Joanna Gaines Shares A Sleek Blended Storage Solution You'll Want In Your Own Kitchen

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Conventional kitchen design wisdom would say that the style of your cabinets should match and that they should be the same color. However, while uniformity in design is common in most kitchens and can give the room a calm vibe, there is something to be said for mixing modern cabinet styles. According to the design sensibilities of Joanna Gaines on the season 5, episode 5 of "Fixer Upper" mixing architectural features, like open shelves, along with classic white upper cabinets and modern-style bottom cabinets, make a kitchen look more spacious.

Here's why. Gaines used those disparate architectural features to create visual contrast with the cabinets. Contrast is an interior design principle that embraces the idea that if you put two or more opposing elements next to each other, like two different textures or colors, each individual element will appear more pronounced. By positioning the open shelves next to the white cabinets, the celeb designer made both features stand out. At the same time, they didn't visually drown each other out, either. Same goes for the white painted upper cabinets and the plain wood lower cabinets. Gaines tapped the architectural features to create standout storage options in the kitchen. However, this only scratches the surface of how you can use specific design features to create cool storage options. Gaines utilized several other principles to make the most of the storage space in the kitchen in question. More importantly, you can take inspiration from her work and go beyond it to give yourself more cabinet space in your abode.

On the open wall adjacent to the cabinets, Joanna Gaines hung two metal bars. Hooks were added to the bars and pots and pans were hung on them, creating a pot storage rack. Rather than taking up valuable cupboard space to store the pots and pans, she took advantage of a blank wall. The rack itself came with an extra decorative bonus. Since the kitchen boasts a Mediterranean style, the black metal rack offered Gaines another way to express the room's unique decorating theme.

It's possible to apply these storage principles to your kitchen, even if you don't have an open wall. All that is required is some open space, which, in many cases, can also be found on the ceiling. Many kitchens feature metal pot racks that hang from the ceiling. To support their weight, metal hooks are screwed into the ceiling's joists. The rack itself is hung on the hooks by chains. This facilitates ease-of-use because the chains can be lengthened or shortened to allow home gourmands to reach the pots and pans easily. The materials you'd use to build the racks would be largely dependent on the decorative style of the room. Gaines opted for the black metal because it fits the room's Mediterranean decorative style. However, this element could just as easily be constructed out of wood or a combination of materials. Finally, some products, like the KES Ceiling Pot Rack, have storage space on the top of them to help create even more organization.

Architectural features like cabinets are permanent, but your storage solutions don't necessarily have to be. It's not unusual to see free-standing hutch cupboards in or around the kitchen, depending on the layout of the room. These come with a couple of advantages. First, you're not required to make expensive architectural changes to the kitchen to get more cabinet space. Second, it's possible to find pieces that match your decorative motif, which means they'll blend right in, even if they're not a part of the original architecture.

Additionally, many of them apply the same design principles that Gaines used when she redesigned the cabinets in the La Pequena Colina house. That is, the design of these free-standing cabinets often feature both open and closed shelves, as well as countertops made of building materials that are different from the rest — i.e. a plain wood countertop juxtaposed next to painted cabinets and floating shelves. Finally, if you only need a smidgen more storage to store items like your silverware caddie, or to give yourself some extra counter space to cut vegetables or carve meat on, the Rolling FÖRHÖJA Cart from IKEA does the job nicely. The added bonus that comes with a piece like this is that it's movable. You can take to where you need it, when you need it, and then move it out of the way once your cooking tasks are done.