She’s one of the most popular stars on HGTV and proud owner of several businesses in Waco, Texas. Joanna Gaines rose to fame by starring on her own reality series, Fixer Upper, alongside her husband, Chip Gaines. Fans love to watch them balance raising a family of four children and juggle their real estate company, construction company, design firm, bakery and Magnolia empire. While Chip focuses more on real estate, Joanna is the mastermind behind the design. Lately, she’s been embarking on so many new projects — it’s hard to keep up! Despite opening up her life to HGTV’s cameras, there’s still a few things we don’t know about her. Here’s are 10 things you probably didn’t know about Joanna Gaines:
10. She’s Got a Green Thumb
Not only is she a mom, decorator, cook and business owner, she’s also got a bit of a green thumb! When Joanna found out one of her clients were going to tear down an old greenhouse on their property, she stepped in and took it off their hands. It now sits on their property and every night after dinner she goes out back to tend to her plants. She grows roses, oranges, lemons, limes and fresh herbs.
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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.
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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.”
Source: magnoliamarket.com
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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.
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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.
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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.
Courtesy Matilda Jane
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.