I have always been fascinated by Joanna and Chip Gaines and their story. Their Fixer Upper show was one that I loved to watch and they just have a good back story, in my humble opinion. I recently listened to Joanna’s latest book, The Stories We Tell, and enjoyed learning more of her story. I think she and Chip have a pretty amazing story and I admire their ability to guard their family life and…
Anyone who puts barn doors on a bathroom is NOT seeing heaven. Like, the entire point of a bathroom door is to contain sounds and smells. You think a barn door is effectively doing either with the stupid ass gap between it and the wall? You are a fool whose house will smell like shit every time anyone poops.
I think Meghan’s frustrated because her level has some pretty popular people already. It’s crowded. To be honest I think the Gaines have a large % followed by a few other target brands. She’d rather be a target brand not a tjmaxx because tjmaxx buys left over inventory that doesn’t sell. Target is still affordable and I think those in her circle are far more willingly to say they go to target than Walmart to tjmaxx. That’s what bothers her.
I also don’t think she was prepared to launch when she did. It was a quick rash reaction that felt more like turning lover an “I’m open for business sign” than anything else. Her ego got the best of her .
Yep, that's the other pitfall of being so focused on immediate gratification: you have beer goggles on. You don't see your competitors for who they really are - you only see what they have that you don't or their flaws that you think you can do better.
If Meghan really cared about Roop, she'd have paid attention to the market research that her partners (and yes, she has partners, even if no one will admit it) and WME did. That market research would have told her exactly who her competitors are, that she has one shot to get this right, and precisely what shot to take and when to take it.
And let's be honest. Her competitors aren't Gwyneth Paltrow (Goop), Reese Witherspoon (Kohls), and Martha Stewart (Macys, Penneys, and Amazon). They aren't even the Gaines/Magnolia (Target), Pioneer Woman (Walmart), and Rae Dunn (TJ Maxx/HomeGoods).
Her competitors are all the other socialites out there launching their own wellness and lifestyle brands. Bravolebrities. Tiktokers. Instagram influencers. People who have such a niche fanbase from 5 minutes in the spotlight with print-on-demand merch. In effect, personality-driven brands that lack substance.
And those brands don't usually do well, because they always overshoot their market and target the wrong audience. There's nothing wrong with being a TJX brand or a department store brand or a "Middle America" brand. Plenty of people have made really good fortunes and livings from it, but only because they were realistic and clear about their expectations and knew it would take time to get the empire they wanted.
And since anon mentioned The Gaines, I have a feeling that's who Meghan intends to come after. They're in Texas (where the Sussexes have been spending time). Tall, leggy, thick-bouncy-dark brown/black hair-for-days, biracial homemaker guru wife with a doofus goofy ginger husband. Their brand (Magnolia Home) is a kind of rustic, vintage, comfort memory that ARO/Roop's video mimicked. They've got that kind of ordinary everyday Americanness that (kind of) competes with William and Kate's kind of ordinary everyday Britishness that Meghan couldn't break.
But here's the thing about Chip and Joanna. They didn't just pop up out of nowhere. I know it feels like they did, but they didn't. They put 10 years of blood and sweat equity into the Waco (Texas) home construction and design world before HGTV even knew that they existed. What has Meghan done that's even comparable? Sure, she got her own doofus ginger but that's it. That's where the comparisons end. And honestly there's no comparison between Chip and Harry either, because Chip comes out ahead by a million points by just being able to replace his own burnt-out lightbulb.
Why can't the owners sell this little house that Chip & Joanna Gaines restored for them in 2016? It was built in 1920, in Waco, Texas, of course, & the buyers, who got the home for free, paid $5K to move it from its original spot plus $31K for the lot where it currently sits. It has 1bd, 1ba, was listed in 2017 for $950K, relisted in Oct. 2023 for the same price, & the current list price of $799,500 comes out to $761 per sq. ft. for the 1,050-sq. ft. home. Let's take a look.
The walls are pale putty, Joanna's signature color, and the pine floors were restored.
Plain black countertops were chosen for a less expensive chic look.
The small kitchen has a white subway tile backsplash, bar seating, and open shelving.
View of the main living area from the loft. The exhaust hood has a hole, so I guess it filters the air before it comes out into the house.
This is the only bedroom. It's a good size, but not huge. The floating shelves in place of night stands are too high. I wonder if there's a way to shut those lamps off, without standing up, after you're thru reading in bed.
The single bath has an industrial aesthetic with a double cement sink. There's no tub, which some buyers may want.
It has a washer/dryer, which is always great.
In the loft is a den, but it could be a 2nd bedroom. The ladder is awkward, though, b/c it's on a pulley system that raises it up to the ceiling when not in use, b/c space is at a premium in the small house.
There's a wide cement path and room for plants along the side.
Spacious yard has a brick patio with soil for planting around it. I think that the price is the problem. Waco isn't as expensive as other places and what you're getting is basically a little larger than a tiny house.
there's no need for me to even bother getting annoyed about this because i CANNOT afford to buy a house anyway but every time i look at some new or recently flipped house/apartment i get such a sense of rage because i hate the cookie cutter gray black interior design that has plagued every house since chip and joanna gaines became a thing on hgtv. like aren't we all sick of this? where's the color? the personality?
but hey, once you own it you can just redesign however you want, right? if you have the money to renovate and redecorate? BUT THEN my internal environmentalist kicks in and i'm like well....all of this recently flipped stuff is brand new...it would be so wasteful to rip out brand new flooring or cabinets or countertops just because i dislike it...maybe it could go to scrap or recycle but it seems like such a waste since it's all perfectly functional...
so in the end i just end up miffed about something that literally doesn't apply to me BECAUSE I CANT AFFORD IT IN REAL LIFE