Royal revelation
7 spectacular surprises inside Chip and Joanna Gaines' new Fixer Upper castle in Waco

βAre you ready to see your fixer upper?β the enthusiastic tour guide asked, channeling Chip and Joanna Gaines and their famous βbig revealβ line from TVβs Fixer Upper. This time, it wasn't the home owners waiting outside a first glimpse at their home makeover; it was a small group of tourists gathered on the porch, ready to step inside the Gainesesβ most ambitious renovation project yet β a century-old castle in Waco.
For the first time ever, Texasβ king and queen of renovation have unlocked the doors and let the public into one of their famed fixer-uppers before itβs featured on their Magnolia Network show.
Known as the historic Cottonland Castle, this three-story, 6,700-square-foot residence was started in 1890 and finished in 1913. The Gaineses purchased the dilapidated structure in 2019 and designed and executed a regal flip that will be featured on an eight-episode special called Fixer Upper: Welcome Home β The Castle, beginning October 14.
They plan to sell it in the fall. But before a home sale comes an open house, and for three months only β through October 29 β the castle is open six days a week for guided tours.
Hour-long castle expeditions take visitors through every room, nook, and cranny β from turret to toilettes. Knowledgeable guides dispense history, impart design information, and reveal behind-the-scenes stories from Chip and Jo that may or may not make it on TV.
For Fixer Upper fans, Magnolia maniacs, and Gaines gangs, it's worth a drive to Waco to experience the castle transformation in real life before it hits the small screen. A tour offers the very rare chance to walk through the door (in this case, a 10-foot-tall, 400-pound, solid-oak door) into the world of a Chip-and-Jo reno.
Without revealing too much, here are seven fun surprises youβll find behind the castle walls.
1. History meets homey. A castle museum, this is not.
βChip and Joannaβs vision was that they really wanted to honor it with historical pieces but also make it more practical for the modern family thatβs going to live here in the future,β guide Megan Shuler said at the beginning of the tour.
While many original features β including seven fireplaces β were restored, the castle has been fixed up as a home for the future, not a shrine to the past. One-of-a-kind and collected antiques (such as the kingly dining room table from Round Top, Texas) blend with pieces from the Gainesesβ own Magnolia Home collection. A 17-page βCastle Sourcebookβ lists design elements and products and where to buy them. And in the ultimate modern touch β a branding tie-in β a forthcoming βColors of the Castleβ paint collection will be available through Magnolia this fall.
2. Sweet nods to the castleβs past. Posted on the wall in the foyer is a poem written by Alfred Abeel, the owner who completed construction in 1913. It talks of making the castle ββhome sweet homeβ all seasons of the year.β
On the center of the dining room fireplace mantel is Abeelβs family crest, along with the phrase (in Latin), βGodβs providence saves me.β Next to it, childrenβs heights are recorded from the 1930s to the early 2000s, the last time a family lived here.
3. A cozy nook in the turret. The original design was modeled after a small castle on the Rhine River in Germany, and there is one tower turret. A space historically used (in βrealβ castles) for military defense has, here, been turned into one of the coziest corners of the house. Tucked into a corner next to the winding staircase, two comfy chairs sit under an antique-y light fixture from Austria. It's the perfect place to curl up with a book from the library upstairs.
4. Rooms with storylines. βOne of the challenges Chip and Joanna had when they bought the castle was, there was no one, really, they were designing it for,β Shuler explained. βSo they would create storylines for each room to help tell their story.β
Two of the four bedrooms, for example, are the βboyβs bedroom,β and βgirlβs bedroom.β The storylines are that the future homeownerβs son would come back from college and stay in his childhood bedroom, and that the future homeownerβs granddaughters would stay in the room while hanging out at the grandparentsβ house.
The boyβs room contains more masculine furnishings and decor, including a watercolor portrait of Roy Lane, the famous architect who helped complete the castle. The girlβs room is painted in βRose Pink,β a color named after Joannaβs grandmother.
5. Bodacious bathrooms. There are three-and-a-half βthrone roomsβ in the castle, and theyβre some of the prettiest spaces, mixing metals, woods, and tiles; even original radiators look like works of art. One of the most spectacular rooms in the house, in fact, is a grand, gleaming bathroom β which (tease!) will be fully revealed on the show.
6. Party in the basement. βGathering spacesβ are a hallmark of Chip and Joβs homes, and in the castle, they take place in the dungeon β er, basement. A βcard roomβ for poker games or family game nights sits next to the family room, which houses the only TV in the castle. The guest bedroomβs also in the basement, along with a laundry room and a former wine cellar now left βblankβ for the new owners to reimagine.
7. Behind-the-scenes tales and tidbits. Fixer Upper devotees will devour the charming and quirky tidbits about the Gaineses shared throughout the tour. There are a few design elements and furnishings originally meant for their own home, including an item banished to the castle by their daughters. Thereβs a fun story about what Chip did when they found bones β yes, bones β in the basement. And, the prime selfie spot for Fixer Upper fans is a large mirror that, the tour guides say, Joanna used to touch up her makeup during the filming of the show.
Castle tour tickets, $50, are available through the website, with 20 percent of proceeds benefiting The Cove nonprofit organization. (Note that the home does not have an elevator and requires guestsβ ability to access three staircases.)
Tips for a Magnolia pilgrimage in Waco:
Shop: No castle jaunt would be complete without a stop at the Magnolia Silos complex. A new 8:15 am tour, offered Monday through Saturday, takes visitors behind the scenes and on the roof before the crowds (and the heat) arrive. Hint: August is a βslowerβ month at the Silos, and Tuesday through Thursday are less crowded. Tour tickets are $25 and come with a free coffee from Magnolia Press.
Eat: Chip and Joannaβs Magnolia Table cafe stays busy all day, every day. If you donβt have time to wait for a table, visit the takeaway market next door. Grab to-go items like pimiento cheese and crackers, a butter flight, banana pudding, and chicken salad sandwiches, and enjoy them on a table outside (if it's not too hot).
Stay: Availability at Magnoliaβs four vacation rentals can be hard to come by, but watch the website for nights to pop open. Make it a girlsβ getaway with a stay at the grand Hillcrest Estate (which sleeps 12), or go solo and book the darling Hillcrest Cottage, the Gainesesβ newest and smallest lodging, which opened in fall 2021. A forthcoming Magnolia boutique hotel, in the historic Grand Karem Shrine building downtown, is slated to open in 2024.