A Day in the Life of Chip and Joanna Gaines

Tag along with HGTV Magazine as they spend a day with the busiest twosome in Waco, TX — the hosts of Fixer Upper.

From: HGTV Magazine

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Photo By: Larsen&Talbert

Chip and Joanna Gaines

The Fixer Upper hosts stand outside their home furnishings shop, Magnolia Market. Their 1953 jeep is stationed by the entrance so customers can take pictures with it.

From: HGTV Magazine

Wake Up: 5:30 a.m.

The default alarm ringtone on Joanna’s (beat-up) iPhone buzzes bright and early. Chip wakes up on his own around 5 — no alarm needed!

From: HGTV Magazine

Feed the Animals: 7:00 a.m.

Chip tends to their extended clan, which includes 23 cows, 21 goats, 1 turkey, 1 horse, 2 roosters, 2 bunnies, 1 guinea pig, 3 dogs, 2 cats, and “infinite chickens,” he says.

From: HGTV Magazine

Eat Breakfast: 7:30 a.m.

Even on weekday mornings, Joanna whips up something hot, and the family eats together in the kitchen. The rotation includes biscuits and gravy, pancakes, and eggs with toast.

From: HGTV Magazine

Get Ready: 8:00 a.m.

With four kiddos — Drake, 11; Ella 9; Duke, 8; and Emmie, 6 — to hurry out the door, Joanna gets dressed before they wake up. Her secret: “At night I shower and dry my hair, so in the morning I only have to curl it.”

From: HGTV Magazine

Leave for Work: 8:15 a.m.

Joanna takes her coffee to go — tons of cream, no sugar — and she and Chip head off for the day. Their 1895 farmhouse sits on the outskirts of Waco, about 20 minutes from downtown.

From: HGTV Magazine

Drive into Town: 8:30 a.m.

They head across a lake and through pastures — talk about a scenic commute! “Chip always makes me look out the window for deer,” says Joanna. “We’re usually talking on the way to work. We don’t even have the radio on.”

From: HGTV Magazine

Stop at the Store: 8:45 a.m.

There’s usually a line of customers waiting outside the design duo’s store, Magnolia Market, before it opens at 10 a.m. About 15,000 people visit the shop every week.

From: HGTV Magazine

Style the Shelves: 9:00 a.m.

Before customers arrive, Chip and Joanna get the store ready for the day. Joanna likes prepping the place with fresh flowers from Wolfe Wholesale Florist in Waco.

From: HGTV Magazine

Chip's Corner: 9:15 a.m.

Chip has his own area in the store, where he sells the tools and gadgets he uses most and his favorite cotton Magnolia tees.

From: HGTV Magazine

Water Break: 9:50 a.m.

Joanna constantly has H₂0 on hand. Her goal is 125 ounces a day. “It used to be 100, but I just bumped it up,” she says.

From: HGTV Magazine

Film the Show: 12:30 p.m.

The couple spends most of the day filming Fixer Upper, scooting between the five or six houses they’re working on at once.

From: HGTV Magazine

Go Over Blueprints: 3:15 p.m.

Between takes, the multitaskers approve plans for home renos and for their new bakery, Magnolia Flour, due to open in May.

From: HGTV Magazine

Make Dinner: 5:30 p.m.

Joanna cooks most nights — today it’s chicken potpie — and the kids love to help. “It gets crazy with all four at one time, so I have to split them up,” she says.

From: HGTV Magazine

Dinnertime: 6:30 p.m.

Perfect for a 40-acre farm, an old-fashioned triangle bell lets everyone know when food is ready.

From: HGTV Magazine

Work in the Greenhouse: 7:15 p.m.

Joanna scored the greenhouse structure from a client who had planned to tear it down. Inside it she and the girls grow roses; miniature orange, lemon, and lime trees; and fresh herbs year-round.

From: HGTV Magazine

Play in the Yard: 7:30 p.m.

In the yard Chip and the kids like to throw a ball around after dinner. “He loves sending a football soaring to see how fast the boys can run,” says Joanna.

From: HGTV Magazine

Almost Bedtime: 8:30 p.m.

By now everyone’s wiped out. That’s Bear pictured. He’s half Anatolian shepherd, half Great Pyrenees.

From: HGTV Magazine

Relax on the Couch: 10:30 p.m.

After the kids go to bed, Chip and Joanna chat about the next day’s plans, and Joanna finally checks her email. “I return messages so late that my friends get annoyed,” she says. “They’ll send funny pictures to grab my attention.” Lights-out is around midnight.

From: HGTV Magazine

Fixer Upper

A Day in the Life of Chip and Joanna Gaines

Related To:

Shop This Look

Chip and Joanna Gaines

Wake Up: 5:30 a.m.

Feed the Animals: 7:00 a.m.

Eat Breakfast: 7:30 a.m.

Get Ready: 8:00 a.m.

Leave for Work: 8:15 a.m.

Drive into Town: 8:30 a.m.

Stop at the Store: 8:45 a.m.

Style the Shelves: 9:00 a.m.

Chip's Corner: 9:15 a.m.

Water Break: 9:50 a.m.

Film the Show: 12:30 p.m.

Go Over Blueprints: 3:15 p.m.

Make Dinner: 5:30 p.m.

Dinnertime: 6:30 p.m.

Work in the Greenhouse: 7:15 p.m.

Play in the Yard: 7:30 p.m.

Almost Bedtime: 8:30 p.m.

Relax on the Couch: 10:30 p.m.

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