A Hamptons home continues to be a highly sought-after style for our Australian lifestyle and are especially prevalent in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs including; Camberwell, Canterbury, Box Hill and Blackburn. By choosing the right elements you can ensure your home in Melbourne replicates the feel of a Hamptons home you would find on Long Island, New York.
There are many defining features that your building designer and builder can carry through your home to help create a Hamptons style home, so let’s start with the heart of the Hamptons home, the kitchen.
The Hamptons kitchen is a standout of both classical luxury and elegant style and will draw people to this focal point of the home with its warm and inviting feel. The key defining features of a Hamptons style kitchen is a spacious open plan lay out, shaker style cabinetry, subway tiles and luxurious hardware.
By ensuring that your architectural design includes an open plan layout you will ensure that when you are entertaining friends and family, you will remain part of the conversation. Your guests will naturally gravitate to your warm and inviting kitchen with an abundance of well designed space. With all that extra space you might even find your guests are feeling so at home, they want to help you out in the kitchen!
Shaker cabinetry will evoke the feelings of the Hamptons lifestyle and transport you to New York. Shaker cabinetry is typically white in a Hamptons home, but as a contemporary point of difference, some building designers choose to include black as a popular choice and we are seeing more subtle colours like sage green, light blue and grey being used for cabinetry choices. This will add a distinguishing feature to your kitchen, while still maintaining the Hamptons aesthetic. Overhead cabinets are usually in abundance in a Hamptons kitchen. By coordinating with your builder to integrate glass panels into these overhead cabinets, it will create a sense of lightness and provide a great space for injecting colour and texture by displaying beautiful glassware or ornaments.
To complete the feel of a Hamptons kitchen, the classical, but beautiful subway tile, usually laid in brickbond pattern is invariably used. Interestingly, the subway tile originated in New York City for use in the subways in the early 1900’s so it is no wonder that it is a feature of many Hamptons style homes. Whilst traditionally a white tile is used, experimenting with other colours is an option that can be rewarded. A subway tile laid in herringbone pattern is an alternative look and this can be an appealing look for the kitchen splashback.
A servery window, in the form of a bi-fold window can be a welcome addition to add to the design of your Hamptons kitchen to allow for ease when entertaining in an adjoining alfresco area. An experienced Hamptons building designer will incorporate this feature to enable your home to bring together the indoor and outdoor areas and allow for seamless entertaining.
To achieve the right look, you should always discuss with your architect or building designer the hardware you wish to use in the kitchen and throughout the rest of your home. Whilst the hardware possibilities are endless, by selecting brass or black knobs and handles for your cabinetry you will be adding some of the rich, glamourous New York influences to your Hamptons style home.
Tapware plays an important part in the finishing touches to a Hamptons style home, where you may find traditional or more contemporary tapware or a combination of both in the wet areas. Many builders can source ornate tapware in brushed nickel or brushed brass. These invite a more traditional style, whilst matte black or chrome evokes a more clean and modern look. In line with the more classic look, a three piece tap set can create a stunning feature in a kitchen or bathroom, either wall mounted or surface mounted. Experienced designers will tell you that in the one room, always ensure you keep consistency with the style and colour of the tapware for a sophisticated and streamlined look.
Wall panelling is a striking feature of a Hamptons style home which can certainly make a big statement. Many Hamptons architects use accents of wall panelling in main hallways and staircases. They are either installed at dado height or to the ceiling along with a choice from more traditional wainscoting to the more modern look of VJ panelling. Panelling is used by designers to help create a point of difference, along with adding style, warmth, and character to your interior. Floor to ceiling panelling for a feature wall, such as in a master bedroom or a staircase can provide quite a striking look to a room.
The presence of a raked ceiling in a large living room, alfresco area or master bedroom can have quite the impact with the welcome addition of VJ panelling to create a focal point to the room. The soaring ceilings will help with bathing the room in additional natural light and provide a sense of luxury that is quintessential Hamptons.
All of these features discussed help to create a warm and inviting environment for you to enjoy every day through the various seasons of Melbourne. Whether building in Glen Iris, Mont Albert or Balwyn, each home can have its own unique touch but by including some or all of these features you know you will be right on track for building a Hamptons style home to be proud of.
If reading about these defining features of the interiors of a Hamptons style home has inspired you to learn more about our design and construction process, please contact us here today.
