Chip and Joanna Gaines‘ new show “Fixer Upper: The Lakehouse” has fans turning on them and firing a variety of criticisms at the famous Magnolia Network founders.
The Chip-and-Jo backlash was brewing as far back as May, when the trailer dropped announcing they were flipping a five-bedroom, five-bathroom, 5,100-square-foot Lake Waco property.
That’s whenone former fan declared, “I used to like them—but I don’t watch them any longer.”
Others agreed that Chip and Jo were “both so annoying” and that the show “is no longer enjoyable.”
But why?
Some point to their shocking lack of concern for salvaging and recycling castoffs from their project. When Joanna knocked down a glass-brick wall with a hammer, one Instagrammer noted, “That’s sad about the glass. REPURPOSE maybe?”
Another commenter chimed in with, “The glass can be [reused] in other ways, like donating them to a person that works stained glass or vases for example.”
A third person commented that, “It always saddens me to see all these home improvement shows destroy rather than repurpose or donate.”
Such negativity is certainly a change from the rave reviews the Gaineses usually get.
“Their fans are so loyal and hardly ever attack them,” another commenter remarked, calling this response “unusual.”
Meanwhile, someone else noted that these complaints might “signify some sort of shift for the once-invincible couple.”
Have Chip and Joanna Gaines lost their edge?
Does this turning of the tide hold water? We decided to scrutinize the latest episode to form our own opinion. And in the Season 1, Episode 4, “Artfully Merging Two Styles,” which highlights the work completed between weeks 20 and 26, it really does seem like they’re taking pains to proceed with care and not make any moves that might waste time or money.
“Feels a little bit like we’re at that tipping point to where, as long as it tips, I think we’re going to be in good shape,” Chip says.
Joanna agrees, adding,“We’re on time and mostly on budget.”
Here are some of the upgrades they do, and the renovation lessons they impart along the way that suggest Chip and Jo are as detailed-oriented as ever. While no one can pull off an entire flip without breaking a few brick walls, so to speak, we think this couple still deserves plenty of praise for their hard work—they should ignore their naysayers and keep on keepin’ on!
Make sure your finishes stand out
Once the plaster is being put on the walls throughout the house, Chip takes Joanna around to check and make sure the texture is to her liking since the application “is so subjective.”
Turns out she’s happy “there’s enough variation in the plaster to where you can tell it’s plaster” since “sometimes it’s so smooth, you might as well just painted your walls cream.”
It’s a good reminder to embrace slight imperfections to ensure certain finishes are actually noticeable.
Copper gutters look better with some patina
On the exterior, Joanna checks how a sample section of the gutters looks after it’s restored to its “shiny penny” state. She observes that this makes the gutters appear pink and pop against the home’s green trim. Instead, she decides the original look with some patina blends in better—and helps save them money, too.
Carry the color theme through the whole house
Budget again becomes a consideration in the primary bathroom, where Jo is told the brass she wants for a partition is priced two to three times the cost of powder-coated steel. This forces her toward the cheaper steel in the loo; but thankfully, Jo points out that “in small quantities, brass fits the budget.” She gets her glimmers of shine elsewhere, in the shape of things like brass rods that wrap the kitchen vent hood.
Taken as a whole, the pops of brass coupled with the green color scheme that’s used in several parts of the lake house “create these subtle layers” and “extras that make it just feel natural and like you didn’t try too hard—but still paid attention to detail.”
Use exterior paint on the inside
Joanna extends her unexpected approach to paint in the lake house library: She uses the same woodsy green exterior color for the interior and drenches the walls and ceiling in the same shade.
The precise color is called “Wooded Acres,” and it comes from her own Magnolia Home paint line.
“Since there’s a ton of natural light, we love the idea of going a little darker and moodier in here,” she explains.
It’s a good lesson that exterior paint can be used indoors, too.
Give floors the attention they command
It takes Joanna two rounds of multiple wood stain samples before she settles on the one she thinks is the closest to the “cherry wood they had originally, which has a little bit of orange and red in it.”
In the rec room, however, she goes for pressed, volcanic-ash tile, which is a hit right away as it reads as a more organic and varied version of a classic black-and-white checkerboard pattern.
Jo reveals she’s never used this material before, but it now ranks as her “new favorite thing in the house.”
Plus, true to his fun-loving form, Chip comments that the “centuries old sediment” in the tiles is the perfect conversation starter.
“You can talk about the dinosaurs!” he says. “If those little specks could talk.”
With finishes approved and the lake house becoming even more buttoned up, the Gaineses can sense they’re creating something special here: “This feels like a boutique hotel!” Joanna gushes.
And we have to agree—and insist that these two have yet to lose their edge when it comes to renovating homes.
“Fixer Upper: The Lakehouse” airs at 8 p.m. on Magnolia Network and HGTV, and streams the same day on Max and discovery+.
