We’ve both spent a lot of time attempting to figure out what it is we love so much about life on the farm and also why so many other people who watch our show seem drawn to it too. And what it comes down to is this: A farm is what inspired the both of us from the very beginning. It’s what inspired Chip as a young kid. It’s what inspired me as a young girl, in my daydreaming. And now we’re living our dream. We found our way to this place we love through all sorts of twists and turns and bumps and forks in the road. But we’re here.
It isn’t as if we’re trying to push our lifestyle on anyone. If we’re trying to push anything, it’s the hope that there’s contentment in the journey. Whether you are in an eight-hundred-square-foot home or living in a dream house on a lake, contentment is found on the way to the “farm,” not on the “farm” itself.
We both hope, with all of our hearts, that the people who read this book and watch our show and come to see what we’re working on in Waco will take a chance to go after their dreams too. Because the key to everything Chip and I have learned in our life together so far seems to be pretty simple: Go and find what it is that inspires you, go and find what it is that you love, and go do that until it hurts.
Don’t quit, and don’t give up. The reward is just around the corner. And in times of doubt or times of joy, listen for that still, small voice. Know that God has been there from the beginning—and he will be there until . . .
The End.
Q & A with Chip and Joanna
ON THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE SHOW>>>
Mark: Was there any push from the network or the producers to do something less authentic?
Joanna: Nothing. From the beginning they left it very unscripted. They don’t know this, but they would have found out if they tried—you cannot script Chip Gaines. He wouldn’t have lasted. I think that’s why we like going to work everyday, because there’s no script. We really enjoy it, it’s authentic, and I think that’s our end goal in all this, that people really feel the authenticity. Whether it’s a blog post that I write or a picture on Instagram, I hope that people really feel, “This is authentic. They’re not acting. This is real.”
Mark: It’s just so rare in the reality TV world! It really is.
Joanna: From a time and production standpoint, it’s probably smarter to have scripts on a lot of shows, and instruct the “hosts” as to what they should say and do, because—to be frank—we’re always running behind schedule on our show because of Chip doing his antics. He does some of it just to warm the clients up, since none of them have ever been on TV before. He’s always making bad jokes and things just to make them laugh so they feel more comfortable. He jokes around with the crew, too, to the point where I get upset. Sometimes I’m like, “Chip! I just want to be done with the scene!“ But he is really using his gift of entertainment and humor to try to make everybody have fun with this. I think that’s why we work so well together, because I’m so serious and goal oriented. I see the goal, I just want to get there. Chip is like, “Let’s enjoy it. It’s going to take a little longer, but let’s just have fun getting there.” I think that’s what makes it more fun for me, otherwise I’d just work myself to death.
Mark: Just to be clear, all the clients on the show are real clients?
Joanna: Yes. They authentically come to us, because we really are known for doing this work in this town. So when they come to us now we say, “Hey, do you want to be on the show?” The production company also does casting calls. But it’s got to be people that have their own money to spend on a real renovation.
Mark: Great. I know your goal is to keep it within the Waco area. Is that continuing still?
Joanna: We don’t go any further than thirty minutes outside of Waco. That’s a choice we made. Some people, even before our first season, told us that would change. I honestly think before our first season we didn’t know what it would turn into—because Waco is such a small market.
Mark: That’s what I’m wondering. Are there enough properties and clients close by to keep you going?
Joanna: Absolutely. We basically said, “We can’t travel.” Our number one priority is our family, our home, our children. The idea of traveling would really compromise that, and so we just told them from the beginning, “We’re not traveling.” And it’s worked—we’re going into season four! It’s exciting that we’re not running out of houses in the Waco market, and it’s really fun that we don’t have to travel.
Mark: As it stands now, do you have more clients than you could ever tackle?
Joanna: At this point we’ve had to basically turn down any renovation outside the show, because of the demands of the production schedule. Right now we’re doing eight houses at one time. So we’re not only managing the construction of those eight houses, we’re also filming and designing. So it’s a big beast. If we accepted outside jobs, it would be a disservice to those clients, really.
ON CHIP’S FEAR OF THE CAMERA>>>
Mark: You mentioned once to me that right from the beginning, you were uncomfortable on camera during that first . . .
Chip: Oh, gosh, and I mean, the worst, man. Long story short, years and years ago before the show, probably I’d say two or three years before the show, one of the local news channels called us up out of nowhere. “Hey, this is such and such local news. You guys are doing some really neat things in town. We wanted to talk to you guys about energy efficiency, etc. etc.” These dudes rolled over to my house and I had an actual nervous breakdown. And I’m talking about the local news. That should’ve been some indication that this business wasn’t for me.
Joanna: I had just had a baby and I was hiding in the room. I didn’t want to be seen, and I definitely didn’t want to be interviewed.
Chip: I mean, a real-life nervous breakdown.
Joanna: When they called, Chip thought, Oh, I can do this, and he started talking on the phone about energy efficiency in homes, answering all of their questions.
Chip: It’s not like I’m the type of person who’s gonna say, “Hey, I’m going to suck and I’ll just give you a heads up. Find somebody else.” I was going, “Bro, this is my deal. I’m going to be awesome. I’m going to set the local news on fire. You just meet me here at 8:30 Tuesday afternoon and we will go to work, man. Me and you, we’re going to make some great television.” I swear to you, I bragged.
Joanna: Once the camera arrived, I hid in the bedroom with my ear pressed up against the closed door listening to the interview, and the guy was asking Chip a question . .
Chip: Just a simple question.
Joanna: And all I could hear Chip say was, “Uh, uh, uh . . .
Chip: They were easy questions! “Tell me something that an average homeowner could do to save money on their energy bills?” And I went, “Uh . . . uh . . .”
Joanna: I opened the door and Chip is sweating profusely. He looked at me . . .
Chip: I couldn’t breathe.
Joanna: . . . with this deer-in-the-headlights look, like, “You’ve got to take my place.” I shut the door and I’m like . . .
Chip: I walked right into that room and told Jo she had to do it.
Joanna: Meanwhile, I’m in my pajamas. And, again, had just delivered a baby.
Chip: Yeah, yeah. With a three-day-old. It wasn’t like a one-month-old. This was a brand new baby. We had gotten released from the hospital like two days before.
Joanna: So we’re fighting in the room. He’s saying, “You’ve got to do it!” I’m saying, “No, you do it!”
Chip: I begged her, “Jo, I am not kidding. Go out there.”
Joanna: He was really freaking out. I heard the camera man say something along the lines of, “Wow, you were really talkative and confident on the phone. I didn’t know this was what it would be like in real life.”
Chip: Yeah.
Joanna: He was mad. At one point he even put the camera down and said, “I can’t get the interview.”