Kelly and Matt Cruickshank set out to transform their classic Queenslander home into a Hamptons oasis, just in time for summer, and here is exactly how they did it.

The couple purchased the home back in 2021, after walking away from their dream build due to Covid restrictions. With very few properties available in the area at the time, Kelly phoned her local real estate agent who put forward the house instantly.

“We saw it perched atop a green hill with a breathtaking outlook onto the Bunya Mountain range and just knew it was our dream home,” Kelly remembers fondly. “By the end of the week we had signed a contract and were already planning what projects we wanted to tackle first.”

Despite their immediate attraction to the house, there was a lot of work to be done to achieve the Hamptons look they wanted, but with Matt Cruickshank’s trade experience and Kelly’s keen eye for design, the couple were confident they could add value and make this home into the Hamptons house they envisioned.

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Sun protection before everything

Kelly knew that the grand, weatherboard facade of the house was the perfect blank canvas for the crisp, white Hamptons aesthetic she wanted to create, but before she could get stuck into painting there were a few things she had to do to ensure the best result.

Painting a house is a little like a skincare routine, don’t bother with the fancy stuff if you don’t have your sun protection sorted first. Just like your skin, if left unprotected from UV rays, the paint on your home can crack and peel in direct sunlight. That is why it’s of the utmost importance that you prime the exterior of your home before you start painting.

Kelly used Haymes Paint Ultra-Premium Solashield to protect her home against environmental elements. “I had to take into consideration the harshness of the Queensland sun,” Kelly shares. “This is an easy step to neglect, but it’s necessary to keep the colour looking fresher for longer.”

Haymes Paint’s Ultra-Premium Solashield is a UV resistant formula that flexes in the heat to prevent cracking and peeling. Its durability, full-bodied coverage and rich colour are unprecedented and an essential first step in achieving the bright and impactful white exterior of a Hamptons home.

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Selecting colours

When creating a Hamptons aesthetic, the most important element to get right is the colour palette. Nail this and everything else will just fall into place.

It may seem relatively straightforward: Just whites and blues, right? Wrong.

“We knew that light and bright was our vision,” says Kelly. “But we needed professional advice to ensure we chose the right shades as white can notoriously look blue, grey or even pink in certain surroundings.”

Kelly worked closely with Haymes Paints Colour and Concept Manager, Wendy Rennie, via Haymes’ Colour Consultancy service to help her through this process.

“A common misconception is that all whites are all the same, but even the exact same white can show up differently depending on the orientation of your home and the way the light hits it at different times of day,” Haymes’ colour expert Wendy Rennie says. “So, having a colour consult where you can observe large colour samples and how they interact with the light throughout the day in different areas of the home is key to making the right choice.”

With Wendy’s expert help, Kelly decided on Classic Grey 1 for their exterior walls, balustrades, and rails. They also decided to add emphasis to certain features by applying different levels of sheen. Low Sheen was applied to the weatherboards, and Satin on the railings and balustrades to accentuate the classic detailing of the house, giving it that country look and feel.

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“The front door is a very important feature of a Hamptons house, as it is the first part of the home guests see,” says Wendy when recalling the colour consult. “Although we were going with a white exterior, I still wanted to find a way to make this stand out.”

Kelly and Wendy decided on painting the door a different shade of white from the rest of the house. They chose Haymes’ “Modesty White”, a clean, crisp white that emanates the bright and refreshing Hamptons aesthetic Kelly sought. To add extra emphasis to this feature, they also decided to coat the front door in Haymes’ Ultra Trim High Gloss.

To really bring home the Hamptons theme, Kelly has also Haymes Paint’s “Shaded Blue” on furniture pieces throughout the house. The contrast of this blue against the crisp, neutral tones, accentuates the beauty of the house and creates a coastal, calming ambience.

“To have someone take all that worry out of selecting the perfect colour made the process so much more enjoyable. Having guidance on how to use different levels of sheen to create emphasis and impact really made the result that much better, and the quality of the paint and Solashield was exceptional,” Kelly says.

Kelly and Matt have not only fallen in love with their dream home, but also the journey of creating it.

“I have put so much care into this home because it represents so much more than just a house to me. It represents my dream family lifestyle; it’s the home my children will grow up in.”

This transformation was a long process, involving selecting the perfect colour palettes to create a Hamptons aesthetic, and priming the home. Through high quality Haymes Paint primers and beautiful colours, Kelly and Matt were able to bring their vision to life and transform their Queenslander home into a Hamptons styled oasis.

Architecture & Design Team

Haymes Paint

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