Once I tune in to the fact that my family receives my cooking for them as an act of love - that it's actually something that makes them feel cared for - it shifts my entire perspective.
I love the smell of clean laundry. Working in the garden and getting my hands dirty. Doing the dishes. These are the things that make me feel normal.
Be intentional with your space. Don't be afraid to step on a limb and design your home the way you love it.
When you are married to a guy who takes chances every day, who loves risk and has great intuition and great business instincts - when you're married to someone like that who pushes you to dream big, you dream big.
I was actually a communications major and had never done design.
If you give Chip a boundary, he's going to break that boundary. If you give him a rule, he's not going to follow it. And if you tell him, 'You can't go over this line,' he's going to put his toe over it.
With my job, I am designing spaces for families on a weekly basis, and that is where I get my creative outlet.
A few years ago, I realized I was decorating and designing my house around what was beautiful rather than practical for my family. When I made that realization, everything kind of clicked for me. I started being intentional about designing spaces with my kids in mind rather than picture-perfect rooms.
Texans know how to make people feel welcome.
I had always had a dream to open up a boutique of some sort.
People might think Chip is just this goofy guy, and he is a goofy guy. But he's also the bravest person I know.
Chip is the risk-taker. He's all about the big picture but with a get-it-done attitude, and sometimes I'd rather play it safe and really focus my energy on the details.
At the core of the Magnolia brand is the desire to make homes beautiful but with a focus on family and practicality. We want to create spaces that families want to gather in.
I don't think confidence has ever really been one of those things that came naturally for me. If people thought I was confident, it was really just the way I masked my insecurity, because I didn't want people to really get to know the real me.
If you haven't heard my story, my mom is full Korean, and my dad is Caucasian. Kids in kindergarten would make fun of me for being Asian, and when you're that age, you don't know really how to process that; the way you take that is, 'Who I am isn't good enough.'
I remember, when we first got married, the only money we had was what was in Chip's pocket. He always had a wad of cash, but we were broke. If I needed to go grocery shopping, it's whatever was in his pocket. That's how we paid the bills.
For the most part, my house stays the same over the years. I tend to design with pieces that feel timeless to me, so I'm not constantly rearranging my home.
I try my best to keep the house looking clean, but honestly, with four kids, you can find plenty of messes. I don't have a special technique other than I can't focus when the house is a wreck, so cleaning is therapeutic for me. That works in my favor sometimes.
If I didn't have Chip Gaines in my life, I'd still be dreaming in my head - but not acting out on any of that, not living it out.
I had to learn that this whole God thing isn't just this big religion. It's really that He wants this relationship with us on a personal level.
