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Chip and Joanna Gaines Reflect on FIXER UPPER Ahead of 10th Anniversary: ‘Grace of God’

Chip and Joanna Gaines Reflect on FIXER UPPER Ahead of 10th Anniversary: ‘Grace of God’

By Movieguide® Contributor

Chip and Joanna Gaines are reflecting on their FIXER UPPER journey as they celebrate 10 years of their hit show with a special lakehouse project.

“Chip found a set of plans in this lakehouse that showed the house was built in 1965 and the husband loved mid-century modern style and the wife loved that Spanish revival style,” Joanna told Variety. “And you see this blend of them trying to work it out. There was something about that, me thinking about going back to the ’60s, that this husband and wife were really trying to go out with different opinions and create this interesting little baby.”

“And then there had been a renovation in the ’90s where you see a lot of the mid-century elements were removed and it got more contemporary. So for me, the challenge was getting it back to that ’65 look and that couple’s look. That was my favorite thing about this project,” Joanna shared.

The six-episode special follows Chip and Jo as they undertake the huge flip near Lake Waco, Texas.

“We feel honored that we get to continue pouring into the stories of these homes across Waco, and we’re excited to share our latest project with you this summer with FIXER UPPER: THE LAKEHOUSE,” the GainesES said in an HGTV press release.

Movieguide® recently reported:

“I think with this lakehouse, there’s something about it that just feels significant that this project landed on our 10-year FIXER UPPER anniversary. So, it kind of feels like it was really meant to be,” Joanna said in a video posted to her Instagram.

PEOPLE reported, “The couple’s original series, FIXER UPPER, debuted in May 2013 on HGTV and aired for five seasons before they announced in 2017 that it would be ending. After launching their own network, the Gaineses rebooted the show, first with FIXER UPPER: WELCOME HOME, which followed a similar format to the original and later with FIXER UPPER: THE CASTLE, and FIXER UPPER: THE HOTEL.”

The Gaines didn’t have an easy transition from flippers to HGTV stars ten years ago.

“We’ve gotten a lot better. Before, we were not in control of the circumstances, and rightfully so,” Chip told Variety. “They found us, they said, ‘Hey, do these things, show up at this time, what would you do next?’ So we were in control of the circumstances in regards to [what] we were going to do that particular day under those circumstances, but there were people in the background catching what they thought was interesting. And what I didn’t know about television and construction is they’re not terribly compatible.”

Now, the couple has grown their industry exponentially. They’ve had several unscripted shows, created a kitchenware brand and have a large shopping and dining attraction in Waco.

“When you think about the original FIXER and the template of around 17 episodes a season and they were hourlong episodes and you’d get this reno within that hour, that’s TV gold,” Joanna said. “And we did that for five seasons and we worked our butts off for it and when we look back, we don’t know how we did it. It was so much going on, because not only were we doing the show and these renovations, we were doing other renovations, and doing Magnolia, which is the retail side and growing that business as well.”

Not to mention they were also parenting five young kids.

“There are easy things to put together, like when Jo goes and does a cooking show, it’s been beautiful to watch,” Chip added. “That’s a compatible source; you can take this thought and you can take this industry, which is the TV side of the business, and you can put those together fairly seamlessly. With construction and real customers and real timelines, these are complicated oil-and-water realities to mix together. We were the tail and there was a dog wagging us, years and years ago, and it was fine. And it worked out and by the grace of God, we learned a lot and we all made it out alive.”

With loads of success behind them and more on the horizon, the couple is considering what they want to “focus on in this season of our life.”

“The reason why FIXER looks different now and how these seasons have evolved is these seasons truly are this one house where we take it a little slower,” Jo said. “I’ve found that when you do these episodes where it’s one show, I can actually think as the designer and the contractor and the production side, take it in and enjoy the process.”

“Before, you didn’t get to stop and enjoy anything, you just kept moving. It’s FIXER, it’s just FIXER evolved. And who knows, maybe one day we’ll be back doing it that way.”

Over the years, the Gaines have found some oddities in the process of flipping houses.

“It’s always in the primary bedroom. You wonder what filming has taken place in there,” Joanna added. “Some of those things I block out. It is typically things we find in the bedroom that we may not even show because we like to keep it family friendly.”

“But I think in every house, you find something that you’re like, what do you do with that? But it makes me so happy when people just do things to their home, from a design standpoint, if it makes you happy and it makes sense to you,” she continued.

“This project was so fun and it’s definitely one of my favorite renovations!” Joanna said about THE LAKEHOUSE on Sunday, “Can’t wait for you to see it??.”


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