Hamptons style is the most popular style that couples and young families wish to emulate. Some of the most difficult decisions we witness in store is watching whilst they are choosing finishes. Its often a battle between the customers heart which has copious amounts of light linen in mind, and their head which knows the reality of having (or wanting) a family means practicality should be front of mind in their decision making.
Thinking at least a little bit practically is a good idea, as lets face it young kids are messy and sometimes unpredictable. Being a stressed out parent constantly on edge on worrying about damaging furniture or linen is not great for their future stress levels. You really can make some small compromises in your choices to ensure you get the beautiful Hamptons home you have dreamt of, with resilient finishes (or solutions) that can withstand young kids.
Here are some of our top tips to make your Hamptons home beautiful but also functional within your home.
1)Dining room
Dining rooms are certainly the epicentre of mess for families with small children (and even adults if you love to entertain and hold dinner parties). We are amazed at how many stories we hear from devastated customers of how easily they stained their unsealed table (from other retailers) from spilled wine or food.
At Style My Home, durability is a key factor we consider when sourcing. This is particularly true with our dining tables. As a result we have almost consolidated of table to one finish - natural oak. Natural oak is beautiful but also functional being completely sealed and resistant to spills.
If customers love the look of a rustic unsealed table we usually recommend they incorporate this finish into another area of the house such as a console or coffee table
TOP PICKS
'Kensington' Natural Oak Dining Table
'Hannah' Parquetry Round Dining Table with white base
Choosing the correct dining chair is equally important. Here are some suggestions for those that love the look of linen;
- For rectangular tables, many are practical and choose a rattan seat for the side of the table with linen chairs at the head so you still have the touch of luxury for parents.
- Darker shades of linen tend to be more forgiving and can often be spot cleaned.
- Choose a chair with a removable seat cover that can easily be recovered like our modern chippendale chair. We sell the matching linen in store so its always a good insurance policy
- Get a special seat for your children until they grow a little older.
2. Lounge
Linen lounges are often the epicentre of our Hamptons lounge room. Many of our families with young kids or pets are nervous about the prospect of linen.
Here are our recommendations.
- Choose a darker linen
- If you want to buy a lighter linen buy a slipcover lounge where the covers can be cleaned or even replaced.
- If you decide leather is for you, choose an accent linen chair to bring the Hamptons look
TOP PICK
Capri Slipcover Lounge
3. Choose furniture with storage
Storage is key when it comes to families. The more storage you have the less mess and more organised life can be.. We recommend you choose console tables with drawers and buffets or cabinets for dining/ lounge rooms. These can hold items like board games, art and crafts, place mats or kitchen appliances.
'Ascot' Buffet white with drawers
4. Consider a mudroom or locker cabinet
If you are lucky enough to be designing a home consider incorporating a mud room. A mudroom is an area where shoes, bags (school, soccer, ballet etc), dog leads, hats can all be stored. If this is not an option you really just need space in your entrance or laundry for a locker cabinet. Having a centralised zone really assists in the homes organisation. No more excuses for lost school shoes.
'Byron' Shutter Style Locker Cabinet
5. Choose polypropylene rugs
We all love the look of a plush wool or natural jute rug but the reality of children and pets sometimes can make these a risky move – they stain easily and require a profession to clean them.
The good news is that our range of polypropylene rugs look luxurious and they feel amazing under foot. The best part is they are a plastic fibre meaning that its so much easier to clean day-to-day, simply vacuum regularly and for spills use a gentle surface cleaner on a microfibre cloth. You can even hose these rugs down outside. Plus the price point of a polypropylene rug is less than half the price of a wool rug. Once you buy one of these rugs you will want one in every room of the house!
TOP Hamptons Rug PICKS
1. Manhattan Transitional Silver Rug
2. Mist White Transitional Rug
3. Farah Transitional Rug
