Love the Hamptons look
What would you normally expect to see inside of a Hampton style home? Think long, lazy afternoons stretching out with the favourite read or scrolling through your device. Hamptons homes are tailor-made for relaxing.
As mentioned in part one of Team Bloom’s Hamptons series, Australians resonate so well with this classic style as the design holds timeless appeal designed for entertainment with large open spaces and a beach chic design that reflects a feel of elegance and sophistication combined with a comforting, seaside layout.
Key colours to achieve the Hamptons look
With relaxation in mind, natural colours are the rule. The popular core colours are white with navy, silver grey and duck egg blue with dark wood floors or whitewashed wood and wood panelling.
You can see where the Hamptons colour scheme has come from when you head to the beach. The jetties and piers are the silver greys, whites and the panelling. The clear shallow water and the sky is symbolised by duck egg blue and the deep water is the navy blue. Finally the sand and the seaweed are the natural fibre elements.
With so much white going on, it’s important to work in colours from the external environment for a balance through trimmings, furniture, decking and tiled areas. Most notably pairing colours between the interior and exterior is a common rule. For example, painting your weatherboards in an indigo blue with white window trims, and introducing a duck-egg blue and white colour scheme to your interior decor.
Iconic Hamptons furniture
Jute rugs and rattan furniture, commonly referred to as wicker furniture, big comfortable linen couches and tufted or nailhead chairs to name only a few pieces compliment the look.
Soft furnishings feature pops of soft colour, such as duck-egg blue and soft green, as well as navy and charcoal. Textiles include linen, sheers and velvet, complimenting delicate touches in pewter, silver and black.
Hamptons flooring
Floors are typically stone or timber. Oak is a popular choice, as is Jarrah or Tasmanian Oak. Crisp, white-painted joinery accentuates detail, while the colour palette embraces from a base of whites and neutral tones.
Feast your eyes on the kitchen
Hamptons kitchens are an absolute hallmark of the design and island benches are ubiquitous. They provide extra bench and storage space, and an area for relaxed, casual stool seating. You often see traditional decorative features on the island such as panelled cabinetry complete with corbels. Often the island is a feature piece that bears a feature colour. Stone benchtops work wonderfully well for this style, while the rest of the kitchen incorporates shaker style doors, consisting only of the four wide frame pieces with a flat panel in the middle. Their simplistic look stems from religious sect called the Shakers that used carpentry as a form of meditative prayer.
Slightly off topic but interesting, the Shaker people liked to dance and that’s why tapered and turned legs, in particular, are characteristic of the shaker style and because of their focus on practicality the Shakers invented many things we still find useful today: the spring-loaded clothes-peg and flat-faced broom, who knew!
Hamptons kitchens are reminiscent of coastal living. Naturally, it makes sense to reflect this in the design. Oversized pendant lighting pays homage to a nautical past and it’s easy to subtly carry this theme through, while adding the perfect finish to the Hamptons kitchen.
Indoor/outdoor transition
Windows can be floor to ceiling full glass panes, or feature grid and wood trim for a classic and detailed look. Window trimmings are best painted white and trimmings can be wood, cladding or treated aluminium. Often complimented with plantation shutters or sheer drapes.
Light and open spaces are essential for creating a seamless indoor/outdoor transition so Bi-fold doors are commonplace on balconies and ground floor deck areas. This works towards blurring the boundaries of indoor to outdoor spaces. The doors also allow for ventilation and uninterrupted coastal or pool views which brings us to the end of Hampton Interiors and opens the door into part 3 of our Hampton series, Hampton Gardens and plants.
