diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/colorbar.py b/lib/matplotlib/colorbar.py
@@ -33,6 +33,9 @@
 import matplotlib.contour as contour
 import matplotlib.artist as martist
 
+import matplotlib.gridspec as gridspec
+
+
 make_axes_kw_doc = '''
 
     ============= ====================================================
@@ -122,6 +125,11 @@
   *ax*
     None | parent axes object from which space for a new
     colorbar axes will be stolen
+  *use_gridspec*
+    False | If *cax* is None, a new *cax* is created as an instance of
+    Axes. If *ax* is an instance of Subplot and *use_gridspec* is True,
+    *cax* is created as an instance of Subplot using the
+    grid_spec module. 
 
 
 Additional keyword arguments are of two kinds:
@@ -845,3 +853,97 @@ def make_axes(parent, **kw):
     cax = fig.add_axes(pbcb)
     cax.set_aspect(aspect, anchor=anchor, adjustable='box')
     return cax, kw
+
+
+@docstring.Substitution(make_axes_kw_doc)
+def make_axes_gridspec(parent, **kw):
+    '''
+    Resize and reposition a parent axes, and return a child axes
+    suitable for a colorbar. This function is similar to
+    make_axes. Prmary differences are
+
+     * *make_axes_gridspec* should only be used with a subplot parent.
+
+     * *make_axes* creates an instance of Axes. *make_axes_gridspec*
+        creates an instance of Subplot.
+
+     * *make_axes* updates the position of the
+        parent. *make_axes_gridspec* replaces the grid_spec attribute
+        of the parent with a new one.
+
+    While this function is meant to be compatible with *make_axes*,
+    there could be some minor differences.::
+
+        cax, kw = make_axes_gridspec(parent, **kw)
+
+    Keyword arguments may include the following (with defaults):
+
+        *orientation*
+            'vertical'  or 'horizontal'
+
+    %s
+
+    All but the first of these are stripped from the input kw set.
+
+    Returns (cax, kw), the child axes and the reduced kw dictionary.
+    '''
+
+    orientation = kw.setdefault('orientation', 'vertical')
+    fraction = kw.pop('fraction', 0.15)
+    shrink = kw.pop('shrink', 1.0)
+    aspect = kw.pop('aspect', 20)
+
+    x1 = 1.0-fraction
+
+    # for shrinking
+    pad_s = (1.-shrink)*0.5
+    wh_ratios = [pad_s, shrink, pad_s]
+
+    gs_from_subplotspec = gridspec.GridSpecFromSubplotSpec
+    if orientation == 'vertical':
+        pad = kw.pop('pad', 0.05)
+        wh_space = 2*pad/(1-pad)
+
+        gs = gs_from_subplotspec(1, 2,
+                                 subplot_spec=parent.get_subplotspec(),
+                                 wspace=wh_space,
+                                 width_ratios=[x1-pad, fraction]
+                                 )
+
+        gs2 = gs_from_subplotspec(3, 1,
+                                  subplot_spec=gs[1],
+                                  hspace=0.,
+                                  height_ratios=wh_ratios,
+                                  )
+
+        anchor = (0.0, 0.5)
+        panchor = (1.0, 0.5)
+    else:
+        pad = kw.pop('pad', 0.15)
+        wh_space = 2*pad/(1-pad)
+
+        gs = gs_from_subplotspec(2, 1,
+                                 subplot_spec=parent.get_subplotspec(),
+                                 hspace=wh_space,
+                                 height_ratios=[x1-pad, fraction]
+                                 )
+
+        gs2 = gs_from_subplotspec(1, 3,
+                                  subplot_spec=gs[1],
+                                  wspace=0.,
+                                  width_ratios=wh_ratios,
+                                  )
+
+        aspect = 1.0/aspect
+        anchor = (0.5, 1.0)
+        panchor = (0.5, 0.0)
+
+    parent.set_subplotspec(gs[0])
+    parent.update_params()
+    parent.set_position(parent.figbox)
+    parent.set_anchor(panchor)
+
+    fig = parent.get_figure()
+    cax = fig.add_subplot(gs2[1])
+    cax.set_aspect(aspect, anchor=anchor, adjustable='box')
+    return cax, kw
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/figure.py b/lib/matplotlib/figure.py
@@ -1177,8 +1177,12 @@ def colorbar(self, mappable, cax=None, ax=None, **kw):
         """
         if ax is None:
             ax = self.gca()
+        use_gridspec = kw.pop("use_gridspec", False)
         if cax is None:
-            cax, kw = cbar.make_axes(ax, **kw)
+            if use_gridspec and isinstance(ax, SubplotBase):
+                cax, kw = cbar.make_axes_gridspec(ax, **kw)
+            else:
+                cax, kw = cbar.make_axes(ax, **kw)
         cax.hold(True)
         cb = cbar.Colorbar(cax, mappable, **kw)