Ella Gaines Shows Off Her Personality & Tomgirl Style On Chip & Joanna's New Show
For the Gaines family, the times, they are a-changing. Since Chip and Joanna Gaines left HGTV to branch out on their own, much has shifted for the beloved couple. However, the biggest uprooting took place in 2025, when they tackled their first home renovation outside of Waco, Texas. According to a December 9 Instagram post from Joanna, the family "fell in love with the mountains" of Colorado and bought a house with the intention of turning it into their dream vacation home.
However, this wasn't the only new beginning on the horizon; eldest daughter Ella Gaines got to show off her dramatic transformation — and her design chops to boot. In the preview for "Fixer Upper: Colorado Mountain House," it's revealed that Ella has been given the task of designing one of the smaller cottages on the property, and it seems that the youngster has both a knack for the family business, and a great sense of style that's all her own.
Rocking a confident smile and casual kicks, Ella looks both comfortable and capable. Her laidback fashion sense is equal parts grub wear chic and classic Gen Z baggy. The oversized baseball cap with her hair loose gives Ella an effortlessly cool vibe, while the tan jacket and wide legged jeans provide proper protection from the elements. Though they dress differently, it's possible that Ella gets her sense of style from her mother. The two women share similar personalities, and from the looks of things they also have likeminded taste when it comes to decor, which is why it makes total sense that Ella would feel so free to have such a bold expression of personality in what she wears and designs.
Joanna Gaines is encouraging daughter Ella to pursue her passions
Though Chip and Joanna Gaines initially admitted that putting their kids on TV was a dumb idea, it seems that the time has come for eldest daughter Ella Gaines to choose her own adventure. At 19, Ella became an integral part of the premiere of "Fixer Upper: Colorado Mountain House" by tackling her first major design project. Joanna even mentioned in an interview with Parade that she and Chip had been looking for properties around Waco for their daughter to help fix up instead, but ultimately there was nothing suitable. Enter the small cottage in Colorado, where Ella finally gets to show off her innate skills and homegrown talent for aesthetics.
Joanna Gaines' youngest child, Crew Gaines, isn't the only one she's passed some important life skills onto either, since Ella appears to be following right along in her footsteps. As the former HGTV star proudly shared, "We both love plants, we love charming, cottagey things," which could be an indication as to why Ella was entrusted to remodel a small cabin all by herself. "My biggest hope with letting her tackle this cottage is that it builds confidence in her," Joanna confirmed.
Beyond this, she has trust in her daughter to deliver, as Ella was given complete control over everything from fixtures to paint colors. While it might be hard to relinquish control and watch her daughter come into her own, for Joanna, it's clearly a sweet spot. As she gushed, "The idea that my daughter, who is now an adult, has decided to take on what her mother does, and I get to teach her [...] it just feels like this beautiful full circle moment."