made from acrylic prove very efficient because they hold lots of non-fragile napkin rings. Acrylic "posts" (pictured below as separators) are also very effective for stacking.



Never underestimate the value of zip-lock bags if you're short on space and budget and also don't be afraid to utilize the boxes that items arrived in. Below is an image that shows a combination of methods. The Faberge napkin rings have the original lining from their box placed inside a tray purchased from The Container Store. The matching name card holders are also inside a tray from The Container Store but use high density foam to keep them separated. The front of the drawer has napkin rings in their original boxes that just happen to fit snugly in the leftover space.  The red boxes house very fragile shell napkin rings (original box) and there's a few items in zip lock bags to finish off.

What to do with all those silver platters and trays that scratch and tarnish so easily? The most effective method I've found is to have bags made out of Anti-Tarnish Cloth. The only problem is that it's hard to find that specific tray so we solved this by embroidering names on the bags. We achieved all of this with the laundry sewing machine (and admittedly a very handy laundryman). This system works a treat because they don't scratch and they tarnish at a much slower rate.

While we're on the topic of the sewing machine, we also used it to make plate separators. Using soft felt cloth we drew perfectly sized circles and cut roughly around them.  We put two of these together, to create greater thickness and cushioning, and overlocked around the circle lines.  These worked perfectly.

Although zip-lock bags work well for all of those coloured beads you have for decorating and flower arranging, there is a great alternative ..... sono tubes.
Sono what you say? They're very strong cardboard tubes with plastic lids and you can order them in an assortment of widths, lengths and colours. We ordered plain navy and identified the contents by taping a bead to the lid.


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