What to Know Before Staying at Magnolia House Bed and Breakfast

Just hours after Magnolia House first opened online reservations in February 2016, it was booked solid for the next six months—and things haven't slowed down since. Fans of HGTV's Fixer Upper continue to clamor for a chance to stay at Chip and Joanna Gaines's bed and breakfast property just outside of Waco, Texas. After all, it's the ultimate place to call home when making the pilgrimage to Magnolia Market at the Silos, a destination that's seen a record number of tourists since it opened in the fall of 2015. (In 2016 alone, well over 1.9 million people visited Waco, according to the Waco Tribune—that's triple the number of visitors reported in 2015.)

In fact, Magnolia House has proved to be so popular, Chip and Joanna just opened another rental home called Hillcrest Estate in the heart of Waco; true to form, when fall 2017 reservations opened for that property earlier this month, they were gone in record time (just 45 minutes!).

But if you've always dreamed of nestling up all snug in Chip and Joanna's OG vacation home while visions of shiplap dance in your head, now's your chance—Magnolia House reservations for January through June of 2018 open tomorrow, August 23, at 11 a.m. CT. Before you whip out your credit card, though, here are a few things that I learned from staying at Magnolia House earlier this year.

1. Magnolia House is not located in Waco.

Chip and Joanna documented their transformation of this 2,868-square-foot 1880s farmhouse during episode four of the third season of Fixer Upper, and anyone who saw that episode knows that Magnolia House is located just outside of Waco, in the small town of McGregor, Texas. Specifically, the house is a 26 minute drive from Magnolia Market in downtown Waco, and a 33 minute drive from Waco Regional Airport. So if you're planning to fly in from out of town for your stay, you'll definitely want to book a rental car.

2. If you want to secure a reservation, you need to act fast.

As mentioned, when reservations open up for Magnolia House on MagnoliaMarket.com, they go really, really quickly. I booked my stay, for spring 2017, when reservations opened last year on August 18^th—and I was ready to go, right at 7 p.m., with my finger poised to click "book now." Luckily, I was easily able to nab the dates I wanted. But, just an hour later, reservations for the first six months of 2017 were gone. So, bookmark the Magnolia website right now (seriously, right now) if you want to grab a spot for 2018.