7 Steps to Hamptons Style Kitchen Heaven

No matter what your style of home, a Hamptons style kitchen can work! We give you expert tips on how to make this popular style look perfect in your home. All images used in this post feature kitchens designed and manufactured by Smith & Smith. We lead the way for Hamptons style kitchens in Melbourne.

The Hamptons are a small group of picturesque villages in the state of New York, USA popular with high-flyers from Manhattan and tourists from around the world. This coveted destination has become synonymous with refined elegance and style paired with a sense of laid-back coastal chic. The Hamptons is where the wealthy go to get away from the hustle-bustle of city life, but that does not mean they take a vacation from style as well!

Classic Hamptons style – muted colours and an effortlessly classy, yet laid back vibe.

How do I get that Hamptons Style in my kitchen?

Hamptons style kitchens and homes have become popular in Australia over the last several decades. This rise is due to the unique sense of timeless, relaxed style that is inviting, light, bright and airy. There is no doubt that this style is here to stay. If you choose this style, you’ll have a kitchen that is in style for years to come.

A combination of glazed and solid doors on overhead cabinets gives a chance to display and hide as desired.

Many people desire a Hamptons style kitchen but feel it would not suit the more modern style of home that they live in. As a result, we are seeing a rise in popularity of the ‘pared-back’ Hamptons style. This style has a nod to the traditional elements but is less decorative and therefore fits with more modern styling. In this post, we aim to provide you with the basics to nail this style in your own home.

Door Profiles

‘Profiles’ are basically the topography, bumps and grooves or moulding of your doors or benchtop edges. The Hamptons style can handle many types of door profile. A popular choice is the Smith & Smith ‘flat panel’. This profile features a raised, slightly decorative, frame around a flat recessed centre panel. Shaker style doors are another favourite and have the benefit of being able to be styled slightly differently to change the overall style of the kitchen.

Get the look:

Classic Hamptons: a more decorative door profile such as a Smith & Smith flat panel, beaded frame or another moulding. More about doors here.

Pared-back Hamptons: choose the shaker style door profile for a cleaner, more modern look.

Overhead Cabinets and Shelving

Overhead cabinets and shelving have the benefit of providing more storage space for the same kitchen footprint. Making use of this otherwise forgotten space is a smart choice in an open-plan kitchen area. However, a slightly different treatment should be given to rooms that are smaller or have a very low ceiling. There are three ways to deal with this overhead space: open shelving; overhead cabinets with a solid door; and overhead cabinets with glazing.

Open Shelving

Open shelving allows for a wide variety of items to be stored or displayed. Decorative items of a larger size and plants with tendrils draping elegantly down open shelves provide a fresh and refined look that is very now and very Hamptons – these can be stylishly accommodated on open shelving. Open shelving does have its downside though. Dusting must happen on a regular basis and the shelves must be kept tidy and items limited to those that bow to the desired look.

Smith & Smith flat panel door profiles and a high contrast colour scheme offer that Hamptons elegance.

Overhead Cabinets with a Solid Door

A solid door over shelving crosses off two downsides – there is no need to dust, nor keep the contents of this shelving tidy! Solid doors will naturally match the profiles on the lower cabinets and, therefore, give a unified look to your kitchen. Other factors that require consideration do arise, however. If your new kitchen is to be housed within a small space, overhead cabinets with solid doors can make the space feel like it is closing in on you.

Overhead Cabinets with Glazing

Glazed doors provide visual space if the glass is clear and provide a cover from dust. While items on display must be kept tidy, there is the benefit of being able to change these items over occasionally for a change in look. 

Get the look:

Classic Hamptons: continue the door profile from lower cabinets through to the top cabinets for a larger kitchen and colonial glazed doors or open shelving for smaller kitchens. A combination of all three works a treat for injecting a bit of your own personality with items on display.

Pared-back Hamptons: whatever is chosen, ensure it has less detailing – such as plain glazed doors.

Materials

Hamptons style kitchens have a natural, seaside vibe, therefore, natural materials with seaside tones are top of the list. Natural timber, paint effects with visible timber grain, natural stone or engineered stone in natural colours are all great options. How you pull them together is up to you and depends largely on the colour scheme of the rest of your home.

Feature pendants make the atmosphere instantly more intimate. A mixture of timber and stone benchtops suits the Hamptons style.

Get the look:

Classic Hamptons: Consider a combination of timber and natural stone benchtops with a mildly decorative profile. Continue the stone of the benchtops up the wall for an effortlessly chic splashback.

Pared-back Hamptons: Open shelving in oiled timber gives a clean, modern effect and is a great space to add different styling elements to change the mood of the area. Engineered stone benchtops give a hat tip to the natural equivalent but add a fresh modern edge.

Storage within a pared-back Hamptons style kitchen. This spice shelf is a Smith & Smith speciality and gives you what you need, right where you need it.

Colour Scheme

Think light and bright with a hint of the coast. Any tones that can be found by the sea get the green light here. While the colour scheme should be muted, that does not mean you are limited to ‘greige’. Suitable hues include greens, blues, browns and greys, but the key here is to keep it muted and calm.

Get the look:

Classic Hamptons: keep the palette neutral and muted.

Pared-back Hamptons: a muted, neutral palette is also an option here, however, there is the possibility of drawing in a little more colour as is consistent with more modern schemes.

Splashback

A splashback is too often an afterthought, but given some thought, can really make the room shine! Hamptons kitchens suit traditional splashback materials such as tiles, pressed metal, natural or engineered stone are all great options. For more details on splashback options, see our blog post here.

Get the look:

Classic Hamptons: keep it simple with tiles or stone.

Pared-back Hamptons: Amp up the interest with a coloured glass splashback or attention-grabbing tiles.

Feature Pendants

Hamptons style kitchens instantly bring to mind feature lighting. Although a pendant should only be chosen once the colour scheme and door profile have been settled on, pendants are one item that provides such personality to the space that they are high on the priority list.

Lighting design for the kitchen must always be considered during the kitchen design phase. If not, you risk great expense and double the mess when you consider lighting too late. For more information about lighting design, see our recent blog post. So long as your kitchen design has allowed for lighting and your electrician has made the necessary preparations for wiring, pendants can be purchased after the kitchen has gone in.

Whatever feature pendant you select, ensure it ties in with the style of the rest of your home to ensure there are unity and harmony within your scheme. Beacon lighting has a fun app that allows you to see lights in your room before you take them home. 

Pendant lighting is key in a Hamptons style kitchen. Muted tones, such as these shades of grey, conjure the coast. Natural materials add warmth.

Get the look:

Classic Hamptons: natural elements such as cane, timber and metals for pendants can make an excellent feature pendant.

Pared-back Hamptons: lantern design pendants in modern geometric style are a great accent piece to a pared-back Hamptons style kitchen. Solid pendants in matte finishes are also a great choice.

Butlers’ Sink

A butlers’ sink is the perfect blend of old-world charm, clean lines and functionality. Butler’s sinks vary in style and there are some rather decorative models on the market. The traditional butler’s sink, however, is white with clean lines and deep basins. For something a bit different to the usual ceramic sink, consider copper or matte black for a little unique style.

The pared-back Hamptons style is cleaner and more modern than its classic counterpart. The full mantle hides a wealth of spice and oil storage right where you need it.

If you are going for a white sink, bear in mind that no two porcelain whites are the same. Make sure you take your kitchen colour samples with you to the sink showroom to ensure the right match.

Make sure you set your sink off with the right tapware. The English Tapware Company have many taps that work so well with this timeless style.

Get the look:

Classic Hamptons: white is definitely a safer choice for a classic Hamptons style kitchen.

Pared-back Hamptons: pared-back Hamptons kitchens can err a little more to the modern side and therefore may carry a matte black sink if tied in with the right colour palette. The clean lines of a simple, traditional butlers’ sink are also quite at home.

A butler’s sink set among shaker doors in soft grey.

Ready to Start the Design Conversation?

Feel ready to speak to a designer about how to create this look in your home? Or do you still feel overwhelmed about pulling it all together? Either way, we’d love to help – get in touch with our helpful designers and they will assist you in getting all the elements right for that perfect Hamptons style kitchen.