Spec Home No. 04 | Communal Spaces

Welcome into the first finished spaces of our first-ever Studio McGee-designed spec home. We’re so excited to show you around the living, dining, and office. Starting in the entryway, “I wanted it to look like oak,” Shea explains. Seeing as to oak’s price tag, Shea opted instead for alder wood, which mimics a natural oak with a custom stain. “Work with the subcontractor,” Shea advises to know what materials they have access to and how you can achieve the look you want without exceeding your budget.

In the living room, you’re greeted with stunning double beam vaulted ceilings, a design element that caused ripples in Shea’s design plan. With two other stain finishes visible in the space, Shea choose to match the ceiling’s wood with the kitchen cabinetry. The fireplace features the same limestone you’ll find on the exterior of the home. A rich overgrout is a good way to add character and a sense of history to a new build.

In the dining room, the windows are dressed with full drapes to fill the edges of the room and the windows are painted a soft white, the same color as the walls, to bring depth and a sense of warmth. “I didn’t want the contrast to be in the windows,” Shea notes, but rather “in the rustic wood floors.”

Moving into the office, Shea is quick to note that she’s been itching to paint a room a rich, brown color and the spec home, seeing as to it is client-less, was just the opportunity. “I love how it turned out,” she adds. Details like a thin molding, custom built-ins, and unique brass sconces make the room feel cozy and elevated.

Explore the spaces below, as well as browse our summer McGee & Co. digital catalogue, which was shot in our spec home. To view previous webisodes of our spec home project, visit our YouTube channel here.

"I wanted this entryway to give you a big, warm hug."

- Shea McGee

“We did a curved hearth, fun fact when we installed this I wasn’t sure if I liked it, but now that all the furniture is in I’m so glad that we did it.”

- Shea McGee

“We decided to dress these windows with really full drapes to fill the edges of the room, and focusing on the texture in here was a great way to not overcomplicate the amount of pattern textiles that we had going on in the space.”

- Shea McGee

“I’ve been dying to paint an entire room a rich brown color for awhile, but our clients are always like I want dark blue or I want dark green and that is beautiful, but I really wanted to do dark brown and we did it in this home and I love how it turned out.”

- Shea McGee