Chip and Joanna Gaines are welcoming the next generation into their already blooming Magnolia world. Their 19-year-old daughter, Ella, is stepping into the spotlight for the first time, joining her parents on the new HGTV series “Fixer Upper: Colorado Mountain House,” which premiered on October 28. “This is our first out-of-Central-Texas project. I want it to feel like something that I put together for my family,” Joanna said in the show’s teaser.
She revealed that Chip had suggested bringing their daughter into the design process. “Chip had an idea to have our daughter design the little cottage,” she explained.
A smiling Ella then appears on camera, ready to take on the task. “I’m accepting the challenge,” she said, officially marking her debut in the family’s expanding renovation empire.
From Waco to the Rockies: A Family Passion Continues
Magnolia NetworkHouse
“Fixer Upper: Colorado Mountain House” marks the Gaines family’s first project outside of their beloved Texas roots. For Joanna, it’s a full-circle moment watching Ella step into the creative world she and Chip built from the ground up.
The HGTV stars have kept mainly their five children out of the public eye since stepping away from their original “Fixer Upper” series in 2018.
At the time, Joanna explained the decision on her blog, writing, “This is just us recognizing that we need to catch our breath for a moment.” The couple focused on family life while expanding their Magnolia brand.
Now, years later, Ella’s appearance feels like a natural extension of her parents’ legacy and proof that the next generation of Gaines creativity is ready to bloom.
Joanna Reflects on Motherhood & Life at Home
Even as their business continues to evolve, Joanna remains deeply connected to home life. She recently shared her family’s traditions during an appearance on “Today,” revealing how she keeps her Waco farmhouse inviting.
“There’s a cake plate stand on the island that, since I first got married—it was like the first year, I got it for a wedding gift, and it was empty,” she said. “We had so many friends and family coming in, and I was like, ‘I need to start having something in there.’”
That habit stuck. “The rule is just kind of always have something on the cake plate stand for the family or for guests,” she added with a laugh. “It’s really me now, just eating the stuff, so that’s fun. It’s now for me.”
Ella’s Creative Roots & Future Plans
Ella’s design instincts have been evident since childhood. Back in 2018, Joanna shared a photo of her daughter’s copy of “Homebody,” her book on homemaking, filled with Ella’s sketches and notes. A year later, Joanna told People, “Ella is like me. I think she’ll follow in my footsteps and have her hand in a lot of things.”
That prediction is proving true. In a recent interview on the “Business of Home” podcast, Joanna revealed that Ella played an active role in Magnolia’s creative planning.
“She was interning with me, so she’d be in these meetings where I was like, y’all, I need vision. She was listening and she was interested,” Joanna said.
The mother-daughter duo even spent late nights brainstorming at the office. “She was writing things as I was saying, okay, if we do this, if we do that,” Joanna recalled. Ella, who recently left for college, has already shown the same creative spark that made her parents household names.
Whether designing a mountain retreat or sketching her next idea, she’s carrying forward the spirit of Magnolia, one home at a time.
