Things You Might Not Know About HGTV Star Joanna Gaines

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9. Her Favorite Room

The kitchen in their adorable farmhouse is arguably the most beautiful room in their house, but surprisingly, Joanna told Today that her favorite space is the laundry room! “I love my laundry room. I know that’s a funny thing to love, but this summer I gave it a complete makeover and now it’s a place that inspires me,” she said. What she loves best about it is that it’s full of natural light and it’s cozy.

A post shared by Joanna Stevens Gaines (@joannagaines) on Sep 20, 2016 at 3:22pm PDT

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8. One Piece of Furniture She’ll Never Sell

Joanna’s favorite piece of furniture is an antique tavern table. She bought it back in 2003 and it now sits in her newly decorated laundry room. The table holds such a special place in her heart that she’s said it’s the one thing from her Magnolia boutique that she’ll never sell. “I never wanted to sell it because it was the first investment I made in the shop. I’ve held onto it for 13 years, and now it’s finally settled in this space and it’s the perfect place to fold laundry and drink coffee.”

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7. Early Bird

In an interview with HGTV, Joanna said she’s an early riser! Most days, she and Chip get up at around 5 a.m. in order to get all four kids ready for school and out the door and feed all the animals on their farm. Joanna makes sure she’s up and dressed before all the kids. To save time she takes her showers at night. What’s most impressive about her? She gets all four kids out the door by 8 a.m., and cooks a hot breakfast each morning. A typical breakfast is either biscuits and gravy, pancakes, or eggs with toast. For herself she simply grabs a coffee with cream to go.

A post shared by Joanna Stevens Gaines (@joannagaines) on Sep 14, 2014 at 6:57pm PDT

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6. Protective Father

From the sounds of it, Joanna’s father was very protective of his daughter when she first married Chip. He was concerned about their financial situation, especially Chips choice of career. “Her dad spent the first two years of our marriage asking me if I was going to get a job,” said Chip. “I was like, ‘I have a job. I really like my job. I flip houses, I’ve got some rental properties, I do some construction. That’s a job. It’s a full-time deal.” Joanna chimed in and said they pretended like they had money, but really they were broke. “The only money we had was what was in Chip’s pocket,” she said.

Happy Father’s Day to you Dad! Learned a lot from this amazing man. I love you!

A post shared by Joanna Stevens Gaines (@joannagaines) on Jun 15, 2014 at 6:24pm PDT

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5. Clothing Designer

Besides her husband and family, Joanna’s one true love is decorating, but lately she’s also developed a passion for fashion. The reality star collaborated with Matilda Jane Clothing to create a brand new line of girls clothing. “It was a really natural partnership since I love their clothing line so much. My girls have been wearing Matilda Jane for years, so the thought of being a part of this collection was really exciting to me,” she said in an interview with People. She also said her girls, Emmie and Ella, were a big part of the design process.

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4. Chip is her Biggest Supporter

Joanna credits Chip for her success. “When you are married to a guy who takes chances every day, who loves risk and has great intuition and great business instincts…you dream big. I think if I would have married someone safe, I would have never even tried to open up my own business, where chip was like, ‘If you have a dream, go for it,'” she said. The couple now have their own mini empire in Waco, Texas, with a reality show, construction company, and the Magnolia Market, which is not only a retail store, but also an outdoor recreation area with food trucks and a stage for live music. Joanna hands picks every item at the boutique and designs each piece in their furniture collection. She also just launched her own wallpaper, paint lines and textile collection.

A post shared by Joanna Stevens Gaines (@joannagaines) on Jan 3, 2017 at 4:50pm PST

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3. No Background in Design

Joanna has a natural knack for decorating, but many viewers would be surprised to learn she has absolutely no background in it! “I was actually a communications major and had never done design. I had always had the dream to open up a boutique of some sort. I didn’t know what kind of boutique, but we found this little fixer upper building and tackled that project together in the first year of marriage, and that’s when Magnolia opened, our retail location. I sold a bunch of products that would go in the home,” she said.

A post shared by Joanna Stevens Gaines (@joannagaines) on Aug 17, 2016 at 2:06pm PDT

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2. Loves Being Off the Grid

Chip and Joanna have such chaotic lives, so they like to tone it down whenever and whatever way they can. This is why they live on a farm 20 minutes outside of town in Waco, Texas. “A big part of moving out to the country was to disconnect and enjoy being with our family,” she said in an interview with Today. Many people would also be surprised to learn that even though she starts on her own reality show, she doesn’t own a television! She also doesn’t allow her children to have cell phones.

A post shared by Joanna Stevens Gaines (@joannagaines) on Feb 17, 2017 at 8:50pm PST

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1. Loves to Bake and Cook

In addition to filming a hit reality show on HGTV and running a company with more than 450 employees and raising their family with four kids, Joanna cooks dinner most nights. Thankfully, she has her little helpers! “It gets crazy with all four at one time, so I have to split them up,” said Joanna. Her love for cooking and baking is one of the reasons she opened up her own bakery located right across the street from the Magnolia Market, which is called Silos Baking Co.

A post shared by Joanna Stevens Gaines (@joannagaines) on Feb 21, 2017 at 3:02pm PST

Katherine G

Katherine is the Managing Editor for Health and Parenting, but she has a soft spot for entertainment. She loves binging shows on Netflix, reality TV is a guilty pleasure, and country music is her go-to playlist. When she's not writing, she's spending time outdoors, especially with her puppy Zoey!