If you have your heart set on a Hamptons style home, you’ll be pleased to know it’s a timeless and elegant design trend that is always a good idea. Inspired by The Hamptons seaside area in Long Island, New York, a Hamptons home offers a sophisticated and welcoming style of living that fits perfectly with the light and bright Queensland climate and the relaxed coastal lifestyle.
Here’s how to create your Hamptons home, inside and out below.
What makes up a Hamptons style exterior?
First impressions do count so let’s see what makes a distinctive Hamptons style home from the outset.
Colours
The 'less is more' theory works wonders here. For the façade, aim to stick to 2 or 3 colours maximum and opt for a light-toned neutral palette in crisp whites and soothing greys. Light, fresh, cool colours immediately create an ambience of relaxed elegance and refinement that fit so well with our warm climate in Queensland. And you’ll notice how the light and white coloured façade ‘pops’ against the skyscape, whether it’s a bright sunshiny blue-sky day or there are moody dark grey clouds and storms brewing. These light colours are also the best way to show off an abundance of greenery in the front garden, to maximise that street appeal.
Render
When planning the paint for your render, certain colours instantly say 'Hamptons'. These include Taubmans Cotton Ball, Miller Melody, Ethereal Mist and Calm Grey. You might also like to jump on the craze for Colorbond® Surfmist – a neutral shade with a subtle warm beige undertone, which also works so well on roofing, windows and garage treatments.
Windows
The window features make the classic Hamptons façade looks so effortlessly elegant. The mix of window trims and frames, the grids, plantation shutters and French and bi-fold doors all work beautifully together to deliver the distinctive Hamptons design. Tricks such as painting the window mouldings the same colour as your windows help to give the façade a seamless finish.
Bricks
Hamptons facades use calming colours with light tones inspired by signature coastal elements like the soft greys of pumice stone and driftwood, the white of frothing waves, and the light tones of seagrass, limestone cliffs and sand dunes.
Cladding
No Hamptons style home is complete without cladding. Choose a stained timber cladding or painted weatherboard cladding laid horizontally that is a trademark feature of this style of home.
Roofing
There are many possibilities and colours available from Colorbond® steel that can help you top off your Hamptons home catering to a wide range of looks and trends such as the ever popular white roof in Surfmist to those modern and coastal looks or opting for a more monochrome look by using the colour Monument. With Plantation Homes, you have access to all these colours with a massive 22+ to choose from, all as standard.
Textures
Classic Hamptons features and textures include stack stones, travertines and limestones. You can lay them in a precise linear pattern or choose the more relaxed, organic look by staggering the order.
What goes into a Hamptons style interior?
Colour
Just as a light colour palette works wonders on your external façade, so too does it indoors. From the ceilings and walls to the frames and shutters, the coolness of white immediately creates an ambience of relaxed elegance. You can then add interest, depth and warmth to your interiors by layering a second colour palette such as soft blues, dove grey, rich navy and silky creams to enhance the Hamptons look and feel. These additional colours work perfectly in soft furnishings, which can be changed around and introduced with the seasons.
Kitchen
We all love to perch around the kitchen benchtop whether prepping meals, entertaining, finishing assignments or sipping endless cups of tea. Design-wise, you can’t go wrong with a simple white benchtop in your kitchen – that’s classic Hamptons! Or you can be a little bold and introduce a soft grey spec or marble vein to your benchtop to add a layer of depth to the space. Do your research and find out the most popular benchtop choices for Hampton's homes.
Cabinetry
The Hamptons style has distinctive design elements, such as features like cabinet doors. This is a win because it helps to narrow your choices, not just in your kitchen but throughout your home. To achieve the Hamptons look in your cabinetry, opt for one cabinetry colour. Popular colours are the Laminex Ghostgum, Oyster Grey and Polar White. Or, if you are feeling bold, try Laminex Steel Blue to celebrate the coastal marine colour palette. Also, consider the cabinetry profile; the Laminex Shaker profile is the most popular style for Hamptons homes. Or you might like to try a modern take on it all by going for the Laminex Country V profile.
Accessories
Hamptons homes are a lot of fun when you take the time to focus on decorative features like drawer handles, light fittings, artworks and vignettes. You mustn’t resort to using overpowering design elements, but rather think of dainty and simple solutions. For example, the classic knobs for doors work perfectly with Hamptons homes, as do delicate shell pull handles, which can even be in chrome finishes or brushed gold for an extra touch of glam. Lighting pendants can also bring elegant impact to pretty much any space and have an array of options that suit the Hamptons look, including glass, chrome, brass and industrial elements.
Flooring
Think of the flooring in your home as one big art canvas. You notice your floors throughout the day, more than you probably realise. Hamptons style homes look fantastic with light-toned timber flooring to pair with the lighter elements on the walls and benchtops. A blonde timber tone is suggested, such as Outback 'Blackbutt 1 Strip' and Laminate Pergo Sensation 'Manor Oak'. You can also consider dark timber flooring for a striking and modern Hamptons look as it works beautifully as a contrast to the light tones on the walls, ceiling and furnishings. What to avoid are the timber styles with richer undertones like orange, pink or red as they don’t work with the light and airy coastal theme you’re aiming for.
Furniture and décor
Introducing white furniture and fittings is a perfect step to match the Hampton’s seaside palette. Use natural fibres such as linen, cotton and bamboo for your furniture coverings, and think of sisal and jute for your rugs and floor coverings, which bring in texture for warmth and interest. This soothing scene then allows for any additional pops of colour that you may want in your home through your soft furnishings, wall art and plants. You could try a stronger marine colour palette of indigo blues for your cushions and throws and introduce fabrics with more playful patterns and colours, such as stripes, checks or floral patterns in hues of blues and greens. A Hamptons home also features vibrant pops of lush green, for example through fresh palm trees in oversized white pots.
