As with anything classic, we need to look back to go forward. A great basis for this is to see the style as it was at its peak popularity and to consider how it can be integrated into the modern day. A great classic Hamptons-style home is formatted with a few key elements.
The Classic Hamptons style is where it all began, it is defined by its ageless sophistication balanced with refined relaxation. A Classic Hamptons home demands your attention from the front door and has mastered the flow of luxurious details all the way through the house. Layered wall and ceiling mouldings such as wainscoting and coffered ceilings are delightfully grand. Often including intricate mouldings to add another layer of shadow in every box, both wainscoting and coffered ceilings can be most effective in an entrance, a great room or any other location that calls for an awe-inspiring effect. Ensure your wall and ceiling mouldings are masterfully blended with your skirting, cornices and architraves, and consider pairing two neutral white hues to contrast your mouldings from your flat wall surfaces.
A sweeping staircase should be the crown jewel of such a home. With ornately carved newel posts, carefully designed spindles and a black step with a white riser, this main feature will garner a round of applause.
Cabinetry is key in any Hamptons home, and never more important than in a classic Hamptons kitchen. There may be no greater feature throughout the whole home than the beating heart that is the kitchen. An island bench draped in luxurious Carrara marble with subtle veins most often becomes the magnet that draws the family together. A grand freestanding oven is the perfect centre point for your cabinetry, with a detailed rangehood above and glass overhead cabinets either side, to show off your dinnerware. Polished nickel tapware and hardware, bright-white ceramic butler’s sinks and beautiful pendant lights illuminating the whole space are all distinctive and essential elements of a Classic Hamptons kitchen.
Statement lighting throughout the home can make or break your look. Choose a crystal chandelier for a magnificent entrance or in the void above a staircase. Pendants over the island bench should complement the finishes of the tapware and hardware in a polished brass or nickel, while over the dining table should be a light designed with texture and detail.
A personal retreat that deserves proper attention is surely the main ensuite bathroom. A must-have feature is, of course, the bath — either freestanding or built-in with a marble top — as it lends itself to the luxury of this home’s style. Freestanding tapware that is practically jewellery for a wet area, clever practical shelving and a stunning source of natural light will create a space you will want to be in. Your vanity can be an indulgent location as well, with double basins, grand mirrors and statement wall sconces to enliven your daily self-care routine. Floor-to-ceiling walls in a beautiful marble, perhaps even with an in-built wainscoting design in the same marble material, are other luxury inclusions.
Outdoor living in a Classic Hamptons home should be an experience. Open up your great room to flowering arbours, an alfresco fitted out for entertaining and relaxing poolside loungers. Your outdoor design should never be an afterthought, it should fully encapsulate and enhance your lifestyle.
Classic Hamptons Décor
Add the finishing touches to your classic Hamptons space with key pieces in white and blue tones and traditional furnishings.
Classic furniture is enduring and comfortable with a relaxed elegance. The traditional blue and white palette is, of course, key to a Classic Hamptons home. Layered on this, florals and oak furniture pieces create depth. Sofas in a roll-arm design are as comfortable as they are beautiful. The iconic Bobbin armchair is ideal for statement seating with some custom upholstery in a delicate blue pattern; the design of the chair’s frame will ensure it is appreciated from all angles. Chesterfield sofas with deep buttons and low backs are a lovely option for a more formal setting. An oak coffee table is a solid choice, or go for deep walnut wood if you prefer a traditional American touch.
Vignettes with eclectic antique pieces and blue and white ginger jars grouped en masse are a beautiful way to bring personality into the room. Lighting is very elegant in a Classic Hamptons home, such as large chandeliers and pendants of crystal and brass. Finally, wall sconces and table lamps are sure to bring ambience and interest to every space.
Bedrooms with deep button velvet bedheads, upholstered in a serene shade of duck egg blue, will ensure this room will always feel like an escape.
This article originally appeared in Hamptons Living #1
