Few interior design trends are as sought-after as Hamptons style. Aside from being visually stunning, the Hamptons style trend is one that creates the ambience of a year-round seaside holiday, a place to completely relax and unwind.
Designed to match the luxurious coastal properties dotted along New York’s Long Island Sound, modern Hamptons style can be achieved with the right materials, colours and interior accents. Here, we dive into the five window and door finishes you need to achieve an authentic Hamptons style exterior.
A coastal style cottage with timber-look cladding and shingled roofing is the image most often conjured when talking about Hamptons style homes. Horizontal weatherboard is as quintessentially Hamptons style as it gets and is the ideal material to create that striking yet relaxed coastal aesthetic Hamptons style is known for.
If you’re looking to accentuate your exterior weatherboard, you can’t go past window trims. These thick, timber-look accents add much-needed definition to windows and are a great way to bring in more white when painted. Hardie™ Axent™ Trim is highly beneficial if you’re looking for an exterior trim that looks exactly like timber without the added maintenance. Hardie™ Axent™ Trim is resistant to fire, rot, swelling, warping and movement, perfect for the harsh Australian environment.
A Hamptons style home is one that is flooded with as much natural light as possible to emulate those endless summer vibes, and if you’re lucky enough to have a view, you’ll certainly want to capitalise on it with large windows.
Adding windows with a grid pattern will give your interior and exterior that ornamental touch without compromising on any natural light flow. If a whole window grid pattern is too busy for your liking, you can add a top-row grid style, also known as fractional grids. As the name suggests, this window style only has a grid row at the top of the window, leaving the remainder of the windowpane unobstructed.
One of the most beloved design elements of Hamptons style is plantation shutters. The timeless appeal of these timber-look shutters lies in their ornamental charm as well as their usability. Plantation shutters are great for blocking out excessive sunlight in certain rooms without having to close windows and obstruct airflow altogether. On the design side, there’s just something about crisp white plantation shutters that screams cool coastal vibes. The other benefit of plantation shutters is their dual role in dressing your interior as well as your exterior windows.
A Hamptons-style facade is one that benefits from conventional architectural elements, so while their namesake might be Parisian, French doors certainly have their place in a Hamptons style home. French doors installed in an upstairs balcony, patio or indoor/outdoor room will not only add a classic elegance to the look of your home but also flood your interiors with an abundance of natural light – a hallmark of true Hamptons style living.
Stacking doors are another addition that can open up your indoors to the outdoors with one fell push. Unlike French doors, stacking doors give you complete unobstructed views to the outdoors and are particularly beneficial when creating a seamless flow between your interior and exterior living spaces.
Hamptons homes blur the boundaries between indoors and outdoors with large windows, open-planned indoor/outdoor rooms and outdoor kitchens. Another way to mingle your interior with your exterior is with a servery window. A servery window is an extension of the kitchen whereby the kitchen bench extends out to an adjoining outdoor entertaining area through a bi-fold window, creating a kitchen servery. Aside from being a very convenient way to access the kitchen when entertaining, serveries create even more of an open and airy living space that’s synonymous with luxurious Hamptons style living.