Staying At A Magnolia Vacation Rental | Part 1

Part 1 | Tour The Grounds

I just got back from my first visit to Waco, Texas…and it was so much fun!! It’s been on my bucket list for years. My blogging friend Danielle from Faith & Farmhouse asked me last winter if I would be interested in going….duh, it took me 2 seconds to say YES!!!

The cherry on top is that we were going to stay at one of the Magnolia vacation rentals…start jumping up & down now because yes, yes it’s as amazing as you imagine something designed by Chip & Joanna Gaines is going to be!!!!

Hillcrest Estate

The Magnolia vacation rental that we stayed at was Hillcrest Estate. It’s a sprawling Greek revival style home built in 1902 that was purchased by Chip & Joanna a few years ago. It really is a gorgeous piece of property!! You feel like you’re a movie star when the gate opens and you pull into the estate for the first time,

Front Entrance

The gorgeous white columns are surrounded by beautiful greenery and of course Magnolia bushes. As a New England girl I was gaga over the Magnolias…I wish I could grow them up here!!!

You just KNOW what’s on the other side of the black door was going to be epic…right???!!!

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No detail was missed! Black metal and glass wall lights flanked either side of the front door. I believe the door knocker is original to the home ( I saw real estate pictures from when it was on the market because I’m so nosy and was dying to know what it looked like before they made it over!!!)

Big, solid wood planters were filled with small hydrangeas that were blooming like crazy…I didn’t realize that they grew so well in Texas! The brick patio looks to be original to the house; the patina is gorgeous!!

Back Porch

There are large French doors that lead out to the back porch. It runs the length of the house and is the absolute perfect spot for your morning coffee!

Black metal frames chairs with nice thick cream cushions lined the porch. The same style black wood planters that were flanking the front entrance were out on the back porch as well.

There is a second smaller more seclude porch off of the library as well.

Backyard

Oh, the backyard is dreamy!! I don’t know what kind of grass they grow down in Texas but it is thick and soft to walk on!

Lush,…the backyard is best described as green and lush!! You hate to even have to leave such a beautiful space to go down to Magnolia!!

Hillcrest Estate has a big brick gas firepit to relax around (until those Texas bugs come out!! They are no joke…I’m still itchy!!)

My favorite part of the backyard was the little glass garden house nestled in the back corner of the garden, It was like a little fairytale, covered in vines.

I was lucky enough to catch a beautiful sunset one night where all the clouds were cotton candy pink!!

The back of the garden house looks onto a big open field that is part of the property. There were so many birds singing out here in the morning too…just a lovely way to start your day!

Hillcrest Playhouse

OK, The playhouse is so adorable that I would have slept in it!! Talk about totally adorbs!!! Of course it’s signature Joanna white/black…of course it’s the best playhouse you’ve ever seen…

It would definitely be a selling point if I was traveling to Waco with kids in tow! Not only would they love to play in it, there’s also plenty of room to run around and a big driveway if they wanted to play catch too.

Seriously, look at the little barn light outside the front door…

The inside was a mini farmhouse. Cute open shelving for the play dishes and just look at that sink!!

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Any mini Magnolia fans will love the table and chairs!

Gardens

You can tell all the efforts put in to create such a charming space. There are large ferns bordering the garden. The space is filled with rows of white rose bushes that were all flowering at the time we were there. So pretty!

Some mature oakleaf hydrangeas that had already bloomed were scattered throughtout the space. Of course there were Magnolias!! Sidenote… I did press a couple leaves in my journal to bring home as mementos.

Hillcrest Estate makes it hard to ever want to leave!! It was just the perfect spot to host our group of 12…yes 12 ladies!!

All my pictures make me want to go back and watch the sunrise with a cup of coffee in hand on that back porch!!

If you are heading to Waco with a big group or looking for a perfect spot to host a small retreat Hillcrest Estate is the perfect vacation rental for you! All the infomation about staying at one of the Magnolia vacation rentals is on Stay with Magnolia with all the details on booking the estate.

Stay tuned for Part 2 where I give a tour of the inside of the Hillcrest Estate!!

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