I have the benefit of living about 30 minutes away from Waco, Texas. As a matter of fact, the town that I taught in last year had a house that was decorated and re-designed by Chip and Joanna Gains from fixer-upper.
Ideas from Fixer Upper
Here are some great ideas that I have seen from their shows and I think you all will appreciate as well.
1. Look Up
So many times the ceilings are one area of the house to that gets missed. Your attention to the ceiling really can give your room quite the pop, especially when you deal with more subdued colors than a farmhouse typically gives.
Check out Chip and Joanna’s page here.
2. Sliding Barn Door
This Picture comes from Joanna’s Instagram page. She was talking about how even though it was raining they were getting stuff done.
What I was mesmerized by with this picture was the sliding barn door. I absolutely love this idea and I know it is taking over, even in places such as Illinois.
3. Light colors and accents
Choosing lighter color than regular means that the items that are not lighter in color will definitely stand out. So if you have a favorite item that is darker and you want it to be the center of the show, then you need to make most of the room lighter in color.
To see the full article head over to HGTV.
4. Let the Light In
Barndominiums definitely have my heart. As a matter fact in 2011 I lived in a house similar to the one at the top of this picture.
What I take from this style design is you need to let the light in. Natural light does a lot of good for both human emotions and for the look of the home.
You can check the style out over at Magnolia Market.
5. Have Some Fun
Giving kids a space of their own complete with a house makes them feel more grown-up and gives it a cute ambiance as well.
For country chic, look at the corrugated steel.
6. A Place for Everyone
Living in the south we have the benefit of being able to be outside almost 365 days of the year.
Having an outdoor space where you can entertain and not feel claustrophobic is perfect.
I also like the greenery that she put on the wall so you can pick fresh herbs if you need.
This picture comes from Magnolia homes Tumblr page.
7. Open Shelves
I love the open shelves with places to put stuff. Keeping it with the light color theme is almost essential and it fits in perfectly with the farm style sink and stainless steel appliances.
This is actually the home with Chip and Joanna Gaines and it can be seen, with the full tour, over at Country Living.
8. Front Porches
Well, not every house that Chip and Joanna did, had a front porch. I think that they are very classic and say “come on in”.
It’s a place to put a swing or a couple of rocking chairs and sit by and wave your neighbors as they drive-by either in their car or on their bicycles if they are your little neighbors.
This house was created for a set of newlyweds and the look can be seen at HGTV.
9. Be Romantic
I am a firm believer that a couple should not have a TV in their bedroom. I like this room because it adds a romantic feel with the chandelier up top.
This gives you time to unwind and truly be together without the distraction of everyday life, reminding you of why you ended up together in the first place.
Even if you are not a part of a couple this is your opportunity to unwind and be at your best.
For more of this, head over to Bethany Mitchell homes.
10. Create definition
When Chip and Joanna’s customer decided on this house the first thing that they did was add the faux window or Dormir to the roof.
This really took the house from drab to fabulous looking. Along with a new coat of paint, it turns the house almost inside out.
For more information on the baby blue house head over to Magnolia market.
11. The Little Things
When HGTV talked about this house they told us about how everything in the entire house was redesigned. When looking through the pictures though what I noticed was the garage doors.
Very bland on the outside in the beginning giving them the windows and little design pieces on the edges really brought it together.
I know that whenever we build or buy our house we are going to have a very large garage so this is something that I will consider for our place as well.
12. Design for the Times
We all know that we have seasons in life. This is the same house as the one posted in the section before, however, the key point here is bunk beds. The family who bought this house had older children who have already moved out.
They wanted to make sure they have enough room for each of their children to stay whenever events such as Christmas came around.
What I really like about the bunkbeds is how each of them has their own light area.
When building a house, or re-designing a house, it is important to remember where you’re at in life and where you’re going.
13. It’s Not All Country
While I love Chip and Joanna’s clean country style I have to admit I also really like the industrial look, especially whenever you’re looking at houses in bigger cities.
Well, I’m not entirely sure which episode this one was on because it makes me feel like it was probably built for someone that lives in downtown Waco.
Giving a house in the city of Waco the feel of being in a big city is probably a great idea, as Waco is smack dab between two major metropolitan areas
To see more ideas head over to Style Me Pretty Living.
14. Tear Down that Wall
In the famous words of Ronald Reagan, Joanna Gaines chooses to tear down walls. In doing so she gets most of the houses a nice space to it.
With this particular house, she got rid of the area that separated the kitchen from the dining room. In doing so she made the space much more bright.
Head over to HGTV to see the Fixer Upper house that I passed by every day last school year.
15. Know What You Love…
A bachelor moving back from New York City decided to buy this place and have Chip and Joanna fix it up. One of the things that he had made sure of, was to put a coffee bar in his kitchen area.
It’s important when creating your house to remember to include things that you love, otherwise, you’ll never want to be there.
To see more of this creation head over to HGTV.
16. … And Don’t Be Afraid
Sometimes putting the things that you love in the smallest of places really works.
For example, Chip and Joanna really wanted a library area in their bed and breakfast at Magnolia market. Putting it underneath the stairs made the most sense and gave them the best use of that space.
17. See the Beauty Within
Sometimes we drive-by old houses and don’t even realize it or think about what they once were or what they could become.
That is one area where Chip and Joanna are different and it suits them very well. For this particular House, they managed to get one heckuva bargain. Originally the house was priced at $140,000 which is not unusual for something like that around this area. However, since the house has been sitting for the last two years, the owners manage to get it for a whopping $50,000.
As shown in the paragraph above sometimes it really does pay to see the beauty within!
18. Lighting
At one point my husband and I previously thought we were going to get by the house that we were renting. So my husband did a little bit of renovating to the house including changing out the light fixtures. It is amazing to me how much difference changing out light fixtures really can do, and I feel like this picture of the foyer really shows you just how much a light fixture can change the look of a room.
So if you’re looking for an inexpensive way to give your room a new look, this would be a perfect excuse to head over to a housing supply store and get what you need- a new light.
Head over to HGTV to see the rest.
19. Down the Wall
It seems Joanna really likes the idea of having a straight area where the appliances are put. In addition to that, she also likes having an island. This definitely gives an opportunity for people to sit down and relax and watch the person cooking do their thing.
This is something that must’ve been a change within the past twenty or thirty years as houses before that had very tight, confined spaces in the kitchen area.
20. Conclusion: A place to relax
I think one of the things that makes Chip and Joanna Gaines so widely popular and their success on the television series and in life, is that they help feed our desires for comfort.
They have at least what seems to be a beautiful marriage, and beautiful children. They also build homes that most people would dream of living in, giving us the best of both worlds.
It is important to remember that we can do the same thing little by little, day by day.