Courtesy of Clint Harp/Instagram
‘Restoration Road’ Host Clint Harp Is Half of an Amazing Design Duo! Meet His Wife Kelly Harp
Carpenter Clint Harp rose to fame on HGTV’s Fixer Upper alongside Chip Gaines and Joanna Gaines in 2013. His heightened popularity led him to land a show on DIY network called Wood Work in 2017, this time appearing alongside his wife, Kelly Harp. The pair have demonstrated that they are experts in the home design space and have been through so much together.
Clint and Kelly met when they were both students at Baylor University in the ‘90s. The duo bumped into each other a few times, however, they were formally introduced at a mutual friend’s dorm room. It did not take long for them to fall in love and confess their feelings for each other.
“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,’” the Magnolia Network star told Country Living in May 2018.
The lovebirds tied the knot in 2001. Before he became a popular television personality, Clint quit his sales job in Houston, Texas, to make a major career change. He had always had a passion for woodworking and furniture building and felt it was finally time to follow his dreams. Kelly owned a small children’s clothing line at the time. The pair agreed that they should take a chance on starting a new life. They moved to Waco, Texas, where he searched for work.
Clint struggled to find work for a few months but received nothing but support from his wife. He called Chip after hearing of his successful company, Magnolia Homes, but never heard back. Kelly began taking classes at graduate school to earn a master’s degree. One day in 2012, she suggested that they take their two eldest kids, Hudson and Holland, for a stress-free day out at the park. On the way home, Clint bumped into Chip at a gas station and introduced himself.
“I just threw a Hail Mary,” he told House Beautiful in May 2018. “I just went up to the guy pumping gas and said, ‘Hey, I’m a woodworker, and a few months back, I left a message for a guy named Chip. I don’t even know if he’s still over there at Magnolia, but I’d love to talk to you guys about doing some work.'”
The encounter with Chip led Clint to join the successful HGTV show, and he later landed his own show, Restoration Road, on Magnolia Network. He and Kelly were able to open their own company, Harp Design Co., where they handcraft furniture and fulfill all of their clients’ design needs. Kelly has a “love for all things beautiful” and has an “eye for design,” according to the company’s official website. They also welcomed another child after finding fame, daughter Camille.
The mom of three is always sharing behind-the-scenes glimpses of what life is like since becoming a television star on Instagram. Clint credits the nudge from Kelly to go after his dreams for changing their lives forever.
“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,” he said.
