Magnolia Network's Clint Harp Talks Restoration Road And The Power Of History - Exclusive Interview

When did you discover your love of woodworking and restoration?

Clint Harp: I really have loved working with my hands for as long as I can remember, and I can trace all those genes back to my grandfather on my mom's side. He was a carpenter and built many homes, fashioned directly off of the old timber framed houses up in the north, back down where I'm from in Georgia. He was letting me hang around jobsites and actually be a part of the process from a pretty early age. The fact that I literally make a show now where I go around the country studying the ways and techniques of all the old-timers and our most cherished structures, when my grandfather literally did that for years so he could go and build the same houses down in Georgia, is some of the sweetest irony. If he was alive today I'm sure he'd watch the show. 

Fast-forward to 2005 when my wife and I bought our first house and had to remodel the whole thing ... it was Kelly [Harp]'s courage and adventurous spirit that got us into that deal. I'd never lived in anything but rented houses growing up, so this was all new and I was pretty scared of it. But how could I not follow Kelly? So I did. And that really helped rekindle the fire in me to work with my hands and helped plant a seed of what it might be like to restore more old structures in the future.

On "Fixer Upper," you were Joanna Gaines' go-to carpenter, even teaching her how to create candlesticks, which you now sell in your shop. Is that your favorite thing to create? Or do you have a favorite thing to create?

My favorite thing to make is a table. I grew up around a rough and wonderfully hand-crafted table at my grandparents' house on the Chattahoochee river. A table can be a powerful thing. It gives us a place to connect. If you have a table that inspires you, that welcomes you ... that practically calls you to sit around it, well, that's even better. So that's my hope, that I make a table someone wants to sit down around with family, friends, enemies, strangers, new faces and old, and work through life around it.

You say that you and your wife Kelly always want to create things with a story behind them. Can you elaborate on what it means to have a story behind a creation?

Every table we make at Harp Design Co comes from the vision of two young kids who started a company around their dining table with the hope of doing something they love, and when they really had nothing but a little bit of savings and a flickering dream to do it with.

Along the way, there have been big ups and major downs, but we have continued to fight through. And now we are here in Waco working together with our incredible team ... which includes so many different people from different backgrounds and their own unique stories, to make beautiful things that come from the energy of those who have definitely lived life in so many of its iterations.

So to me, the story behind the table is not "remember when he/she got a splinter making that one?" It's that all of us bring our own personal stories and history to the shop and create out of that energy. And knowing all the amazing hands in our shop, it's a really beautiful tale.

How can people embrace the unique wood features and historical elements in their homes?

I think when you know the history behind a thing, it really helps you embrace the thing. And when you realize that some elements — if you get rid of them, you'll never get them back — might help a person slow down and enjoy the quirkiness of a thing.

And if you love it, then don't be afraid of what others might think. So an example, there have been times when we are refinishing an old door or piece of furniture for the show, and the common tendency is to clean the thing up perfectly and make it look presentable. When if you slow down and take a look at the old barn door that you are going to turn into a coffee table top, you might realize that the hand-scratched tallies marking up the face are those of a young kid who was maybe asked to keep count of all the bushels of hay. And that's how she did it, and if you sand it away, it's gone forever.

And you may also realize that by leaving it, embracing all its scars and marks and patina, you are actually left with an incredible story to tell people and an opportunity to sit around and just daydream about what life must have been like for that little farm kid. And if you balance it all out with a crisp and beautiful sofa and chair, the funky coffee table just fits in perfectly and helps create some wonderful contrast.

What about people who live in newly-built homes but want to add character to their space? Any advice on making new wood features look authentic?

Shortcuts to "used" can be tricky. My thought is [to] play the long game. Buy a nice handcrafted piece of furniture and then use the heck out of it. Don't be afraid to make a mark and let the piece reflect the lives that have loved around it and lived on it. In due time you will have that piece that everyone is dying to buy at the antique store, and every mark and scar on that table will be your story and not someone else's.

We're seeing natural wood being used a lot more in interior design. What wood pieces would you suggest people invest in for their homes?

For me, anything handcrafted or locally crafted is always a win. Tables, mantels, and doors are a great purchase. And if you want to start smaller, handcrafted cutting boards, bowls, candlesticks, wine racks, and shelves — you can't do better.