House Rules judges tell all
Following the renovation of the QLD home of Mel and Dave’s Hope Island home using the rule, “Transport us to The Hamptons”, we grill Laurence Llewelyn Bowen, Wendy Moore and Drew Heath on what make this such a captivating interior decorating style and why it works so well for Australian homes.
Outside living
Drew Heath says he admires the way that Hamptons homes embrace the outdoors, which he says is something we can learn from. “You classically think of the Hamptons as having seating outdoors, furniture that works outside,” he says. “We haven’t really moved beyond our banana lounge and that decorative cast iron table and chairs that my parents had. So, I think that's something that the Hamptons can possibly bring to Australia.”
Subtle wallpaper combinations
Wendy Moore loves the combination of wallpaper with white timber in Hamptons homes. “I absolutely loved the wallpaper that they chose in Mel and Dave’s house. I thought that was really nice. It looked really authentic and then having that beautiful dado rail at that height, and then that textured wallpaper above, for me, that felt really Hamptons.”
Pattern play
Lawrence Llewelyn-Bowen says that the Hamptons style can be more accurately called “American old money” and derives from English country house decorating, which is why pattern is so important in the style. “The right kind of pattern really does work very, very well in the look,” he says. “It also bumps its practicality up, but I think a lot of people don't think of pattern in the Hamptons, they just go to the stripes, which is a pity.”
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