Joanna Gaines is back on TV with Mini Reni, and her fans are thrilled to see the Fixer Upper star return to action. With this all-new series, Jo is taking on smaller projects instead of her recent castles, lake houses, and hotels.
On the first episode, Joanna explains the intention of the new series. She says, "Anytime I come off a big renovation, I find myself craving smaller projects. You know, the idea of Mini Reni—this is where I can feel a bit more freedom to try new ideas and end with these fresh, finished spaces that didn't require months of work. You can get a big impact when you're open to getting creative and thinking outside the box."
On the first episode, she and her team take on the dining room and foyer of a young family who are looking for an upgrade. She gives the space an Southwest-inspired design by adding beams, green paint, and rearranging the layout.
The episode also showcases a project at Joanna's own home, but it's on a much larger scale. She says, "While we're working on the dining and the entry for Mini Reni, we've got a big project going on back at the farm. We're adding on the final room at the farmhouse, which is the dining room. We're also doing an extension off of that which is like an outdoor patio with a built-in pizza oven and a griddle."
Joanna gives viewers a tour of the progress, which involves pouring a new slab, installing HVAC, subflooring, and beams. She says, "This add-on is been something I've planned for about 5 years, and every year it hasn't felt right because I was hosting for the holidays and I had to bring in like six different tables. We were all scrunched off the kitchen in that main living space, and I was like okay, we gotta do this."
Joanna continues, "This is going to be a little slower. This isn't as mini as a reni, this is an add-on. So it's going to be happening while we work on all the mini renis this year. I've always known that this was something important. Right now we have have one dining room that's really for the seven of us, but any additional people, they're sitting on the couch."
She explains this is the last project on her list: "It's time—the final thing at the farm, and I told Chip I promise I won't do anything else. I shouldn't say that out loud."
We'll be looking forward to updates of this final (maybe...?) project in upcoming episodes of Mini Reni! If you missed the first one, you can catch up on Max or Discovery+.
Katie Bowlby is Digital Director at Country Living, where she covers pop culture news including country music, Yellowstone, and all things HGTV, plus gift guides and product reviews. She has been with Country Living for more than 11 years. Before that, she worked for Southern Living. The Indiana University grad also stitches up the cross-stitch pattern for every issue of the magazine.
