Hamptons style is just what Deborah Hutton is after for her beach pad makeover
THIS classic coastal style is just what Deborah Hutton is after for her beach pad makeover.
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LIKE a growing number of Australians, media personality Deborah Hutton loves Hamptons style. And now that she’s looking to renovate her beachside home in Sydney’s Bronte, she’s asked Indah Island’s Natalee Bowen to talk her through this popular US decorating style.
While keen to keep the walls white, Deborah is looking to introduce elements of this classic style made popular by films such as Something’s Gotta Give and TV series Revenge into her home, which is where Perth-based Natalee comes in. Having worked her magic on projects all over the world, she is a Hamptons aficionado.
Natalee says starting with the right shade of white can make all the difference — but it shouldn’t be the only colour in the room.
“The more details and layers you can put into a room with texture and colours the better,” she says. “If your ceiling is white, then go for another tint for the walls like grey.
“Just a hint of tint will make all your mouldings pop out. People tend to want everything in white but then it will look really cold and doesn’t have the easy warmth of a Hamptons home.”
THE RIGHT WHITE
With more than 200 shades of white on the market, Deborah has plenty of options. Knowing which colours work best indoors or out is the tricky part.
“This is because whites will throw green, blue, yellow and all of those will completely change depending on the light,” she says.
“Get some big sample boards and take them into the room to see how they work.”
But before you pick up a paint brush, Natalee says you need to choose your fabrics, kitchen surfaces, furnishings and hardware to make sure they work together.
“If you are choosing Carrara marble, but your wall colour is a Hog Bristle Quarter (from Dulux), it will just look dirty,” she says.
“It’s about getting the right white in the right space and then pulling it all together through the details.”
QUEENSLAND TO THE HAMPTONS
Deborah is also keen to make adjustments to the exterior, drawing inspiration from her childhood home in Queensland, which ties in well with coastal Hampton influences.
“I wanted to recapture some of my childhood in Queensland and that lovely weatherboard style I grew up with,” Deborah says.
“But I was worried about using timber. I thought it would warp over time, which would be a nightmare.”
She has settled on using the Scyon Linea weatherboard cladding product from James Hardie, because it can contend with the wind and the salt spray.
“When you’re building your dream home, you don’t want to start seeing cracks in a few years’ time,” says Deborah.
Natalee, who has used the product on many of her Hamptons-inspired projects, backs her decision.
“Externally it’s very much about the cladding.,” she says. “This kind of product gives that deep shadow line that we associate with the Hamptons.”
Aside from how it will look, privacy is another key concern for Deborah with exposed balustrading offering little help.
“Essentially, we don’t want to be looking on to the street during lunch parties or while relaxing for dinner,” she says.
Instead, Deborah’s going with a little local flavour.
“I want to change the front of my house,” she says. “I had all these beautiful timber balustrades at the front which was classic Hamptons, but I want to use sandstone up from the base where you walk in.”
In keeping with the coastal theme, Natalee suggests colour blocking the balustrade.
“If you’re doing this in all white you might need an element of a soft grey and follow it through somewhere else in the home,” she says.
Planting can make a difference too. Natalee says planting Chinese star jasmine, a well-behaved climbing plant, would work along the 6.5m-wide balcony.
“People tend to use a lot of Australian natives and that doesn’t always soften
the space very well,” she says.
“Plants such as magnolias, Chinese star jasmine and wisteria are good choices.
“It’s those elements that make a house look phenomenal.”
COME ON IN
While Deborah hasn’t even thought about what kind of new front door she wants, Natalee is keen on a “cricket” door.
“It looks like there are cricket pads on the top and the bottom,” she says.
She also likes the idea of a front door with opaque glass and wrought iron.
“You could even have nice panels that when you open up, you can let that breeze come through,” she says.
“There are lots of things you can do with the front door, but it does need to be a statement piece.”
More: Deborah Hutton, balancebydeborahhutton.com.au;
Indah Island, indahisland.com;
Scyon linea, scyon.com.au