With a Yacht Step, I Can Reach Just About Anything
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My good friend, the crack stylist Lilli Millhiser — a protégée of Kate Young with her own unerring, authoritative eye for young designers and vintage Peretti alike — specializes in identifying the inconveniences I’d never notice until she points out I’ve been living with them, undetected, for years. Having to get to high-up, out-of-reach things in my closet was one of those inconveniences. Lilli’s solution? The yacht step.
The bare facts: The yacht step mounts directly to a wall or surface and is simply installed on a back plate. It folds flat when you’re not using it. It’s called a yacht step because it was designed for boats: Space is tight, and people need a compact way to reach upper storage. That’s all.
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A yacht step is about elegant constraint. Its design assumes that space is precious and that every object must earn its place. On a boat, there can be no excess. The step is a perfect example: It exists only when needed, then retreats, disappearing completely.
Isn’t our home our own little sailing vessel on this vast sea of existence?
With minimal intervention, this small ledge, positioned with intention, gives you instant reach to top shelves and high cabinets in a closet, kitchen, or library, without dragging out a stool and without cluttering the room.
Like all good elements of a well-run home, this solution is architectural. A stool is always in the way, or else you must go get it, use it, put it away, or worst of all leave it out. A yacht step is mounted, intentional, and remains fixed, a part of the room. A friend when you need it. Though it’s mostly out of eyesight, I would venture to say that should the discerning eye detect it, there’s even something aesthetically appealing about it, a utilitarian object with a touch of polish. As with all of Lilli’s best solves, it’s a discreet upgrade to daily life.
Suddenly, high spaces are accessible. And the reaching of out-of-season clothes, luggage, or the perennial box of tangled cords requires no awkward improvisation. No more awkward balancing on a pulled-over chair. Just the sturdy footing of the humble yacht step.
This doodad, ultimately a modest addition, changes something essential. You are no longer at odds with your surroundings. It is about thoughtful consideration. What I am seeking in life: a built-in ease. The yacht step provides one the peace of mind of an organized and high-functioning living space. When you’ve got that at home, who needs the Sea of Cortez?
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