“This Girl Really Loves Food.”

SHE’S ALWAYS HAD GREAT TASTE AND AN APPETITE FOR FUN. NOW, Joanna Gaines is PLANNING HER NEXT COURSE. EDITORIAL DIRECTOR JOANNA SALTZ GETS THE GOODS.

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IN THE ENTRYWAY of Joanna Gaines's pantry hangs a brass shadow box. In it is a perfectly curated collection: a poem in delicate typewriter font called “Savor,” a tiny note from her seven-year-old son Crew that says “I LOVE U MOM,” some pressed ferns, and a black-and-white photo of her grandfather. “The first time I ever baked was with my granddad in his kitchen in Wichita, Kansas,” Joanna says. “He had me over, taught me how to make a Syrian donut recipe—and something about that moment clicked. So I have his picture in there because I owe all of that to him.”

Jo (most people call her “Jo” or “Jo-Jo”) and I (most people also call me “Jo” or “Jo-Jo”) are sitting on green velvet swivel chairs in the sunroom of her home in Waco, Texas, next to the most beautiful fiddle-leaf fig I've ever seen. (For the record, I just had a standoff in the driveway with the Gaines' very protective horse, Dolly. She begrudgingly let me pass.) Jo's home is a farmhouse that’s beautifully and intentionally designed (perfectly worn furnishings and lots of personal details—Mother’s Day notes, Little League pictures—tucked into thoughtful spots), but it’s also very modest considering the astronomical success Jo's seen in the past decade. The house feels like the family that lives there loves to be close to one another. And it smells like cinnamon.

The pantry, which is just off the kitchen with windows that overlook her garden, was recently converted from Crew's bedroom. “It started off as a living room. And then an office. And then back to the living room again, just because I changed my mind a lot in that space,” she laughs. “My kitchen is pretty small and my pantry was literally a joke. It was a mess. And so I always was like, (The dramatic transformation unfolds on her newest Magnolia Network show Mini Reni, which also streams on Max.)