Honoree | Ally Maloney, Maloney Interiors LLC
In many ways, Ally Maloney’s job is like that of any other interior designer: selecting furniture, finishes, cushions and upholstery work. The biggest difference, of course, is the focus of her work can sail off when her contract ends.
Since 2013, Maloney has designed interiors for yachts and some coastal residences with her business, Maloney Interiors LLC. For her work, Maloney has traveled as far south as New Jersey and north to Maine to consult over the interior of her customers’ boats. Maloney has also worked in Rhode Island on boats from the West Coast and around the world.
Maloney doesn’t know exactly when her passion for yacht design began but attributes some original interest to childhood summers spent in southern Florida, admiring yachts on the Intracoastal Waterway. By the time she attended college, her fascination with both yachting and design had grown markedly.
Maloney obtained a bachelor’s degree in interior design from Wentworth Institute of Technology and a certificate in yacht and boat design from Westlawn Institute of Marine Technology. While at Wentworth, Maloney participated in a co-op program that would see her working alongside watercraft architects, first as an intern and then as a full-time employee after graduation.
When that job ran its course, Maloney set out on her own, founding an eponymous design firm that catered to yacht owners in and out of Rhode Island.
Yachts, Maloney explained, offer designers a sizable workload. Because most interior facets of a boat are built to unique specifications, nearly every aspect requires custom-ordered accoutrements. Curtains, bedding, cushions, carpeting; all typically acquirable en masse, must be measured, ordered and planned by Maloney. All materials ordered for specific projects, Maloney said, are manufactured in Rhode Island.
Maloney Interiors is a one-woman show. She consults with and designs for clients. She remains active on projects to ensure her vision remains intact.
The personal attention and involvement of a one-designer firm, often over several months, doesn’t come cheap. She charges up to $25,000 per project, Maloney estimated. Maloney’s clientele has been built over time, with early customers stemming from contacts made during her employment with watercraft architects. She also gets referrals from yacht brokers, project managers or shipyard and marina directors. Additionally, events such as the Newport Boat Show offer Maloney the opportunity to meet with potential clients and showcase her work.
Maloney said it’s impossible to pin down her own personal sense of style but said she operates under some guiding principles when designing yachts.
“The interior of the boat has to be somewhat relative to the overall aesthetic,” Maloney said. “You have to consider the … architecture, the lines of the boat, the exterior styling.”
