HGTV's Joanna Gaines Shows Us An Aesthetic Way To Store Firewood For Convenience

An attractive and cozy fireplace surround is one of the best ways to bring warmth to a room and create a dynamic focal point to arrange furniture and other objects around. Whether your fireplace is real or faux, wood-burning or gas, one crucial element of that coziness is a stack of logs, which is either necessary fuel or a purely decorative accent. In either case, it can give your space a rustic cabin-like feel all year long. Numerous options are available for wood storage, including baskets and DIY racks, but Joanna Gaines took to Instagram to show off a stylish alternative in one of her designs, which incorporates built-in storage for logs in the form of recessed compartments dedicated solely to that purpose.

For a wood-burning stove or fireplace, the practicality is obvious since keeping a good stash of wood fireside prevents having to take too many trips outdoors to get more. For gas or flameless hearths, the visual addition of fireside logs is more of an aesthetic enhancement that gives a more authentic and cabin-like feel to the space. 

Joanna Gaines uses shelving units on either side of a wood-burning stove to create a space for logs, forming a half-wall with the wood stored in deep cubbies. The storage units match the black matte of the stove, which highlights the ruddy texture and warmth of the wood itself. She also showcases a fireplace with a small square cubby custom-built into the surround that stores a stash of wood. Another design incorporates this element on a larger scale by creating a massive storage compartment for a large supply that comes in particularly handy if you use the wood for fuel. The large compartment is made from the same gray marble that fronts the fireplace surround, continuing the wall.  

Whether they're used for fuel or it's just purely decorative, wood storage compartments, shelves, or cubbies are a great way to increase the size and decorative impact of the surround. The mantle, hearth, and surrounding materials play just as much a role in the visual impact as the fireplace itself.

While large wood storage capabilities are ideal for fireplaces that need to burn wood to function, this look can work no matter the size of your hearth, the type of space, or whether or not your fireplace actually burns wood. If you have a gas fireplace, try a small stash of wood in a nearby cubby that will remain full and add a rustic feel to the hearth. If you cannot build a new surround, using nearby shelves or square cubby units can provide a similar feel — a look that also works for faux fireplaces. 

IKEA storage units can be an inexpensive and easy way to add cubbies where you need them, like this smaller KALLAX unit that can be mounted to the wall. For freestanding wood storage with a similar look, try this compact metal unit from Amazon. If you have a non-working fireplace or a faux mantel, consider storing wood in the fireplace cavity.

If you are pinched for space, you can get a similar look by incorporating more two-dimensional approaches, like a peel-and-stick log wallpaper available from Home Depot, near your fireplace to mimic the look of a recessed space or a DIY faux fireplace screen that uses wood rounds.