Joanna Gaines’ Simple-yet-Brilliant Trick for Making Open Kitchens a Million Times Better

Joanna Gaines is always finding and repurposing old stuff. And while she has a great eye for mixing and matching, she knows that too much cool stuff still looks like too much stuff.

Instead of focusing on your fabulous one-of-a-kind treasures, your eye gets overwhelmed by the visual “noise” and each room begins to feel like a different theme. A way to combat this and still showcase your thrifted finds is to pick a design anchor like a pattern or color, and use that in each room so your whole space has cohesion.

In season one, episode ten of the hit HGTV show, Jo takes the client’s love of herringbone pattern and cleverly works it into rooms throughout the house. In the kitchen, it’s the backsplash pattern. Using simple subway tiles in this interesting way elevates the space.

Related: 3 Reasons Why Open Floor Plans Actually Aren’t All That Great

In the dining room, Jo creates a hearth for the existing fireplace out of brick, also in a herringbone pattern. Jumping off from there, you could add herringbone in your bedding, draperies, or hand towels. 

If pattern isn’t your thing, use a favorite color.

This post originally ran on Apartment Therapy. See it there: The One Trick Joanna Gaines Uses to Make Spaces Cohesive