How to Get the ‘Fixer Upper’ Look in Your Home

Written by Jenna on January 18, 2016.

I’m mildly obsessed with the show Fixer Upper. Who isn’t? I haven’t met anyone that doesn’t love the hugely popular HGTV design show.

The farm.

The goats.

That house.

Her gorgeous design style (and her boots).

His humor + wit.

Their love + playfulness.

Come on, it’s all perfection!

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Joanna and Chip – yes, we’re on a first name basis – are over-the-top outgoing, down to earth, and just plain ole’ REAL – if that’s not how they are in real life, they’re incredible actors. They just click with viewers and I, like most of you, become 110% wholeheartedly engaged as soon as I turn on the show. Even my kids love it.

BUT ASIDE from the couples fun loving personality, their design style is equally simple, chic, clean and most important of all, meaningful. They truly create homes that their clients – and us viewers – drool over.

To score a meeting with the fabulous design duo might be tricky, unless you live in their neck of the woods in Texas, but that doesn’t mean you can’t achieve a similar aesthetic in YOUR HOME.

You too can get the ‘fixer upper’ look. Here are 5 ways to do it…

Let’s break it down…

NEUTRAL HUES

Once Chip finishes the shell, Joanna swoops in to put her magical touches on the interiors to truly make the renovated house into a home. Most of the spaces that Joanna creates are a neutral color palette using varying shades of taupe, beige, gray, cream, white, and maybe a few accents of green and/or blue are thrown in. This chic, yet comfortable farmhouse, industrial aesthetic that she creates feels modern, but lived-in. It feels new, yet old.

The beauty of choosing a neutral palette throughout the home is to create flow + cohesiveness. Each room isn’t just a room on it’s one, but the multiple spaces become one; it’s the whole versus just the part. Layers of color can be introduced upon the neutrals, which can easily be swapped out with the changing seasons & holidays. But overall, neutral is quiet & serene. With the hustle + bustle of our lives, a calm palette is what’s needed to relax & rejuvenate.

Choosing a neutral color palette can be challenging because there needs to be substance in other ways. And that oomph is brought in through texture, which leads to the next idea for getting the fixer upper style…

VIA BHG.COM

TEXTURE

When using neutrals, texture is a must to introduce balance + depth.

So what does that mean & how do you do it? Add texture using pillows made of differing materials. Introduce chippy, distressed furniture. Maybe something with a glaze overlay. Bring in elements from the outdoors. Try a large wood bowl on the dining table or a rustic sign from a local vintage shop. Dimensional items add interest and texture will balance the neutral.

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ORGANIC ELEMENTS

From potted plants in a vase resting on a book to an entire greenhouse in the center of the home, Joanna consistently designs spaces introducing organic elements from the great outdoors. Whether using reclaimed wood to create a kitchen island or hanging floating wood shelves on a wall paired with industrial plumbing pipe, bringing the outdoors in is a huge component if trying to achieve the fixer upper look.

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WORDS

From their own home to their clients homes, the Gaines duo consistently incorporates sayings, signs, quotes, and everything in between with words.

Words are powerful. Words make a statement. And in the homes they create, words equal meaning.

HOME DESIGNED BY JOANNE + CHIP GAINES, VIA HGTV.COM

VIA LIZ MARIE BLOG

HOME DESIGNED BY JOANNE + CHIP GAINES, VIA HGTV.COM

THE DETAILS

The most important and often the most challenging part is pulling it all together with the details. From lighting to wall decor to accessories, the details are what pull it together to make a home complete. Joanna has impeccable taste + an incredible eye to add just enough to blend the new with the old. Elements that she introduces are meaningful and collected.

A house doesn’t become a home overnight. Take your time. Enjoy the hunt. Be inspired. Be creative. Have fun. Add in aged elements amongst the new + sleek. Create a space that is liveable + comfortable, yet not stark + bare. Don’t be afraid. What’s the worst that can happen if you put a nail hole in the wall? Make mistakes and learn from them – I’ve made plenty.

I adore this quote that Joanne shared, “I like to encourage women to always remember that their home is a reflection of their hearts and of their families, not a magazine or like someone elseâ€™s lifestyle. Keep it true to who you are. Itâ€™s important you love your home and that your children are inspired by it. I learned in our recent move that itâ€™s not about the curb appeal or amenitiesâ€¦itâ€™s about the spaces you create and who you create them for.”

So true!

VIA BHG.COM

HOME DESIGNED BY JOANNE + CHIP GAINES, VIA HGTV.COM

What makes the fixer upper style different?

As I was gathering inspiration for this post, I realized what sets the fixer upper style apart. Even though the overall spaces Joanna designs are neutral, they are so engaging, warm, and full of life. They evoke a sense of welcoming – exactly what a home should feel. New furniture is mixed with old. Modern blended with vintage. Function integrated with aesthetically beautiful.

Joanna’s style is not really unique, yet it totally is because of how it all comes together to read as one. It’s not about the individual items in the room, but instead how each item is brought together to create the whole. Her compositions are just simple, thoughtful, and meaningful.

20 words that describe the fixer upper style

Simple

Clean

White

Texture

Eclectic

Industrial

Shiplap

Farmhouse

Metal

Wood

Serene

Old

Organic

Aged

Rustic

Meaningful

Family-Friendly

Welcoming

Dramatic

Calming

I truly enjoyed putting this post together – more so than I thought I would – and dissecting the aesthetic of a designer I truly admire (and kinda want to be – yes, I’d love to have goats and live on a farm in a big ole farmhouse!). So many of you love the show Fixer Upper, as do I, but I think we are not only drawn to the gorgeous homes + beautiful rooms that are created, but the whole package of the Gaines pair.

Are y’all ready to see your fixer upper?

VIA HGTV.COM