Chip and Joanna Gaines‘ eldest daughter, Ella Gaines, makes her “Fixer Upper” debut during the premiere episode of “Fixer Upper: Colorado Mountain House,” an emotional moment for the mother of five.
Ella Gaines Makes Her ‘Fixer Upper’ Debut
Ella, 19, is set to help her parents renovate their family’s Colorado mountain house, marking her first major design project.
“In true Colorado style, we had a surprise Spring snowstorm last night. But today, I’m excited because I’m here with my daughter Ella. Chip has always told Ella, ‘Hey, before you go to college, I want you to flip a house, do a project,'” Joanna said during the Tuesday, December 9, premiere of their newest series. “She’s always mentioned that she wants to do something in design. We’ve actually looked for houses in Waco, [but] didn’t find anything. But Chip had this fun idea to let her tackle the little cottage as her first design project.”
The studio casita features wood-paneled walls, a small loft accessible via a metal ladder, a full kitchen, and one bathroom.
“The equivalent of a she shed,” Chip explained.
According to Jo, she and Ella are “very similar in our styles.”
“We both love plants, we love charming, cottagey things, we love story,” the Magnolia owner said. “So my biggest hope with letting her tackle this cottage is that it builds confidence in her.”
Joanna continued, “The idea that my daughter who is now an adult, has decided to take on what her mother does, and I get to teach her—I don’t know, it just feels like this beautiful full circle moment.”
Ella Gaines’ Design Style Revealed
Ella, a student at New York City’s Parsons School of Design, previously interned for her parents’ company.
“One of my favorite moments that was so pivotal for me as a mother, but also as a business owner, was my daughter, my oldest daughter, was in on a lot of these conversations before our break in June, that I was having with the team,” Joanna told Dennis Scully during an April appearance on his “Business of Home” podcast. “She was interning with me, so she’d be in these meetings where I was like, y’all, I need vision. Like, we need to get back to why we’re doing what we’re doing. And so she was listening, and she was interested.”
While tackling her first project—the Colorado Mountain House’s cottage—Ella was able to make all the design decisions.
“I’d love it to feel like a little cottage,” she said during the premiere episode. “I think I would love, like, greens and blues. I think it would be fun. There was one that was…yes! I think this one is such a cute [color],” she added, pointing to a “moody” tone.
Joanna—who also shares sons Drake, Duke and Crew, as well as daughter Emmie with her husband—supported her daughter’s decision.
“There is really no wrong answer. You get to do whatever you want. If you want to paint it black, I’m going to let you paint it black,” she told Ella. “You know, there’s this general rule, in smaller spaces, the lighter the color, it makes it feel bigger. I don’t know if our goal is to make it feel bigger. We want it to feel moody. I want you to feel like if your gut is dark, we go dark. “
She went on to list Ella’s “homework”: Picking finishes.
“I need to know what kind of flooring, paint color, light fixtures. And then, do you want to keep these closets?” Joanna listed, adding kitchen countertop and backsplash options, cabinet paint colors, bathroom mirrors, and more.
Fans can follow along as Ella tackles her first big project as the three-part series, “Fixer Upper: Colorado Mountain House,” airs Tuesdays on HGTV.
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