When it came to choose the internal products for this estate style home, we were very aware about the styles and feel we wanted. With open spaces and a flow of living we needed to make sure that what we chose was going to go with and not against the look. When it comes to technology, this was something we needed to work in large open spaces with a lot of other electrical products. It had to be simple enough for us to use, cost effective and stylish.

We did look at many options and then we came across Quantify Technology; it was everything we were looking for and more. It was an incredible device with an amazing solution for our needs. We can create moods, turn power on and off, it can work from an app and device, and using voice activation. It was such a simple installation that our fabulous electrician, Troy from Harris Electrical, had no issue with and that is almost unheard of.  We now have a system put together with Aruba that is incredible Wi-Fi system and Amazon Alexia that caters to all our smart home needs.

Another element we needed to address was air conditioning; we chose Stinson Air for their expertise in selecting the right unit us for the home. As this is such a large home, it was necessary to use a few different options throughout the entire home. We have full ducted units in the North Wing and Bedrooms, then split systems on the Mezzanine and Studio in the South Wing. This gave us options and choices on when using the air conditioning, and it was effective for the spaces and area.

Photography by @koby_turner

We have layered the North Wing with Jute rugs and pops of colour with our gorgeous Indah Island x Carnival Homewares collections. These rugs are a recycled cotton and we used a Hampton coastal stripe; one dark blue, wide stripe, and then the other areas with a white and blue single stripe. Their effect breaks the room into two areas that talk to each other without being the same.

We have used some bespoke pieces also in the North Wing to give personality to the space. We have the sweetest ottomans under the hall table, for layer, in a Ralph Lauren fabric by Everest Design, and some incredible carver dining chairs again in the Ralph Lauren stripe upholstered by the Upholstery Shop. These beauties are some our favourite pieces and you do feel quit regal, when allowed to sit in them! The dining chairs were chosen from Home Stying Warehouse. They areincredibly comfortable chairs with matching bar stools, perfect for those long dinners when entertaining.

We also have some beautiful cabinetry by One World Collection that stands proud on either side of the fireplace in the North Wing. These cabinets were custom built as they are filled with beautiful vignettes to create a feature in their own right. To bring it all together, a splattering of cushions sprinkle joy on all the seating. We chose eclectic fabrics of blue, white and a soft muted green to brighten the space. The use of St John Lamps in this room creates a mood of intrigue, and our fabric lamp shades create the interest whilst not being to matchy-matchy.

In the North Wing we loved using our very own designed Rattan Coffee Tables as well as a solid coffee tables from a Abide Interiors. Coffee tables are so important to get proportions right; the material, texture and colour ways need to add natural elements. We used rattan in this space to create a relaxed holiday feel and also oak tones that blend, add warmth and are very user-friendly. We then styled these with layers of much-loved vignettes; shells, books, trays and greenery. A selection of unique side tables also brings an element of the natural materials. We again chose rattan and canes to add the warmth into this space. We do tend to choose rattan and cane for our clients as it brings the holiday feel of the Bahamas / British colonial style into our homes and we just love the feel.

Photography by @koby_turner

The Hamptons Farm estate is everything you would expect in an estate. It has a grand feel with souring ceilings, beautiful lighting and picturesque furnishings. On reflection, when we were putting the mood boards together for this project, we were always inclined to use blue and white in one of the many living spaces.

In the North Wing we chose our go to customized sofas from Molmic, which we knew had the right proportions of depth, width and comfort. Loose covers were a must in a natural linen with our customized white piping for that extra Indah Island touch. We used 3x 3 seaters and 2x singles but also wanted the comfort of a chaise style lounge that we pulled together as part of this collection. These chaises bring an element of casual class to the space. Because this room is so big, we needed to fill it without over filling the room. The central feature of this room is the fireplace from Fireplace Corner. It is the focus point for all seating with a beautiful piece of art from Felicia Aroney. Her hydrangea artwork captures the essence of the Hamptons style.

One of the special features in this wing is the beautiful fireplace. We chose this not only for the look but also its function. It throws off a fabulous heat that warms the entire room. The Fireplace Corner was so incredibly helpful on the selection, with their incredible knowledge and a gorgeous family history in the industry. Although, marble looks great when we choose this style to finish the fireplace it was always going to be tricky, as it is hazardous in the fact that it can mark and spoil. Julian from Medici Stone  advised instead to use an engineered stone, that they distribute. We ended up using this amazing product on the fireplace and on our laundry and butlers bench tops. This is the closest product we have seen to Carrara marble, but is un-spoilable. We framed the fireplace with a wooden mantle from Schots Emporium.  Their Melbourne range is enormous, from marble, wood and stone designs it was hard to just pick one!

To be continued…

Photography by @koby_turner

In this North Wing we have a soaring 8-meter ceiling which is beautiful to display our amazing lighting. We chose two incredible, meter wide, chandeliers by One World Collection in the living space and two amazing, ring lights by Montauk Lighting over the dining area. These were hung by Harris Electrical, a local electrician, that was incredible with no complaints at the extreme height of the ceiling. We customised these ring lights with shades by St John Lamps, adding a stripe again to create a bespoke feel. We are so proud of this space as it really does capture the real feel of what the Hamptons’ style can offer.

Another layer of detail in our ceilings was the James Hardie Hardie Groove; it complements the roof as a feature and draws your eyes to the lines that are just gorgeous. It was a huge job for the boys at the Carport Co hanging these boards on a scaffold of 5 meters height, but they were just masters.

Some other features we added are the beautiful wainscoting that Rob from Perth Bespoke Carpentry installed with the use of the Intrim Mouldings. We used the detail of Intrim in the kitchen, cornice and skirtings and then added the layer of wainscoting in with precise master ship from Rob. His careful installation finishes off the room like adding earrings to an outfit. It just added the wow factor in any space. Intrim Mouldings have such an incredible range of beautifully created pieces, it can turn a flat wall into a masterpiece.

The North Wing flows from east to west with a central room hall table, layered with greenery and coffee table books to browse through. The flooring throughout the home is a Laminex product that is a warm, wide, wood look, American oak with warm brown hues. This flooring is used to create a continual flow as it is used in all rooms except the wet areas. Having these natural tones allows the furniture to sing too.

Photography by @koby_turner

On building this estate, and yes it has been termed as such, we have embraced the original 1860 home and created the space around the existing bedrooms. We created a North and South Wing to the home to enable my guilty pleasure of styling, re-styling and creating different feels under the one roof. We have four living spaces in the home and the North Wing has created a buzz of excitement.

The North Wing consists of the kitchen living areas and is surrounded by beautiful windows that we custom designed. These windows enhanced the sheer size of the home. Traditionally, we have always chosen white wooden shutters in the homes we design; however, this home was unique in that we have no neighbours and didn’t want to lose our incredible view of the landscape. Therefore, Luxaflex was the perfect choice. This incredible product looks like a shutter and has the ability to open and shut like a shutter when you do want privacy or to block out the sun light. They give great block out and keep the home cool from the blaring sun as our North Wing gets the harsh sun in the afternoons.

However, the most unique thing about these shutters is that when you don’t want to use them you can roll them up like a roman blind and they fold away into a sleek unit, disappearing so you can see through all of your windows. This truly amazing product is called Pirouettes. We did use shutters around our main front doors, but this another unique product by Luxaflex using a polysatin, so there is virtually no maintenance. It is stylish and amazingly user friendly, ticking all our briefs.

When we had concluded the decisions on the windows, we wanted then to add the consistency in the doors as well. We choose bifold doors that swing open to our large verandas as these are big and are 6 meters wide surrounding the entire home. As we wanted that Hamptons indoor-outdoor feel in this wing, we added two massive bifold doors that opened us up to the elements. I hear your gasping and asking the question ….. but what about the flies? This is where Phantom Screens came to the rescue. This is an incredible product with the ability to pull a flyscreen across the door; meeting and connecting in the middle to give you a clean look-through style screen that is almost not there! It keeps out the pests and then folds away as if not there when not needed. They are a fabulous idea and easy to use.

To be continued…

Photography by @koby_turner

Designing your kitchen can be one of the most brain teasing things to do. Our top tip is to brainstorm the style you are going for; the look is very important as this sets the tone for your home. Consider the function of the space, how you cook, what you have to cook with, and also how it all fits within the space. When we choose to work with Colay Cabinets, we knew we would be heard, and the design would be amazing. Being a Hamptons style, I wanted lots of tall glass windows that had the wow factor. Another must have, which I love to do, is to display my glassware and plates. This frightens people, I know, but the things to remember is when you see it you use it! The cabinets in the Hampton’s Farm Project were broken into two component’s that sat on-top of each other, this gave it that beautiful Hamptons style and allows for you to see your items inside.

Island Bench

The island bench was detailed to the extreme; we used Intrim Mouldings for that added extra punch around the base and also around the ends to keep in theme with the rest of the home. When it came to selecting the colourway for the island bench, I didn’t want a boring white, I wanted to add personality. I must say, I did deliberate on the colour as I wanted to go blue, but I also knew the rest of this room would be dictated by it. So, I asked the boys at DMS Spray Solutions to make up five boards with 5 different colours. To be frank no-one else saw the differences but for me when I found my perfect colour the shades changed dreamily in both daylight and in the afternoon. I may have over dramatized it but, nevertheless, I saw the difference.  The colour that stood out for me was Dulux  ‘Saxby blue’. It was a muted blue that went with all the fabric’s I wanted to use in the rest of the room; it was a standout winner.

Draws

The functionality of the draw’s came down to one choice; Blum, they are amazing! I had the opportunity to go and see there fully functioning showroom and it enabled me to go and see how their products are used, the quality and what they offer. From the moment I walked into the showroom it was an incredible experience. They had set up my kitchen so I could see the space, where things were to fit and be organized, and how it was going to be used. It was incredible and would highly recommend this experience. The products are sleek and sophisticated allowing you to have a place for everything. They are clean lined, solid and the function adding storage solutions are incredible. They helped advise me on the function whilst not skimping on the form and design. Remember form and function go hand in hand here.

Photography by @koby_turner

When selecting appliances for your kitchen and butler’s pantry it is important to get great advice, as well as a demonstration, to show you how appliance’s work, their function and what else is available on the market. However, my top priority would have to be the aesthetics! When you are looking for a statement piece in the kitchen, the oven is a great start. I love 900 wide ovens as a centre piece in the kitchen; Smeg is our go to as they have a lovely range with amazing colours and styles.

The range hood is just as important and something to think about. Do you want it on show or hidden? The noise factor is also something to consider. The design and layout of your working kitchen has great significance, but always try to think about what you use, how you cook, how you entertain and what appliance are of importance to you.  We love that with Smeg, you can have a mix and match approach with the toaster range, kettle and also the larger appliance such as fridges, freezers, microwaves and dishwashers. They all flow and together and all seamlessly create a beautiful kitchen and as we know, in a Hampton’s home the kitchen is the focus point.

Considering the kitchen as the hub station for the rest of the home, having smart wiring in this area will help in so many ways to create and support your lifestyle. We have chosen to have a smart home with the introduction of Quantify Technology, which enables us to work with Amazon Alexia.  This helps with us to be hands free and to turn lights on/off, and all our other appliances are linked to the solution too.  The covers look amazing and compliment the aesthetic, which is the upmost importance.

Having a smart home also allows your life to become simpler. You can set scenes, get Alexia to take notes, give you recipe information, play music, change the lights, set times… the list is endless. It is such a joy! It’s like having your very own sous-chef in the kitchen with you. We have this system linked with our Luxaflex automated shutters, which is amazing. All you need to do is command a suggestion and it is done, very handy when you have messy hands to contend with.

Other ways to dress your Kitchen and Butler’s Pantry is to layer items and bring in greenery. You can display beautiful tea towels and hand wash and a bonus is that you have at the ready when you need them most.

One of our luxury items we added to the kitchen is the Wilson Bradly island vacuum. Yes that’s correct, this is integrated into the island so that you can sweep your mess to the vacuum then at a click of a button it is suctioned up …. Amazing! It is a must have for every kitchen owner! Check out our Instagram @indahisland to see it in action.

All in all, the Kitchen and Butler’s Pantry can be as dressed up as you like. It is a beautiful area on show and should be shown off in all her glory.

Photography by @koby_turner

From the very start of the Hampton’s farm project design process, we decided early on that the kitchen was going to be the standout of the home. We all have heard the saying  the ‘kitchen is the heart of the home’, and these words have never rung truer than in this home.

Our design was always going to be typically Hampton’s, but I wanted a punch of personality, something not cookie cutter and a wow factor as soon as you see it. We choose to work with Colray Cabinets because we knew they would listen to our needs and not be afraid of trying something new. We also needed a great cabinet sprayer as we wanted it to be 2pk painted. The boys at DMS Spray Solutions were magician’s in this field and knew how we would get the best result, as we were knowingly going with a blue island, and it had to be perfect!

We deliberated over the bench tops, as we traditionally have always used a Marble Carrara bench top, but I knew we wanted it to be longer than 3 meters. and I also wanted something a little harder wearing. Constantino Silestone was suggested and I am so glad we chose such a hard-wearing product, the range they have is enormous and the looks are amazing. The biggest highlight for us is that they go slightly bigger in size too, which of course we loved!

Once the bench tops were decided next was the splash back. A splash back is always a huge decision as this is what makes everything else pop. Our choice of splash back in the kitchen was a gorgeous herringbone in a Carrara marble from Beaumont Tiles. The sink had to be a butler sink, of course, and Parisi Sinks have always been a wonderful fit. To finish the Hampton’s kitchen off beautiful tapware was our next decision. Taps are a really important selection for me and Brodware has a huge range and colour way so I can’t go past them. The look here is so important to get right as this is a feature you can’t get wrong.

Butler’s Kitchen

Our butler’s kitchen was another major decision. This needed to be a pantry and a working kitchen that we could make into a beautiful space and be a functioning area. Living in a rural area you need to have stock of mostly everything, you can’t just pop into the local supermarket as the closest is 30mins+ away. I do tend to do form over function, but we needed to be more practical and storage was a huge factor in our decision making. The cabinets are from Timberline Cabinets, this is an incredible company that offers high end quality in a modular form, it ticked all our boxes!

Our benches in the butler’s kitchen were Medici Marble’s Granite, they not only supplied but installed our bench tops. In the butler’s pantry we wanted to keep the Carrara theme but be slightly quirkier. In keeping within the marble theme, the splash back patterns are in a wave style from Beaumont Tiles. We feel in love with it as soon as it was installed. To add a touch of colour into these rooms we used beautiful art pieces from Driftwood Interiors by Kerry Shipp. They have such an amazing range of prints, there is something for everyone.

We continued styling up our butler’s kitchen with a drink station, stunning glassware and other pieces that I loved to fill this space with joy. When it came to details and layers, which is really what makes a Hampton’s home, hardware is always at the top of our list. Our go to is always Tradco Hardware for the style and look.

Kitchen and butler’s area are a great starting point, this is where I start all my clients. These areas tend set the theme for the rest of your home. If you want more ideas and styling tips head to our Instagram @indahisland

Photography by @koby_turner

The end of the year is almost upon us which means its time to start thinking about the new year. If you’re anything like me, I don’t go for new year’s resolutions as such. Instead, I set goals. These goals give me something to aim for over the next year.

One of my goals is to ensure I am making my designs as innovative, future-proof and adaptable as possible. While this has always been on my mind, its at times like now, where technology is moving at an incomprehensible pace, that this is even more important. I am always looking for ways to include new, innovative technology into my designs to ensure I am always a step ahead of others, which is why I am looking to include more smart home automation into my designs… but not just any automation, I recommend Quantify’s smart home solution.

Quantify’s solution is any interior designer’s dream. It looks gorgeous and fits any design, but more than that, it’s an adaptable solution that can be upgraded and modified as needed in the future. Quantify’s solution includes sleek and stylish devices that replace your standard light switch or power point. These devices communicate with each other via WiFi, meaning no extra wiring is needed. You can also control your home via app or voice (with the Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa), as well.

If you want to upgrade from WiFi to 5G or if your lifestyle changes down the track, whatever it may be, Quantify’s solution can adapt with you.  You can even change the colour of the glass Touch Panels to something different, if your interiors change.

I also recommend Quantify because you can get a great user experience out of it. You can set up scenes or special automations to suit you, such as “hello” or “goodbye” scenes, or even “movie time”, “date night” or “party time”. You pick what happens with your home when these scenes are activated, and you can change them as you need. It’s also the small things like saving power, that makes a big difference as well, where you can turn off all power points and lights with one button or one voice command as you leave home, instead of walking around the house and turning off every light or power point. Talk about saving time, money and energy!

I’ve installed Quantify’s solution into my Hamptons farmhouse and I can’t wait to use it. Usually I’d leave my husband, Mark, to do all the technology work, but I’m looking forward to playing with it myself and customising my own scenes.

This is the smart home solution that should be on your list to include into your next home or renovation in the new year. So, what are you waiting for?

You can find out more about Quantify and my partnership with them, here > https://www.quantifytechnology.com/natalee-bowen/

One of the great appeals when using Quantify’s smart home solution is that you have the option to control your home in three ways – touch, tap or talk.

My favourite is talk. Why? I can talk to my home and it responds! From the most basic things, like setting an alarm, telling me the weather or giving me reminders, to the more complex, like controlling “scenes” around my house and turning lights on or off – voice control is incredibly easy and fun to use. It’s like having a personal assistant by your side!

Quantify’s solution has worked with Amazon Alexa for quite some time now but just last week, they announced a new advancement. Quantify has integrated the Google Assistant into its products, which means we’ll be able to use the “Hey, Google…” voice commands with Assistant-enabled devices to control Quantify’s solution.

Another great thing about this new integration is you now have the option to use your preferred smart speaker. Whether you prefer Google Nest and the Google Assistant-enabled devices or Amazon Echo and Alexa devices, you can now use both with Quantify.

I can’t continue in this blog without reminding you that while I enjoy using voice control, if you don’t want to use it, that’s ok. You don’t have to have a smart speaker in your house if you don’t want to.

Quantify’s smart home solution is flexible; touch, app or voice control, it’s up to you. Think about the accessibility and convenience factor as well – no matter your ability or preference, there is always a way to control your home that suits you.

With all of this in mind, it’s safe to say Quantify makes my life easier by helping with all the little things in my daily life. I can turn lights on/ off or open/ close blinds without leaving my seat or if I forget to turn my hair curler off after I’ve left home, I can turn it off from my app. I can activate personalised living experiences – like the “leaving home” scene will turn off the standby power, close blinds halfway and turn off all lights, aside from one near the front door, because that’s the way I wanted it to be. I can create shopping lists, manage my power easily and so much more!

Having this set up in your home will allow you to control and personalise your home the way you want, when you want. Trust me, you’ll love it.

If you want to try Quantify’s smart home solution for yourself – checkout their distributors here > https://www.quantifytechnology.com/distributors-and-showrooms/

You can also find out more about Quantify’s integration with the Google Assistant here >https://www.quantifytechnology.com/quantify-says-hey-to-google-integration/