How To Design The Perfect Hamptons Style Home
A Hamptons style home traditionally hails from the USA, specifically the East End of Long Island. The design exemplifies beach living — open plan, relaxed, bohemian feel, yet with a touch of elegance. It’s a style at once incredibly easy to live in, but which looks perfectly at home in even the most affluent suburbs.
Suffice to say, the home design is a hit in Australia. Whether it’s the beach or further out in the outback, the laidback stylings of the Hamptons home is perfect for our temperament.
So, what are the key features of this type of house? How do you design the perfect Hamptons style home? We’ll go over some of the key features, as well as the one crucial ingredient so many developers get wrong.
Use Dutch Gabled Roofs
Hamptons style homes typically combine gable and hip roofs, known as Dutch gabled roofs. In this image, it provides the distinct sloping roofs and high rides which exemplify Hamptons style homes.
Some developers use classic or cross gabled roofs, which alters the flow and feel of the exterior design. The gable provides space to add details (more on that later) which are crucial for adding flair to the simpler gross structure.
Use Weatherboarding
Hamptons style homes developed in beachfront areas. Traditionally, homes by the sea were clad in weatherboarding.
Weatherboarding is long wooden slats used to protect a home from strong winds and harsh sea spray. They typically eroded quickly and were designed to be easily replaced to maintain the home.
Today, weatherboarding is much lower maintenance. Modern paints and sealants mean weatherboarding lasts much, much longer. But the distinct horizontal, parallel lines of the weatherboarding a a distinct and important part of the overall look of a Hamptons style home.
Add Intricate Details
The overall shape of a Hamptons style home is fairly plain and elegant. But on this simple frame, it’s traditional to place intricate details and embellishments.
Pillars, window trims, beautiful balustrades — these are all hallmarks of Hamptons homes. The gables on the roof provide an excellent place to add aesthetically pleasing touches, such as distinct banner positioning or ornate windows.
Exterior Lighting is a Must
A warm, orange glow at night around the front door creates the inviting, homely ambiance that defines a Hamptons style home.
While this warm glow can certainly come from within the house, exterior lighting really adds a special touch. Brushed steel, brass, or wrought iron lighting fixtures compliment the wooden facade of the home to create a wonderful rustic appeal. Clear or frosted glass with warm lightbulbs within will complete the look.
Use Coastal Colours
Hamptons style homes are fairly limited in their colour pallets. You will generally find a combination of white or grey coupled with blue, beige, or a different shade of grey — but never too dark. The roof itself is then typically a mottled grey, assuming you’re using the right materials (see image).
Use The Right Roofing Material
This is the step that most developers in Australia get wrong when it comes to designing Hamptons style homes, and it’s a major misstep.
In Australia, homes commonly use one of two roofing materials: tin or tile.
Neither of these are the right choice for Hamptons style homes.
You can definitely use those materials, but for the truly authentic look, you need asphalt roof shingles.
Asphalt roof shingles are the most common type of roofing material in the USA, and are part and parcel with the Hamptons style home. While tiled roofs can certainly create a similar look and feel, nothing quite matches shingles.
There are two reasons for this. Firstly, it’s the distinct colouring of roof shingles, the slightly varying shades of grey interlocking, that lend an important aesthetic touch.
Secondly, roof shingles create neat, parallel lines that wrap across the roof (at least, when properly installed). These neat lines match the horizontal lines of the weatherboarding, creating a cohesive visual motif to the home.
When it comes to asphalt roof shingles, the leading supplier is GAF. More homes in the USA feature GAF shingles on their roof, than there are homes in all of Australia.
We’re proud to supply GAF roof shingles to home renovators and builders across the country, so they can top off their US style homes with authentic US roofing products.
