How to transform your red brick home into a Hamptons haven

Choosing the right products for your home’s exterior is vital. We chat to Block Shop Head Honcho Emma Garland about how she transformed her dowdy red brick home into her Hamptons dream house, using Hardie™ Cladding products..

When it comes to renovating your home, making a good first impression is super important — ask any Block contestant and they’ll tell you the same. 

No one knows this better than Block Shop Founder Emma Garland. When she bought her Sydney home 12 years ago, it was a real ‘ugly duckling.’ She knew she needed to do something drastic to turn her home from shabby red brick suburban nightmare into the Hamptons home of her dreams.

Enter Hardie™ exterior cladding products!

Emma's pinterest board was full of houses that had used Linea™ Weatherboards the 180mm, and she knew that is the product she needed to bring her vision to life.

“It certainly wasn’t the facade or style of the house that attracted us! In fact it was probably the ugliest house I had ever seen,” she admits to Insider Style. 

“However it was the scale and potential that attracted us to the home. It was in our dream location and already had a pool (tick!) and enough space for our growing family.”

With a toddler in tow and one on the way, Emma and her husband set about transforming their home's interior, adding a new kitchen, bathroom and reconfiguring the living space.

“We started inside and worked our way outside,” Emma explains. 

“With young kids we needed functionality over aesthetics, otherwise I would have done it the other way round! But truthfully, we needed new floors, a new kitchen, a new bathroom before we could even consider the outside.

“Finally the time came that I could really let my creative juices flow, and tackle the street’s biggest eye sore!”

In consultation with their builder, they settled on Hardie™ exterior cladding products, the perfect choice to create the gorgeous “Hampton’s luxe” look they were wanting.

“To transform the outside to a Hamptons façade, there was only one option, and that was to clad the entire house inLinea TM Weatherboards,” Emma says. 

“My Pinterest board must have had 100 photos of cladded houses, and when I enquired as to the products used, every single time it was Linea™ Weatherboards in the 180mm. I knew exactly the look I wanted and this product gave me that traditional Hamptons look without being too frilly, nor too modern.”

The couple had a LOT of red brick to cover, and though they initially tried to save costs by interchanging the cladding with render, they struggled to achieve the look they wanted.

“So we ended up cladding the entire house,” Emma explains. “The builders loved working with the Hardie™ product as they found it easy to affix to the brickwork using battens.”

BEFORE and AFTER: From ugly duckling to hamptons luxe, all thanks to Linea™ Weatherboards

Emma and her builder loved the fact that the cladding they chose is made from fibre cement, making it more durable and resistant to warping and swelling. 

“Living near the beach, the last thing we wanted was a product that was going to require regular maintenance, and we loved the fact the Linea™ Weatherboards wouldn’t need to be repainted as frequently as timber boards,” Emma says. 

“Our builder was also a big fan of the wider width boards as they allowed for tongue and groove ends, meaning they could be joined without a supporting stud, reducing both wastage and cost.”

In addition to this exterior product they chose to use Hardie™ 45x45mm PVC Corner Angle 3000mm extrusions. “This created borders on the corners and saved us a lot of money in carpentry costs,” she says. 

“Rather than the carpenter having to finish the corners with timber, this product just sits over the top and the aluminium can be painted to look like timber — it’s super clever and a good hot tip to save costs.”

The results are stunning. And when used in conjunction with other decorative elements, make this home’s exterior truly sing.

Emma chose a darker colour for the cladding to make the house appear smaller and more cottage-like. Saying "Because the house is so large it was essential that we introduced details to break up the cladding and bring the home to life."

“We chose timber windows with traditional detailing which, when painted white, were the perfect contrast to the cladding, which we painted in Dulux Domino,” Emma adds. 

“We chose a darker colour for the cladding to make the house appear smaller and more cottage-like. Because the house is so large it was essential that we introduced details to break up the cladding and bring the home to life — we used a combination of sandstone, light fittings, timber pergolas and a stunning custom-made garage door which was the ‘piste de résistance.’ 

“We then added the finishing touches such as the crazy paving, landscaping and a cobblestone driveway, all of which helped to bring the project together.”

I think we can all agree, the results are sensational, and every bit the equal of Scotty and Jenny and Dylan’s stunning Block homes, which also used Hardie™ cladding for their exteriors.  Including Hardie™ cladding products such as Hardie™ Fine Texture Cladding, Axon™ Cladding, Linea™ Weatherboards and Axent™ Trim, Stay tuned for that!

“We are super happy with the results and all the choices we made along the way,” says Emma of her home’s miraculous transformation. 

“I can honestly say I wouldn’t change anything, and I’m so much more content living in our home than I was before the reno."

“I love the feel of the home. It’s welcoming and has a constant stream of people coming and going — just the way I like it!”