Waco Tours, Harp Design Co. & Magnolia Table
Hello! Just wanted to write you all with some tips and tricks on traveling to Waco, TX! As you may remember from my last blog (Visit to Magnolia Silos), my mom and I recently took a mini-vacation to visit the famous Magnolia Silos in Waco from Chip & Joanna Gaines. We are huge Fixer Upper fans and always dreamed of visiting the famous spots in the beloved HGTV show. So I wanted to share with you all some tips if you plan on traveling there in the near future!
There are quite a few things to do and see in Waco, besides just the Magnolia Silos. One of the funnest things we did on our trip was taking a tour with Waco Tours, co-owned by one of Fixer Upper’s previous home-makeover stars David Ridley. This first picture below is a street side view of his bachelor pad fixer upper featured in one of the show’s most watched episodes. On this tour we drove by several fixer uppers that were featured on the show and some of which are now available to the public on Air B&B. The third picture is the fixer upper called the Shotgun House, with a before and after picture of the renovation. It was quite surreal to see these famous houses in person right in front of us, instead of just on the tv screen. The property upkeep and landscaping also still looked just as great as it did at the reveals on the show.
Here are some more pictures from our adventure with Waco Tours. The tour was about 2 hours long and featured all of these stops below, and more! The upper left hand corner features David Ridley, one of the co-owners of the business and former famous bachelor and model. We stopped at Common Grounds Coffee and Heritage Creamery located near Baylor University, and the owners of these shops were also featured on Fixer Upper with a home renovation. Another famous stop on the Waco Tour was Harp Design Co., owned by Clint and Kelly Harp. Joanna features a lot of Clint’s craftsmanship with one of a kind handmade pieces, such as farm tables, in her fixer uppers. The bottom right hand corner is a picture of Clint & Kelly’s home, which was also featured on an episode of Fixer Upper. Also in this collage below is a picture of the original Magnolia store that Joanna first opened on Bosque Boulevard. You can read more about that story in their book, The Magnolia Story.
Also at Harp Design Co., I got these amazing candlestick holders in white, which almost look like miniature vintage table legs. I’m currently obsessed with finding the perfect place for them in my spring decor.
This tour included all of these sites as well as other local famous spots, including historical AND fun landmarks in Waco. Our tour guides were not only helpful, but also down to earth genuinely fun people to hang out with. Would definitely recommend it! There’s no way we could have done and seen everything we did if it was not for this tour.
Another awesome spot we were able to see in Waco was the new Magnolia Table Restaurant. It’s open for breakfast and lunch, and we were there around lunch time. It was delicious! We ordered several different things to share, including the avocado toast, a turkey blt, and salad. The food, service, and look of the restaurant was classic, welcoming, and inviting.
We went around noon, which had a pretty long wait, but in the early afternoon it seemed a lot less busy. The nice thing about the wait time though was that there were places to sit outside under covered awnings, as well as a coffee bar to enjoy during the wait. There was also a small grass turfed area for families to sit and play games together. On the side of the restaurant there is a to-go cafe area with foods, drinks, and other gift shop items/keepsakes. The overall experience was fantastic, and I heard that this week they just officially had their grand opening. So I’m glad we got to be there early on!
Just to wrap up I essentially have 2 tips for you: spend the money and take a Waco Tour (you won’t regret it), and get there early (or late) if you want to go Magnolia Table! Both of which were fantastic.
Once again, there’s so much to see and do in Waco, including the Silos but also so much more! If you’re an interior designer, home decor fanatic, tv show binge watcher, or just style lover like me than you will 100% enjoy your Waco experience. Let me know what you think!
Meredith Hobbs 