Clint and Kelly Harp Love Story
Clint Harp may be best known as Chip and Joanna Gaines's go-to carpenter on a little show called Fixer Upper, but the carpenter and his wife, Kelly, have a new show-and a love story-that's all their own.
In Wood Work, which premieres on the DIY Network Wednesday, May 9 at 10 p.m. EST/9 p.m. CST., Clint, 40, will build custom furniture, and Kelly, 39, will design spaces (often single rooms) for clients around those pieces. This twist on the traditional format isn't the only thing that sets the Harps apart from other husband-and-wife reno teams. Clint and Kelly are also refreshingly real about what it's like to work with a spouse.
A post shared by Clint Harp (@clintharpofficial) on Apr 13, 2018 at 3:48pm PDT
"We love working together, and yet sometimes it's a little much-and that's the reality," Clint tells CountryLiving.com, reiterating what the duo demonstrated in a recent tongue-in-cheek video. "I hope that people will see that we obviously don't think we'd never work with our spouse, but we also don't shy away from the fact that it's not perfect."
Big announcement coming tomorrow! Can't wait to share ❤❤❤
A post shared by kellyharp (@kellygharp) on Feb 23, 2017 at 2:03pm PST
"We're two people who love each other dearly, and we fight like crazy to make our relationship the best it possibly can be," he continues. "Sometimes we don't agree on what should go in a space or what we might want to do, and we have to figure that out."
That passion has been a part of their relationship ever since they met and fell in love while at Baylor University in (where else) Waco, Texas, in the late '90s. Clint was visiting his friends' apartment when their roommate, Kelly, came down the stairs. "I said hello and I'm thinking, 'She's hot,'" Clint recalls.
What Clint didn't realize is that the two had actually met several times before and he had simply forgotten. Kelly didn't hold it against him, though; they soon started dating, and eventually Clint told Kelly he loved her.
"It was maybe a couple days later that she said, 'I want you to know I don't love you because of some feeling. I want you to know I love you because I choose you. And when we have to fight through stuff in our life, I choose to fight through those things with you.' And I was like, 'I've won the lottery.'"
A post shared by Harp Design Co. (@harpdesignco) on Oct 12, 2016 at 7:50am PDT
The college sweethearts got married in 2001, moved to Houston, Texas, and had the first two of their three kids: a boy, Hudson, now 11, and a girl, Holland, now 8. Clint was making six figures in medical sales when he decided to quit his job and pursue his passion for building furniture, a dream encouraged by his grandfather.
He and Kelly cofounded Harp Design Co., their shop specializing in custom furniture and home goods, in 2011. But being new business owners wasn't easy; just as Kelly foresaw, they had to fight through some things together.
Clint and Kelly moved back to Waco in 2011 so that Kelly could pursue her master's degree. They were living in a small apartment and barely getting by when Clint met Chip in a gas station in 2012. The guys became friends, and the rest, of course, is HGTV history.
A post shared by Clint Harp (@clintharpofficial) on Sep 26, 2017 at 10:00am PDT
But, as Clint points out, "I never would have met Chip at that gas station if it wasn't for my wife and me deciding to go on this journey because of things that went right and things that went wrong and incredible sadness and joy and struggle."
That same year, Clint and Kelly had their third-and last-child, 5-year-old daughter Camille. Unlike Chip and Jo, Clint says the Harps are done having kids.
A post shared by kellyharp (@kellygharp) on Oct 1, 2017 at 5:17pm PDT
"More power to anyone else who's adding arrows to their quiver, but for me and Kelly, we're good to go with the three we've got," Clint says. "I don't know how the Gaineses do it-I'm amazed."
Viewers will soon get to meet the Harp kids, who make a few appearances in season 1, but they'll also get to know Kelly. Clint's partner in life and in business appeared only briefly in an episode of Fixer Upper, but she's a huge part of the new show and the company.
A post shared by Clint Harp (@clintharpofficial) on Oct 27, 2017 at 3:12pm PDT
"[Kelly is] incredibly deep, thoughtful and caring," Clint says. "I'm looking forward to people getting to know her more through her work. She's an amazing person."
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