The challenge!
Creating an authentic Hamptons Style Garden

As a new home owner (collecting our keys this Friday 18th May 2018) but not quite finished yet and not yet moved in!) I thought it appropriate to discuss what I am currently experiencing at the moment. Building a home can be a wonderful experience full of expectation and excitement however, with that comes the task of addressing all the details both the interior and exterior.

Everyone at some stage has heard about not judging a book by its cover, but unfortunately in this case we do. To say that a garden can make or break the look of a new home is an understatement. In my opinion, the reasons for not giving the outside the attention it deserves can be many but the most common could be financial, being time poor and not really being interested in the outside or all three!

Before I go on to the design and what fabulous ideas we have in store (together with our landscape specialist) there is some regret in not having considered the outside a lot more during the new home building process. I guess the reason for that was we were so caught up with the house design and its interior that the outside became a bit of an after thought. Thankfully though, we have time, some lovely sandy areas and loads of open spaces so filling it in has now become the fun bit…I think!!

Our beautiful home is a Hamptons style design (way more traditional than coastal) which was attainable via the services of New Home Building Brokers (more on that on a different blog post!) and having scoured every form of online and print medium and doing several drive by’s it became more and more apparent that the garden definitely sets the tone of your home  - much like the style of a wedding invitation can set the tone for the wedding you could say.

Ok now onto the design…our main criteria for the garden design was the following:

a. consider the orientation of the block
b. consider the size
c. consider how you wish to use the outside areas (design zones) both front and rear

As basic as that may sound to some, it is important to really think about how you wish to use your home so that it can be used to its fullest potential.

 

Being a Hamptons style home, there were some crucial points to consider:

a. gardens should be mostly lush and green when in a non -flowering period
b. mature trees are a must (if your budget allows)
c. hedges, hedges, hedges
d. climate conditions may dictate what you are able to have in your garden so be open-minded there
e. paving
f. fencing

Having a few design ideas myself as well as hubby, the next step was to employ the services of a landscape specialist. With our limited knowledge on design etc given that our block is a unique shape it was important to get this right!

Our brief was easy…traditional Hamptons with low maintenance! I remember uttering those words to the landscape specialist and I can’t remember whether he laughed or cried or both (hahaha!) One thing I didn’t want to do was to compromise the integrity of the home so we made a list of what we liked and made sure we kept in theme of the home.

In a couple of weeks our design came back…and I was pleasantly surprised. After digesting the design for a bit and with only a few adjustments we were both happy with the outcome. Our brief was met…we have mature trees, citrus trees, topiaries, and loads of scented flowers (how lovely) jasmine, gardenias and of course hedging…oh and my favourite flowering plums (our version of the cherry blossom )

Despite this post being angled towards the Hamptons style, the process remains the same regardless of what style of home you design, the exterior of the home should be a preview to the main event!

All in all, we have learned a lot and even though we failed to include the garden design in the initial concept of our home we are thrilled to be sharing this chapter of the building process with you all.

Stay tuned for more insights into our Hamptons haven build…via the NHBB website as well as our social media handles.

Natalie

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