Custom Rolls-Royce Dawn By Barclay Butera

Renowned award winning interior designer, Barclay Butera was recently enlisted by Rolls-Royce to custom design the Rolls-Royce Dawn. The goal: to outfit the car to complement an oceanfront home with nautical themes. The sophisticated Rolls-Royce car is meant to look like a yacht on wheels. Barclay Butera is famous for creating chic coastal interiors mixing traditional furnishings with contemporary flair. Butera’s style is perfect for the iconic 110 year old carmaker’s bespoke model.

This is the first time Rolls-Royce has enlisted the help of an interior designer to outfit one of its cars. This customized Dawn reflects sophistication and style. The result is an elegant and chic car that looks like it could be a yacht, perfect for driving down the California coast. The car debuted at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

The Dawn

Rolls-Royce debuted the four-seat coupe, Dawn, at the Frankfurt Auto Show in 2015. The car aptly gets its name from the sunrise. The original model has a darker exterior, and when the soft top roof is opened, the mandarin orange leather interior is like the sun rising.

The Dawn is designed in classic Rolls-Royce style with the latest technology. The Dawn is meant to be a car to share with friends. Four seats are perfect for a coastal ride with friends. The car has dynamic angles and an elegant sleek surface complimented by a contemporary and sophisticated interior. The silhouette is rounded but bold. The roof’s slender proportions and the strong shoulder line is contemporary and powerful. The track is wide, and the Dawn features Rolls-Royce’s iconic grille. The soft top roof has French seams that blend in smoothly with the car. The windscreen frame is made from a single piece and is fluid.

The Dawn has a powerful V-12 twin turbo 6.6 liter engine with 563 hp. It features driver assistance for effortless driving. The roof quietly opens in 22 seconds to expose the graceful interior. The 4 individual leather upholstered seats are tailored for passenger comfort. The leather and soft interior lines compliment the exterior. Wood and leather are sophisticated and elegant. The deck and rear feature fine handcrafted veneers. The interior is both private and spacious. The soft top has as much noise isolation as a hard top roof. The Rolls-Royce Dawn is meant for a comfortable ride in style.

Barclay Butera

When his mother saw his talent for design she had Barclay help her with interior design projects throughout the world. After graduating from college with a political science and economics degree, Barclay thought he would go into a legal career. His love for interior design beckoned him, and he opened his southern California interior design office in 1994.

Barclay Butera built a solid reputation with his unique home interior designs. He mixes traditional American, European and East Asian styles with contemporary flare. His designs are classic with a fresh touch. He tends to use heritage pieces and distinctive furnishings mixed with patterned fabrics with bold textures. He is inspired by international architecture, high fashion runways, Old Hollywood and Palm Beach. He works closely with his clients to create custom residential interiors.

Throughout his career, Barclay Butera has been successful. With his experiences and knowledge he has founded Barclay Butera Interiors, Homes and Lifestyle which includes residential design and products from furniture and upholstery to bedding and candles. He has published 5 coffee table books. Along with his Newport Beach office, Butera has showrooms in West Hollywood, Corona del Mar, and Park City, Utah.

His talent, personality and good looks give him media appeal. Butera’s coastal chic, elegant and glamorous interiors are distinctive. He also has success with partners for design items. He is an advocate of using domestic produced products and returns left over raw materials to the producer for recycling.

Rolls-Royce first enlisted Barclay Butera to design the outdoor space at the Quail Motorsports event and the Pebble Beach mansion. Butera partnered with outdoor furnishings specialists, CASTELLE and the custom designs were a success. It is no wonder Rolls-Royce chose Butera as their first interior designer to custom outfit the Rolls-Royce Dawn.

Custom Designed Dawn

When Barclay Butera was enlisted to customize the Rolls-Royce Dawn, his coastal chic style was perfect for this “yacht on wheels”. Butera collaborated with the Rolls-Royce Bespoke team to create this maritime themed luxury automobile. Butera looked to the ocean and the sun for inspiration. The result is breath taking.

Inspired by grand sailing yachts, Butera chose arctic white for the car’s body and contrasting Midnight Sapphire for the hood. The soft roof opens to a luxury yacht like interior. Butera used Teak as the wood for the interior paneling. The durable wood is commonly used on boat decks. The rear compartment features an impressive Teak waterfall and the deck is Teak. Details in the cabin continue the luxury nautical theme.

Butera chose arctic white for the leather seats which was custom designed by Butera’s partner, CASTELLE. Each of the 4 seats is gusseted and has piping for a refined look. Each prominently features the iconic double R Rolls-Royce logo. To carry the naval theme, each logo is stitched in navy blue on custom fabric. The steering wheel is custom hand wrapped in navy blue. The car features Rolls-Royce’s signature lambs wool carpet. As an added touch, Butera custom designed the tread plate with the name Dawn spelled out in nautical flags. Butera took care with every detail inside of the car. One prominent feature is the artisanal clock. Inspired by the iconic Rolex Yacht Master watch face, the clock is another elegant nautical touch.

This customized Rolls-Royce Dawn is impressive. Every detail was carefully designed to create a style that perfectly complements an oceanfront home. Rolls-Royce is well established at making good solid automobiles that exude sophistication, elegance and luxury. The customization of this model certainly lives up to the Rolls-Royce reputation. The car is comparable to a luxury sailing yacht. It is meant to enjoy as a comfortable and graceful driving and riding experience. This chic customized Rolls-Royce Dawn is meant to be taken on a coastal ride.

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