I love the smell of clean laundry. Working in the garden and getting my hands dirty. Doing the dishes. These are the things that make me feel normal.
Joanna Gaines
Be intentional with your space. Don't be afraid to step on a limb and design your home the way you love it.
I don't think confidence has ever really been one of those things that came naturally for me. If people thought I was confident, it was really just the way I masked my insecurity, because I didn't want people to really get to know the real me.
Once I tune in to the fact that my family receives my cooking for them as an act of love - that it's actually something that makes them feel cared for - it shifts my entire perspective.
I think when people have the freedom to tell their own story rather than trying to be specific to a certain design or style, there's more freedom, and it ends up feeling more like home. Those spaces we see in magazines and on the Internet are beautiful, but if there's not that story there, then it's going to lack that feeling of home.
Chip is like that kid, like the five-year-old kid that's trying to make his mom breakfast, and there's milk everywhere.
I remember, when we first got married, the only money we had was what was in Chip's pocket. He always had a wad of cash, but we were broke. If I needed to go grocery shopping, it's whatever was in his pocket. That's how we paid the bills.
People might think Chip is just this goofy guy, and he is a goofy guy. But he's also the bravest person I know.
In our house, dinner is synonymous with family time. Recently, it has felt like the best chance for all of us to really connect - something that I find myself wanting more of as my kids are getting older.
I had to learn that this whole God thing isn't just this big religion. It's really that He wants this relationship with us on a personal level.
When you are married to a guy who takes chances every day, who loves risk and has great intuition and great business instincts - when you're married to someone like that who pushes you to dream big, you dream big.
I was actually a communications major and had never done design.
If you give Chip a boundary, he's going to break that boundary. If you give him a rule, he's not going to follow it. And if you tell him, 'You can't go over this line,' he's going to put his toe over it.
With my job, I am designing spaces for families on a weekly basis, and that is where I get my creative outlet.
A few years ago, I realized I was decorating and designing my house around what was beautiful rather than practical for my family. When I made that realization, everything kind of clicked for me. I started being intentional about designing spaces with my kids in mind rather than picture-perfect rooms.
Texans know how to make people feel welcome.
I had always had a dream to open up a boutique of some sort.
Chip is the risk-taker. He's all about the big picture but with a get-it-done attitude, and sometimes I'd rather play it safe and really focus my energy on the details.
At the core of the Magnolia brand is the desire to make homes beautiful but with a focus on family and practicality. We want to create spaces that families want to gather in.
If you haven't heard my story, my mom is full Korean, and my dad is Caucasian. Kids in kindergarten would make fun of me for being Asian, and when you're that age, you don't know really how to process that; the way you take that is, 'Who I am isn't good enough.'
For the most part, my house stays the same over the years. I tend to design with pieces that feel timeless to me, so I'm not constantly rearranging my home.
I try my best to keep the house looking clean, but honestly, with four kids, you can find plenty of messes. I don't have a special technique other than I can't focus when the house is a wreck, so cleaning is therapeutic for me. That works in my favor sometimes.
If I didn't have Chip Gaines in my life, I'd still be dreaming in my head - but not acting out on any of that, not living it out.
Waco is such a resilient town... this city has seen its fair share of hardships, but it always bounces back better and stronger.
Since Chip and I try to go on a date night once a week, we don't feel the need to keep holidays like Valentine's Day all to ourselves. We set the table fancy, we all get dressed up, and we serve a big, beautiful candlelight dinner. It's our kids' favorite, too.
Marriage requires effort and time and talking and connecting. You have to maintain it.
