Hampton Style Home Tour

As most of you know, after eleven large renovations and two new builds, we finally got to build our first home from the bottom up for ourselves. It has been a family affair as Bentley is the builder, Jenna is the architect, I am the designer and Noah is everything tech!

I have shown bits and pieces of our home in various blogs, but I learned recently it was best to have a tour of our whole home in one location on your blog when your niche is home design. So welcome to a home tour of our Hampton style home!!!

Let’s start first with a little history…

The Dream

Many years ago, I had a dream that I lived in a white or light grey house up on a hill. I can still see that dream vividly. I asked my mother-in-law if she thought it meant something and she told me the dreams that stick with you are sent to you by God. The whole feel of the dream was so comforting and peaceful so I was content to see what it meant.

The Movie

Have you seen the movie “Something’s Gotta Give” with Jack Nicholoson and Diane Keaton? If not, you must – you will love it. If you have, do you remember the house? Well, it is what introduced me to Hampton style homes and I fell in love.

The shingle exteriors with swooping roofs, big verandas, lots of windows and french doors, warm interiors filled with loads of bookcases, and always set on a dune overlooking the ocean. That in my mind was a close as I could get to heaven on Earth.

To learn more about the house from the movie, click this link where you will find all sorts of photos and information.

That style of house matched my dream. It was starting to come together!

So when it came time for us to build, I chose a “modernized” shingle styled home with lots of peaks, windows and glass doors, a big covered veranda and yes it is set high up on a hill overlooking a large body of water.

If you would like to read about the beginning of Sweet Valley Acres and choosing the location, just click this link.

The Exterior

We didn’t have the budget to be as sprawling as the home in the movie so ours is a condensed version. Believe me, if I could have replicated the movie house I would have, but we had to blast our build site so we had to layer the floors rather than spread them out. As well, I had to take my family’s likes into consideration too so this is a combination of everyone’s wants.

We are not done yet – there is a lot to be completed such as trim, rock work, railings, etc. Things move slowly but I will keep updating this tour as we complete items.

When I dreamt about living in our home, I pictured lots of outdoor dining. I also loved the beach house style of life and thought a pass thru window and bar would be perfect. Unfortunately, I designed the window a little large and we had to get these specialized shocks to be able to lift and retract the window.

You may have noticed the lack of railings. There are three reasons for that.

1) lack of funds right now;

2) we don’t want to impede the view; and

3) we are designing something unique because glass isn’t an option.

I love birds and have such a hard time when one dies because it runs into a window so I definitely don’t want to be setting up death traps around our home with glass railings. I think you will love what we have invented! Now we just have to save up for it and get them built.

The photo above is where we eat from April through October on days when it isn’t too hot or cold.

I designed these gates and Bentley built them. They provide a little enclosure to save my plants from the deer and to save Mia from the coyotes.

Entrances

This is actually our back door, where our family enters. I find that often back doors are forgotten or very plain but I wanted it to be welcoming so we designed this arch roof with giant corbels.

An old fashioned light and mail box plus two old urns complete the look.

When it came to our front door, I had my heart crushed. This is what I wanted (taken from my inspiration board)…

This is what I got.

So you may be thinking it is quite close, but I really liked the thinness of the frame and muntin bars on the ones above. There were two reasons we could not do that:

1) We are in a very cold climate and those thin frames would not stand up to our cold temperatures.

2) The door is 8 feet tall and for structural integrity and to pass our building code it needed to have a handle activated multi point locking system.

Don’t get me wrong, it is still a gorgeous door and it achieves the combination of traditional with modern flare that I was looking for.

Living Room

Our living room is two stories high as we wanted to capture the view. I am a ground to sky type of girl – I want to see it all so I didn’t want it chopped up and only fully viewable from outside.

The fireplace is also floor to ceiling and features real rock. Each and every stone was hand placed by Bentley and Jenna.

Bentley built the floating shelves and cabinets flanking the fireplace. They have been lifesavers for storing so much home decor.

We did not want a typical catwalk that is drywalled underneath so Bentley got two i-beams to form the base and sides and finished the underside in stained wood.

I love this feature because it is unexpected and brings a modern, industrial vibe to the room. Clearly, I am eclectic but I believe that different design elements can be brought together cohesively.

Rustic Luxury & Hampton Style

Recently I was told that my style is a new emerging style that is called “Rustic Luxury”. It features rooms that are large and not cluttered so they are easy to move around – like luxurious homes. Sophisticated elements (hardwood, marble, cashmere) are paired with raw and natural elements (warm concrete, plants, dried grasses). Neutrals and muted tones are also key.

My design style does fit into rustic luxury but I also feel that I have a very coastal/beach/Hampton vibe happening. I love the water views and have incorporated coastal touches such as marine decor, white pottery, shells, hints of blue, etc.

I am not one to be hemmed in by one design style. If it flows and feels good then I am happy!

Kitchen

Clean lines, white and more white, lots of storage and space to move around were all key to designing our kitchen.

I will be preparing a blog soon on the hits and misses of our kitchen and will share all the details there.

These water glass pendants have definitely been a hit!

Dining Room

Our open concept living area features the dining room in line with the kitchen. It is so easy to entertain and just sit around with family and catch up. No one ever feels shut off from anyone.

The dining room sits at the corner of the house with large banks of sliding doors on two sides to take in the lake view.

A spot for Mia

Mia always has to be where the action is and we found the cutest sofa for her that fits perfectly in with our home. Geesh I wish we had as nice of furniture as she does!!!

My Office

My office is a room that I spend so much time in. It is painted in a soft blue’ish green with almost floor to ceiling windows.

My desk is an old tobacco leaf sorting table that Bentley white washed for me. I love it!

This multi drawer cabinet was sitting in my parents basement and was in terrible condition. I asked my dad if I could have it and he said sure. I sanded and stained every bit of it and that was quite the job, but it was worth every second.

The Mudroom

In past homes our cubbies in our mudroom, have always been white. This time, with so much white and neutrals in our home, I thought it was time to branch out and have a cheery color to greet us each time we came home.

As always, Bentley built the cubbies and painted them off of my rough sketch. I am creating a YouTube video of every step to build these cubbies. I will link it here when it is done.

Primary bedroom (because Master bedroom is now politically incorrect)

As it has been in every home we have renovated, our bedroom is always the last to be done. This will be updated when it gets done. For now, please enjoy the swing bed that hangs just outside of our room and where I can be found on occasion snoozing 🙂

Bentley built the swing bed for my birthday. I know, I know I am a very lucky girl!!!

Primary Bathroom

After years of having to clean glass doors on showers, I said “NO MORE!!!” Hence the doorless walk in shower.

The freestanding tub overlooks the pool and back yard. I must say this bathtub is so comfortable.

Our Greenhouse – Annie

Another important member of our family is a vintage window greenhouse Bentley made me from windows I collected at garage and estate sales. We affectionately named the greenhouse after Bentley’s mom, Annie, who loved to collect vintage linens, china, etc., and restore them to their former glory.

Click here is a link to the whole story of Annie.

Coming Soon

As said above, I will continue to update this page as we finish rooms in our home. The rooms we are still working on are:

Pantry

Laundry Room

Powder Room

Movie Room

Games Room

Kid’s Rooms

The Holidays

We love the holidays and definitely throw ourselves into decorating for them. If you are interested in seeing more, please click the links below:

Christmas

Halloween

Fall

Outdoor dining

Thank you for taking a tour of our Hampton style home, beach house, rustic luxury, coastal style home, whatever it may be!