STORY BY JOANNA GAINES
PHOTOGRAPHY BY LISA PETROLE
A handful of years ago, my mom announced that she was ready to pass on hosting our annual family gatherings and that the torch was mine if I wanted it. Of course, I said yes. I love every part of bringing people together: dressing up the table, creating the menu, and the reward that comes as the food settles and all that’s left to do is sink into warm conversation.
That year, I hosted Easter at the farm for both sides of the family, which clocks in at about 35 people. Back then, our dining table only sat eight, so we pulled temporary tables into what felt like every room of the house until everyone had a seat. That day, the house completely came alive. Every table resounded with chatter and chaos. Bowls and platters and pitchers of lemonade were being passed from long tables in the living room to the kids perched on stools in the kitchen. It was all so memorable, so imperfectly authentic that we could have easily carried on this way for years.
But a different picture popped into my head on that Easter morning. A maybe-someday image of all of us in one room at one long table—maybe two—face to face and shoulder to shoulder. I imagined our five kids with families of their own and all the memories that might await in a choice to make space for more.
So, I told Chip I wanted to start dreaming toward adding on a proper dining room to the farmhouse. Four years and a lot of family gatherings later, it felt like the right time to renovate. The most important elements I knew right away: The room needed to be big enough to seat a lot of people (even if that meant two dining tables), and because our home was built in the late 1800s, I wanted this new space to look and feel as if it had always been there.
This Thanksgiving will be our second year to gather here, and every time we all settle into our seats at the table, I’m filled with gratitude for the space, the beauty it brings to our home, and the people it holds. Mostly, I love what it says: Whether today or tomorrow or years down the road, in our home, there is always room for more.
New, But Old: When it comes to adding on to an older home, you want to select materials and finishes that look and feel period-correct. Because our house was built in the late 1800s, I made sure our design plans included trimwork that matched the rest of the house, flooring that came across as aged rather than too contemporary, and light fixtures, furniture, and decor that all looked like something you’d find in an old house.
This story has been adapted from the fall 2025 issue of Magnolia Journal. To see it in print, pick up your copy here or on a newsstand near you. Then, start a subscription for inspiration year-round.
