It is three days before the soft launch of Shea McGee’s McGee & Co. retail flagship in Salt Lake City, and the atmosphere on the shop floor is remarkably serene. Everything is precisely where it belongs: a dining table is set as if for an intimate family gathering, complete with a wispy arrangement of delicate white anemones; shelving units are fully stocked yet beautifully edited rather than overcrowded; throw pillows have been meticulously plumped; and decorative throws are draped with just a subtle touch of effortless insouciance. Glass cloches contain neatly arranged candles, accompanied by small piles of matches stacked with immense care.
The previous day marked the store’s major professional photo shoot ahead of its official opening on September 25, leaving all of the interior styling in pristine condition. For Shea—who serves as the chief creative officer and co-founder of both the design firm Studio McGee and the lifestyle brand McGee & Co. alongside her husband, Syd—not a single detail is out of place. She appears just as she has on television screens and digital platforms for more than a decade: sporting a bright smile, with wheat-blonde locks tumbling loosely over a crisp white wrap top.
She moves fluidly across the shop floor, guiding store associates from one carefully curated vignette to another. She offers expert advice on styling, product placement, and the finer details that staff will need to master by the time the doors officially open on Saturday. “I have a tendency to be an advocate for the thing that I love that isn’t our top seller,” she remarks while adjusting a display. “I want to show people how good it is, and I know I can do that if I just get it in front of them.”
A camera crew follows her every move, capturing the flurry of preparation. As Syd and a visitor sit nearby to discuss the broader business operations, Shea can be heard instructing associates on the exact vignette where the interview is taking place. The visitor instinctively attempts to duck out of the camera’s frame and hide a couple of empty cans of Diet Coke, but Syd remains entirely unbazed. At this stage of their careers, having a camera present has simply become an ordinary fixture of their professional lives.
The couple has lived in the public eye since the early days of Instagram, when Shea first began documenting the rigorous renovation of their own home, a chapter often referred to by fans as McGee 1.0. Splashes of major media coverage followed in the ensuing years, paving the way for a hit Netflix series, three published books, and a vastly expanded audience known as McGee 2.0. Today, the mother of three—whose children are ages 12, 10, and 5—manages high-profile licensing partnerships with household names such as Target, Kohler, and Ann Sacks. They command a massive social media following, boasting four million followers on the primary @studiomcgee Instagram account, nearly two million on @mcgeeandco, and an active YouTube channel that routinely pulls in hundreds of thousands of views per video.
The Salt Lake City-based couple is managing a complex web of business ventures that could easily fill any of the near-dozen china cabinets sold through their furniture business. Until now, that business has operated almost entirely online. Their latest endeavor—bringing the physical McGee world into a permanent brick-and-mortar retail environment—represents what Shea enthusiastically defines as "McGee 3.0." As she explains, "We’ve been running a product business for years, and now it’s time to create the experience."
Located within Salt Lake City’s historic Trolley Square, the expansive flagship spans 7,500 square feet. While a physical shop had always been a prominent fixture on the McGee vision board, the path to bringing it to life was far from straightforward. In the late 2010s, the couple—who first met during their college years—operated a small pop-up shop in Costa Mesa, California. However, at a modest 600 square feet, that space lacked the necessary footprint to support a robust, full-scale furniture operation. They subsequently explored securing a larger, more suitable location and were only days away from signing a new commercial lease when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, forcing them to temporarily shelve their retail ambitions.
A few years later, the McGees learned about an available commercial property inside Trolley Square, a red-brick shopping district in Salt Lake City that conveniently sits near a Kohler showroom, one of the studio’s most significant licensing partners. The building itself was far from ready for design retail. Formerly operating as a comedy club and a Hard Rock Cafe before that, the interior felt a far cry from the gentle transitional style that defines the signature McGee aesthetic. Yet, with a healthy dose of imagination—an area where Shea excels—the building’s underlying bones revealed themselves to be exceptional, featuring soaring ceilings and generous windows that had previously been obscured by black film to block out the light. The comprehensive renovation ultimately took two years to complete, but the physical McGee retail experience is now finally ready for its public debut.
While Studio McGee has spent years designing residential spaces for clients across the United States—including projects featured across four seasons of their hit Netflix series, Dream Home Makeover—this brick-and-mortar debut marks the first time the general public will be able to step inside and experience the McGee universe in three dimensions. Walking through the flagship space just days before its launch, visitors get a tangible sense of what it feels like to inhabit a McGee-designed home.
That immersive feeling is entirely intentional. The expansive store is laid out as a series of layered vignettes, featuring furnishings and accessories from the in-house McGee & Co. line, alongside a carefully curated selection of in-store-only vintage items and hand-picked partner brands such as Match pewter and Caroline Francis candles. Shea notes that the space is designed to feel “more of a home atmosphere than straight retail.” The floor plan accommodates large showroom statement pieces—such as the grand Octavia sectional sofa that immediately greets visitors upon arrival—alongside smaller, grab-and-go gifts like terra-cotta flower pots, design books, and luxury hand towels.
Syd, who looks to retailers like Buck Mason for inspiration regarding customer accessibility, lively merchandising, and attentive staff, explains that their goal was to strike a balance somewhere between a big-box retailer and an intimate boutique. Despite the immense physical scale of the flagship—and the couple’s active plans to open between three and six additional retail locations over the next two years—Shea continues to refer to the destination simply as their "shop."
Maintaining that intimate, approachable feeling is paramount for the couple, who built their brand on personal likability and an ability to make interior design accessible across a variety of budgets. As Shea points out, the firm is capable of designing multimillion-dollar custom homes, yet the brand’s core appeal lies in translating those high-end design principles into relatable, warm, and educational advice for everyday consumers. Scaling that personal connection as the business expands presents its own set of distinct challenges. Shea emphasizes that while she has nationwide aspirations for the brand, she is deeply protective of the individual charm that defines a standalone storefront.
Because the business is so deeply tied to their personal identities, every employee working the retail floor effectively acts as an ambassador for Shea herself. Recognizing this dynamic, Shea spent the two months leading up to the opening developing a rigorous training manual for all store associates. The guide covers granular details down to the exact number of inches Shea prefers to space a rug from a wall and her precise layering techniques for luxury bedding.
These signature design choices are also integrated into the store’s dedicated design services area, where shoppers can access free, personalized furniture recommendations. The guiding philosophy is simple: even if a client cannot afford a fully serviced, custom Studio McGee home design, they can still access and recreate the world of Shea within their own living spaces.
With decorative pillows expertly fluffed and shelves neatly organized, the only missing element on the eve of the soft opening is the customer base. Passersby frequently stop outside to test the locked glass doors, prompting prompt responses from staff members eager to share the news that the shop will be fully open to the public by Saturday. As another curious onlooker cups their hands against the storefront window to catch a glimpse inside, Shea acknowledges that the upcoming soft opening might turn out to be far busier than a typical quiet dress rehearsal.