Joanna Gaines Reveals Her Design Secrets for the ‘First Time’ in a New Class (Exclusive)

Joanna Gaines pulls back the curtain like never before!

The Magnolia co-founder, 46, has teamed up with online education platform MasterClass to share her expertise with viewers who want to create their dream home but don’t know where to start.

In the above trailer, premiering exclusively with PEOPLE, Gaines explains that “for the first time ever, I’m taking you behind the scenes of my design process,” showing how viewers don’t have to “break the bank” to make their space feel as the one who creates them on TV.

PEOPLE have caught up Fix above star, best-selling author and mother of five to talk about the exclusive topics she explores in her classroom.

Gaines is quick to remind viewers that (despite becoming a design icon) she has never had any professional training. And especially when she and husband Chip first opened their first Magnolia store in 2003, she simply trusted her instincts.

“I didn’t go to design school and I was definitely not a professional designer, so my toolbox was limited to the projects Chip and I turned around with Waco,” she tells PEOPLE of her early design days.

During a meeting with her very first client, Joanna says she started with one question that would become an important part of her design process.

“Rather than ask about scale and proportion or inspirational spaces, I simply asked her to describe what she wanted the space to feel like,” she explains. “I didn’t know that this would be the first question I would ask every customer after that. Feeling speaks to a story, and storytelling is the heartbeat of my approach to design.”

During her class, Joanna runs through a detailed, practical checklist to help viewers get from point A to point B on their decorating journey – whether decorating one room in their home or renovating the entire home.

Her absolute favorite step, she says, is to “establish the look and feel of your space” because of where it leads next.

“You’ve reached the point where you can say, ‘Yes, this feels good.’ The next step is to go after it. I think that’s why I love this part of the process so much,” she explains. “You’ve established the most important aspect of the design, which is how this space is going to tell your story, and I think it just gives you the confidence to now actually build out the space.”

Joanna calls this part of the process the “north star” because it is a step that viewers will return to for guidance throughout the project, or if they get lost.

The course is ideal for anyone looking to unlock their inner Joanna Gaines, especially if they tend to be overwhelmed when it comes to design.

“I used to be someone who felt stuck and immobilized when I looked around my house and wondered why it didn’t feel right or look like us, and I never knew where to start or how to begin,” she tells PEOPLE.

Joanna hopes her lesson will give viewers a push “towards creating a home they are truly proud of.”

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She continues, “I hope it will open their eyes to see their home differently – that it’s not about more things, but more about their story.”

For more information about Joanna’s class on MasterClass, visit masterclass.com.