Clint Harp was merely a husband and father trying to provide for his family when a chance encounter changed his life. While he went on to become a successful carpenter with a popular shop in Waco, Texas, after featuring on Chip and Joanna Gaines’ massively popular HGTV show, “Fixer Upper,” he faced a series of adversities on his journey to the top. From his poor background Harp had to work hard to find financial stability. Yet when he snagged a high-paying job in sales, he found himself miserable.
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Harp dreamed of being a woodworker, a trade he learned from his maternal grandfather. However, his decision to pursue his passion left his family in a delicate situation. But luck was on his side. In early 2012, Harp and his family stopped for fuel on their way to the park when Chip Gaines pulled into the same gas station. Harp had heard about Chip and Joanna Gaines, who were regular local renovators before their HGTV fame.
New in town, Harp approached him, thinking maybe he would have some tips on how to break into the industry. “That was in February or March of 2012. In October, we were shooting ‘Fixer Upper,'” he told The Columbus Dispatch in 2016. However, his newfound fame came with its own set of difficulties. From facing legal challenges relating to one of his homes to experiencing uncertainty amid the end of “Fixer Upper” and the launch of Magnolia Network, Harp’s life before and after his HGTV success has had ups and downs.
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Clint Harp’s childhood was marked by financial struggles
Clint Harp is proud of his roots. He learned his craft from his grandfather, after all. But it wasn’t always easy. “I came from a background where we had what we needed, but we never had more than that. And by ‘needed’ it was the absolute basics,” he told the Houston Chronicle in 2018. Harp was raised by his mother and a stepfather who constantly moved in search of jobs. Harp never had the time to settle and struggled to blend with peers in his second-hand clothes and nerdy personality.
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They could not hide their financial situation, and people’s attempts to help them out often felt like humiliation. One time, he spotted a garbage bag outside their home. Upon inspection, he realized it contained used clothes for them. Harp also didn’t have a proper room growing up. When he lived in Asheville, North Carolina, he felt like the luckiest kid when his mother assigned him the basement. “I loved it and had the coolest room with doors like those Western saloon doors. I’d walk out of my room like I was the Sundance Kid,” he said.
Unfortunately, the basement developed a mildew problem and he had to vacate his cool quarters. “My mom converted the dining room upstairs into my bedroom. She hung a sheet over the doorways and said that would be my bedroom,” he said. Harp isn’t ashamed of his past. “I’m thankful for those days,” he told the Austin American-Statesman. “They keep me grounded.”
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Clint Harp’s dream career put financial strain on his family
Clint Harp has been passionate about woodworking since childhood, but life took him in a different direction. Even though he graduated from Baylor University with a business degree, he didn’t get a job right away. Instead, he moved to Florida to be a youth minister. He and his wife, Kelly Harp, then moved to Europe to start new churches, a project that left them indebted to the IRS and downright broke. They returned to Dallas, where Clint provided for his family through different jobs, including mortgage licensing and selling copiers.
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He eventually landed a high-earning job in medical sales in Houston. For the first time, the Harps enjoyed financial stability. He was good at the job, but his conscience struggled with taking money from patients. He gave up his six-figure salary and took a leap of faith. The family moved to Waco, Texas, where Kelly went to grad school at Baylor, and he launched Harp Design Co. “My wife bravely stepped out into the unknown, and we did it,” he said in the Austin American-Statesman interview.
But his dream of making furniture for a living started off on the wrong foot. “About four months later, we were out of money, things were not looking good. It was a very stressful time. I thought, ‘I’m an idiot for quitting my job,'” he said in the interview with The Columbus Dispatch. Then he stopped at the gas station Chip Gaines pulled into and got his dream career and more.
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Clint Harp suffered a personal loss in Jimmy Carter’s death
Jimmy Carter’s death in December 2024 saddened millions of Americans who admired the 39th president of the United States. But for Clint Harp, it was personal. When he was a child in Atlanta, his grandmother worked at the Carter Presidential Library, where she befriended the former president. Harp grew up around Carter, both of whom can be seen in the picture above. “My grandmother’s the person I respect most in the world, so if she thought highly of somebody, I thought they were awesome,” he told House Beautiful in 2018.
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In his Instagram tribute, Harp highlighted his admiration for Carter’s accomplishments during his tenure as president and afterward and also his admiration for him as a citizen and family friend. “I hope more than anything that we’ll eventually one day look for someone who resembles your heart and leadership if even by only a fraction. Anyways, thank you so much…. and also I hate to ask more of you, but I’m going to…. Please please give my grandmother Ann a giant hug for me. I’m sure she was there to greet you today just like she did all those years at the Carter Center,” he wrote.
That was hardly the only time Harp honored Carter on social media. Two months earlier, he had celebrated the former president’s 100th birthday on October 1, 2024, with a heartfelt Instagram post. “May we all feel your peaceful guiding hand on our shoulder,” he penned.
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Clint Harp was blindsided by the end of Fixer Upper
Clint Harp’s life flipped on its head when “Fixer Upper” aired in 2013. And it did once again amid its cancellation in 2018, mainly because he didn’t see it coming. He learned that Season 5 would be the last through the same online announcement that let the rest of us know about it. “I was sad,” he said in the Austin American-Statesman interview. But he didn’t hold it against Chip and Joanna Gaines.
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After all, he had no contract with “Fixer Upper” and was glad for the opportunity afforded by the Gaineses. “It was an amazing chapter in everyone’s life, but I’m so happy for them. They’ve worked so hard,” he said. Harp remained close with the couple, who continued to give him opportunities after “Fixer Upper.” When DIY Network morphed into Chip and Joanna’s Magnolia Network, the Gaineses gave Harp his own show, “Restoration Road,” which ran for five seasons between 2021 and 2024.
But there was a tense moment when Chip and Joanna struck their deal to take over DIY Network, where Harp had been hosting the show “Wood Work.” Once again, he was blindsided by the decision. “I’m just hearing this news along with the rest of America,” he told People in 2019. However, he emphasized how he hoped to continue to stick around the network in its new format. “As for me, I’ll now be diving back into conversations with producers and networks about some great possible projects,” he added. It worked.
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Clint Harp faced several lawsuits
In Season 1 of “Fixer Upper,” Chip and Joanna Gaines helped Clint and Kelly Harp renovate a 1913 property for them to call home. But because the house was right next to Harp Design Co., the Harps felt their personal and professional lives became intermingled. Besides, the increased traffic to their shop following the success of the HGTV show jeopardized their privacy. So they moved out and put the elegant fixer-upper up on Airbnb as a vacation rental.
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The home’s 4.95 stars on the platform suggested putting it up for rent was a great idea. But it proved pretty risky. In 2018, Clint was sued by a former guest who claimed she got hurt after falling down the stairs during a 2016 stay. Tamra Rivera argued that the Harps failed to comply with local regulations by not adding handrails to the bottom part of the staircase. “The sole cause of this accident is the unreasonably dangerous nature of the staircase,” the suit argued (via the Waco Tribune-Herald).
Rivera asked for between $200,000 and $1 million. In 2024, Realtor.com noted that the Harps faced several lawsuits relating to their Waco home. This may have contributed to the difficulties Clint had in finding a buyer. While he originally listed it for $899,000 in 2021, he sold it for only $550,000 in 2024. “Those types of things will absolutely detract any investor from purchasing a property like that because they don’t want to take on liability that could be avoided,” real estate agent Amber Brown explained.
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