Joanna Gaines walked into her family’s new era.
And she did not react the way Chip expected.
Fixer Upper: Colorado Mountain House started with the couple arriving at their snowy dream property. But Joanna’s face said something else.
Chip asked, “First impression, be totally honest.”
Joanna paused, looked around, and whispered, “I’m trying not to cry.”
Chip froze. “Oh no, you hate it.”
Her reaction instantly shifted the mood. What should’ve been a big reveal suddenly looked like a gamble that could backfire.
Fixer Upper: Colorado Mountain House: A Surprise Hidden in the Woods
For decades, Chip dreamed of high-altitude living. Joanna didn’t. She admitted, “I’m a valley girl. I’m not a mountaintop person.”
Still, Colorado had become a second home for the family. Ski trips. Breaks from Texas. Late-night fires. It made sense to finally plant roots there.
Chip thought he’d nailed it when he found a tucked-away 1960s house buried deep in the trees. No sweeping Pinterest-worthy view. No dramatic mountain drop. Just quiet woods and a long private driveway.
Joanna said every listing he’d shown her before had “a view.”
This one? “Tucked away and hidden,” Chip finished for her.
It was sweet. It was intimate. But it wasn’t what she expected. And that hesitation poured out the moment she stepped inside.
Fixer Upper: Colorado Mountain House: Reality Hits Inside the Front Door
The entry won her over at first.
Birds chirping. Sun streaming in. A charming front door.
Then she saw the layout.
The emotional high disappeared.
Joanna admitted, “When we stepped into the house, that happy feeling started leaving the room.”
The problem was simple.
No closets.
No en suite bathrooms.
No bedrooms.
A “zero-bedroom house” for a family of seven.
She said, “I don’t really know how we’d function in this space.”
Joanna didn’t sugarcoat it. She liked the dream, but not the execution. And Chip suddenly had a massive renovation mountain to climb.
Fixer Upper: Colorado Mountain House: A New Chapter Whether They’re Ready or Not
Joanna later shared on Instagram that Colorado had quietly become a part of them. “Over the last decade, Colorado has become a home away from home,” she said.
Chip, being Chip, “casually” looked at real estate until he found the house. The long driveway pulled them both in emotionally before the floor plan let her down.
Still, she admitted the house had “good bones” and the potential to outlast them. Fans quickly cheered the new project. They were excited to see Fixer Upper leave Texas for the first time.
One wrote, “Can’t wait to see your magic.”
Another added, “This is going to be magical.”
Maybe it will be.
But the premiere proved something bigger.
Even after two decades, Chip can still stun Joanna.
And Joanna can still shake Chip to his core with one look.
The season now depends on whether this Colorado gamble turns into their best Fixer Upper ever.
