Gaines - Homebody

Contents

Contents

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JOANNA GAINES is the cofounder of Magnolia, a home and lifestyle brand based in Waco, Texas, which she started with her husband, Chip Gaines, in 2003. Authors of the New York Times bestseller The Magnolia Story, Chip and Joanna have been remodeling homes for nearly two decades. Joanna is also the author of the New York Times bestselling cookbook Magnolia Table and editor in chief of the Magnolia Journal, a lifestyle magazine offering inspiration for your life and home.

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THE MAGNOLIA STORY

MAGNOLIA TABLE

HOMEBODY . Copyright 2018 by Joanna Gaines. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Published in 2018 by

Harper Design

An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers

195 Broadway

New York, NY 10007

Tel: (212) 207-7000

Fax: (855) 746-6023

www.hc.com

Distributed throughout the world by

HarperCollins Publishers

195 Broadway

New York, NY 10007

Cover design: Kelsie Monsen and Cassie Robison

Cover photography: Cody Ulrich

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018948770

Digital Edition NOVEMBER 2018 ISBN: 978-0-06-280198-2

Version 11012018

Print ISBN: 978-0-06-280197-5

To my favorite people on Earth:
Chip, Drake, Ella Rose, Duke,
Emmie Kay, and Crew.

Thank you for teaching me that there
are far more beautiful things
than a perfectly kept house. Youve
taught me what home truly means.

Im a homebody because of you.

F or nearly twenty years, I have been unknowingly writing this book in the back of my mind. Somewhere in my subconscious Ive been filing away every design failure and every win. Going to school to learn this profession could have been quicker and less painful, but the upside to learning it the hard way is that these lessons wont ever be just ideas on a page to me. Every hard-won piece of knowledge feels like gold because I remember what that lesson cost. Its made me infinitely more passionate about this work that I get to do every day, and I hope I can communicate that same level of passion and purpose to you in this book. What you hold in your hands is the culmination of all that Ive learned through the hundreds of homes Ive designed over the years.

When I was deciding what I wanted this book to be about, there was discussion about filling its pages with beautiful, aspirational images, and I knew right away that that wasnt what I wanted. In fact, theres nothing I want less than for you to look wistfully at other peoples perfect homes and feel defeated or wish that they were yours. From the beginning, I wanted this book to be a practical and useful guide that would empower and motivate you to create a home that communicates the soul and substance of the people who live within its walls.

Im a homebody. Theres really no other way to say it. The world can feel overwhelming with its pace and noise, its chaos and expectations. Home for me is like the eye of a hurricane. Theres a certain calm I experience there no matter what is swirling about on the outside. Home is where I feel safe, its the place where I am most known and most loved. If you were to ask my family, Im pretty sure they would tell you the same thing about themselves: there is nowhere they would rather be than home. I think its because our story is all around us there. When you walk in, you begin to see and experience the journey of us. Our home is layered with family photos, artwork, and objects that werent chosen simply to make a design statement, but rather to tell the story of who lives there. I believe that what we surround ourselves withthe colors, the materials, the thingscan be random and meaningless or they can convey some of the most important truths if we let them.

Throughout this book, youll notice a theme of telling your story within your home. What I mean is that I want you to approach the design of your home with intention, to surround yourself with items that mean something to you, and choose furnishings and details that make you happy or inspired or contented. There is a certain skill all of us can hone, which is seeing the everyday items that we already own with fresh eyes. Look again at the unique pieces that youve collected over the years. Is there a story or memory associated with any of them? Maybe you find yourself drawn to the simplicity and clean lines of a modern chair or a hand-thrown vase from a favorite potter. Small details resonate with us for a reason, and I encourage you not to ignore them. They are how I learned to create a home that I genuinely loved. One that looked and felt distinct from any other because it looked and felt like us. We surrounded ourselves with meaningful pieces, mementos, and gathered treasuressome family heirlooms that point to our history, some flea-market finds that we couldnt leave withoutall equally lovely to us.

Ive come to realize that its not uncommon for people to feel immobilized when they try to make their home a place that feels significant and unique to them. We can get so bogged down with design rules and comparisons that we forget to focus on the simplicity of choosing things that we love for our homes. Its not about sticking to a specific, prescribed style. Its about story. And the moment you make that subtle mind-set shift, all of a sudden youre set into motion. It becomes fun, freeing even. If nothing else, the one thing that I really want you to take away from this book is this: Rather than following arbitrary guidelines, try to focus on incorporating the things that matter to you and the people who share your home.