A Fixer Upper World (Part 1)

Recently I have had at least 4 clients ask for a “Joanna Gaines, Fixer Upper” style design in their space.   I’m just as big of a Gaines fan as the next person but with all these requests  I felt the need to watch as many Fixer Upper episodes as possible for added inspiration.  I now consider myself a Joanna Gaines design expert and due to my intense research, I thought it might be fun to do a Top 10 Fixture Upper Design Ideas blog, this will be a two-parter so check back for part 2!

Season 5, Episode 18: The Americana House  – Chip and Joanna were tasked with designing a music/recording studio space in a portion of this house.  Since this is a music studio it needed to have strong acoustic properties.  In order to do this in an effective yet creative way, they cut cedar block in various depths to create a focal wall that also soaks up sound.  Love this custom dimensional look!

Season 5, Episode 10: The Copp House  – In this episode the Gaines helped a family turn their home into a wheelchair accessible space for their two young boys.  The entire episode was heartwarming, and they were able to create unique spaces that the boys would be able to take advantage of.  My favorite part of the overall design was the bathroom.  Joanna found some antique turquoise lockers which were installed inside a wall to preserve space and add much needed storage while give the entire bathroom a classic locker-esque design.

Season 5, Episode 7: The Baker House – In this home there was a very large space that needed to have two functions with a portion being a laundry room and the other being a home office.  In order to keep the areas separate, but still share window light as well as have the feel of a large open area, Joanna had the idea to build a pony wall and then add opening shelving above all the way to the ceiling.  This added much needed definition to the space without completely framing out a new room.

Season 5, Episode 6: The Safe Gamble House – Two favorites came out of this episode where Chip and Joanna purchased a home that they had planned on flipping to sell, but her sisters family ended up purchasing it instead.

In the kitchen Joanna used the same concept as she did in the Baker House.  She wanted to open up the kitchen to the living room to bring in some light and airiness but she needed to keep it semi separate and still include some storage elements.  They completed this goal by incorporating a metal and glass unit that becomes a huge focal point in the design.


The other area I thought was fun and unique was the master bathroom where Joanna used dry stacked (aka no grout was used between the tiles) handmade tiles for a funky yet vintage look.  You don’t see this done very often as grout is usually necessary in most applications.  This design works well because she didn’t overdo it and the area in which she used it probably will not get daily use (i.e. like shower walls would). 

Hope you enjoyed reading about some of my favorite Joanna Gaines, Fixure Upper Designs.  I’ll continue with Part 2 next time!  Information on all Fixure Upper designs (and lots more!) can be found on their website: https://magnolia.com/