A Fixer Upper Holiday

Joanna and Chip Gaines get their Kriss Kringle on early. Each year by December 1, the <i>Fixer Upper</i> stars’ 1895 farmhouse on the outskirts of Waco, TX, is holiday-ready, complete with a trimmed tree and a wreath on the side of the barn. “This season warms my heart,” says Joanna. “I want to celebrate it as long—and as simply—as I can.” 

A homespun yule comes naturally to Joanna, who’s decorated the four-bedroom farmhouse in her pared-down, rustic style. It’s the couple’s ninth home in 10 years and one of a series they’ve renovated and sold as part of their fix-it-and-flip-it business. While they’ve lived in everything from a cottage to a rancher, the farm and its 40 rambling acres—complete with cows, chickens, horses, and goats—is where they plan to stay. “It’s a great place for raising a family,” she says. “And making Christmas memories.” 

Dotted with leafy oak trees, “the land captured my heart first, even before the house,” says Joanna. Although updated by the previous owner, the home wasn’t sized for a family of six. To boost the square footage from 1,700 to 3,600 square feet, the Gaines turned the unfinished attic into a guest bedroom, bathroom, multipurpose room, and crafts room, and added a first-floor master suite. Completing the transformation into a modern farmhouse: a new metal roof and crisp white paint (Alabaster by Sherwin-Williams).

Candy-cane-stripe stockings bring a festive feel to the room, which is anchored by neutral classics—deconstructed wing chairs and a linen-blend-upholstered sofa—that Joanna sells at her home decor store, Magnolia Market, in town. The rough-hewn metal and wood coffee table was a steal—less than $100 at an antiques shop.