Joanna Gaines Says Renovating Homes with Husband Chip After 21 Years of Marriage ‘Never Gets Old’ (Exclusive) (2024)

Joanna Gaines is reflecting on 21 years of marriage with Chip — and two decades of renovations together.

The Magnolia founder, 46, opened up to PEOPLE about celebrating ten years of Fixer Upper as well as another anniversary with her husband Chip, 49, while chatting about her latest Magnolia paint collection with KILZ.

In honor of the Fixer Upper milestone, the pair took on a new massive project and a new limited series, Fixer Upper: The Lakehouse, which Joanna says “felt like the cherry on top."

“I felt like this house taught me so much,” Joanna tells PEOPLE. “But more than anything, it kind of solidified that what started all of this — which was 21 years ago when Chip and I got married and we were doing renovations together — is still the same thing that we go by today, which is all about home.”

She continues, “That's the thing we're most passionate about. Home is the best place on Earth. And so the fact that we're still doing the very thing that we started with — that never gets old.”

The mom of five — she shares Drake, 19, Ella, 17, Duke, 16, Emmie, 14, and Crew, 5, with Chip — adds that she’s been taking time to fully soak in the “amazing” time with her husband and what feels like a “whirlwind” decade of Fixer Upper.

“What an exciting ride. To look back and just to think where it all started and where we are now, it's all a gift. We're very surprised by all of it, but we're having a lot of fun along the way,” she says.

Chip and Joanna tied the knot on May 31, 2003, in their hometown of Waco, Texas, where they also built their Magnolia empire. Since they honeymooned in New York City, the couple decided to take a trip back to the Big Apple to celebrate their anniversary with their kids.

Joanna, who had an internship in New York City in 2000 before she met Chip, said the trip was a “grounding” experience for her as it reminded her of that initial desire she had to create spaces that “felt like home” all those years ago.

“When we go back to New York, I always like to remind the girls that's where the dream of Magnolia started,” she says, referring to her daughters. “So anytime we get to go back and celebrate — whether that be the honeymoon, then our anniversary or the girls trip with my young girls — I just feel like there's always that reminder of that origin story of where it started.”

She adds, “And then to look back 21 years ago to now and to see that dream fulfilled is just, it always keeps me in this very grateful, grounding space.”

To celebrate ten years of the beloved series that started it all, Joanna has curated a new Magnolia paint collection that’s inspired by Fixer Upper: The Lakehouse. The entire renovation of the 1960s lakefront home is being documented in a six-episode limited series, similar to their previous unconventional project, Fixer Upper: The Castle.

In collaboration with KILZ, the new paint collection features seven serene colors that Joanna says are a reflection of the lake house's stunning surrounding scenery.

“I took from that feeling,” she explains. “When I was standing in that space and I was looking outside, I just remember thinking as much of that beauty that I see on the outside that nature is giving us — if I can translate that through color or even to tell the story of this home, then that will be the gift in all of this.”

She adds that she wanted each color to represent something “restful, but also familiar and interesting,” which is exactly what she feels when she looks at her favorite green hues, Juniper Tree and Remote Trail.

“I wanted it to feel like a retreat,” she adds. “I wanted it to feel grounding.”

To see the full Magnolia Lake House Collection with KILZ, visit kilz.com.