Chip and Joanna Gaines have built a media and business empire since their first appearance on Fixer Upper in 2013. In 2026, the couple from Waco, Texas, continues to diversify with new television formats, renovation projects outside their historical territory, and moves into hospitality that redefine the contours of the Magnolia brand.
Fixer Upper in Colorado: Renovation Outside Texas
For five seasons, Chip and Joanna Gaines anchored their identity in the wooden and brick houses of Waco. This Texan setting seemed inseparable from their signature. The mini-series Fixer Upper: Colorado Mountain House, airing from December 2025 in three episodes, marks a geographical break. It is the first time the couple has brought the Fixer Upper label outside of Texas.
Their daughter Ella participated in this renovation, introducing an intergenerational family dimension into the format. The choice of Colorado, with its different climatic and architectural constraints from central Texas, also changes the nature of the work. Mountain houses impose materials and insulation techniques that had never been addressed in previous seasons.
To follow the news on Chip and Joanna Gaines 2026, this project in Colorado illustrates well the direction taken by the couple: expanding their territory without abandoning the formula that made them successful.
Mini Reni and Magnolia Table: More Compact Formats on Magnolia Network
Joanna Gaines launched a series titled Mini Reni in 2025, airing on Magnolia Network and Max. The concept differs from Fixer Upper by the scale of the projects. It is no longer about complete rehabilitations of dilapidated houses, but about targeted transformations of smaller spaces. A kitchen, a bedroom, a living room: each episode focuses on a specific room or issue.
This change in format responds to a programming logic. The short episodes capture an audience that does not have the time to follow a multi-week renovation. They also allow for multiple projects without mobilizing the same resources as a total renovation.
The Kitchen as a New Media Terrain
Magnolia Table: At the Farm, announced in 2025, has aired not only on Magnolia Network and HBO Max but also on Food Network. This move to a specialized culinary channel represents an expansion of Joanna’s audience beyond the usual home decor and renovation crowd.
The culinary world is not new to Joanna, who had already published cookbooks and hosted shows around the family table. The airing on Food Network gives her an additional platform and positions the Magnolia brand in the realm of global lifestyle, not just home.
Sale of the Waco Castle and the Gaines’ Hospitality Strategy
The couple had acquired and renovated a castle in Waco, a property that became emblematic of their ability to transform atypical buildings. In September 2026, this castle was under contract for sale. The final price has not been made public in the available information.
This sale raises a question about Chip and Joanna Gaines’ real estate strategy. Maintaining and operating each renovated property requires heavy management. The choice to sell the castle could indicate a refocusing towards more profitable or more coherent assets with their main hospitality activity.
Hotel 1928 in Waco: A Foundation in Hospitality
Hotel 1928, opened in Waco in 2023, extends the Magnolia experience beyond the retail of Magnolia Market. Visitors coming to Waco to discover the Gaines universe can now stay in a setting designed by the couple.
Hospitality represents a source of recurring revenue that renovating houses for television does not allow. Each episode of Fixer Upper generates broadcast rights, but the renovated house belongs to its owner. A hotel, on the other hand, produces ongoing revenue and enhances the tourist appeal of Waco, a city of which the Gaines have become the de facto ambassadors.
Magnolia in 2026: An Empire Between Media, Commerce, and Hospitality
Since the end of Fixer Upper in 2018, Chip and Joanna Gaines have built an ecosystem that far exceeds home renovation. Magnolia now encompasses:
- A network of television programs aired on multiple channels (Magnolia Network, Max, Food Network), covering renovation, decor, and cooking
- The Magnolia Market at the Silos in Waco, a tourist destination attracting visitors from across the country, with its shops, garden, and seasonal events
- A hospitality business embodied by Hotel 1928, which anchors the brand in sustainable hospitality
- Publications (decorating books, cookbooks, Magnolia Journal magazine) that nurture the fan community between television seasons
The involvement of their children in certain projects, such as Ella’s participation in the Colorado renovation, suggests a gradual transmission. The Magnolia brand seems designed to last beyond the founding couple.
Chip and Joanna Gaines’ journey in 2026 shows a couple that continues to diversify their activities while remaining rooted in Waco. The sale of the castle, the new television formats, and the geographical expansion of Fixer Upper outline a brand in motion, less dependent on a single program and more oriented towards a multi-pillar business model.
