It appears the apple doesn’t fall far from the Magnolia tree. On a recent episode of Dennis Scully’s “Business of Home” podcast, interior designer and HGTV personality Joanna Gaines opened up about the three-month break she and her husband Chip took from their business last summer. The goal was to step away from their work to gain clarity and figure out their next move. Ahead of this hiatus, however, Joanna received help from an unexpected source: her eldest daughter, Ella.
“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,” she told Scully. “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.”
But Ella did more than just listen to her mother’s pleas; she was hands-on, working towards a solution. Gaines recounts a night when she and Ella stayed at the office, brainstorming ideas. “She was writing things as I was saying, okay, if we do this, if we do that,” she recalled.
This isn’t the first time Ella has shown interest in her parents’ work. Earlier this month, Joanna took to Instagram to share the elaborate tablescape her daughter had put together as a birthday surprise for the Mini Reni host. From the floral arrangements and expertly placed peach and emerald balloons to the homemade breakfast, complete with French macarons and other pastries, the gesture definitely had an essence of Magnolia influence.
“I went to bed at about midnight, and some time between 12 and 7 a.m., my little fairy daughter Ella waved her magic wand and did all of this for my birthday weekend,” the Fixer Upper host captioned the video. “I woke up to my very favorite things on the table and a delicious breakfast that she made from scratch—just the most beautiful setup. I want to sit here all weekend and just take it in.”
The 18-year-old is also a student at Parsons School of Design in New York, though she’s been studying the craft since she was a child. Back in 2018, Joanna shared a photo of Ella’s copy of Homebody, Joanna’s book on homemaking. The book was marked with notes, and she’d sketched a blueprint of her vision for a bedroom and bathroom in the back. Ella was just 12 years old at the time.
Then, in 2019, Gaines told People, “Ella is like me. I think she’ll follow in my footsteps and have her hand in a lot of things.” At the time, Gaines said her daughter’s career aspirations included cook, lead designer, and donut truck owner. Though her dreams, like her mother's aspirations, are likely to evolve, we can’t wait to see where this Gaines girl ends up.
Julia Guerra is a New Jersey-based freelance writer with bylines across digital media sites such as InStyle, WWD, INSIDER Reviews, MindBodyGreen, and more. With over 7 years of writing across lifestyle verticals, she is forever testing and researching all things related to makeup and skincare, fashion, athleisure, women's health and wellness, as well as the best home gym equipment. When she's not writing articles, Julia can be found with her head in a book, obsessing over skincare, practicing yoga, taking pictures of her adorable cat, or spending time with her husband and loved ones.
