Skateboards, skinny jeans, and LOTS of doughnuts.
Shea and Syd McGee turned a thriving design business into a hit TV show, but they didn’t
do it by following the rules.
Shea and Syd McGee might look like they were destined for television, with their flashy
white smiles and well-tended bodies, but the couple didn't always have small screen aspirations.
In fact, the McGees only started their renovation business in 2014, while each of them were
in different professions.
But when Shea started documenting her home redesign on Instagram, her following blew
up.
As Syd explained in an interview with The New York Times -
"Shea was able to understand what was needed to make her audience react and to grow.
She was an early adapter to Instagram."
After that, the McGees realized they had a lucrative business opportunity on their hands,
so they threw themselves wholeheartedly into it.
They established McGee & Co., an online home furnishing enterprise, published a book entitled
"Make Life Beautiful," and eventually ventured into reality television with "Dream Home Makeover."
Oh, and they also have a line at Target, to top it all off!
With Syd as the CEO and Shea as interior designer extraordinaire, it looks like the McGees are
only rising higher with each passing day.
Shea and Syd McGee look like total naturals on "Dream Home Makeover," with her as the
likable star and him as the trusty and supportive sidekick.
But as it turns out, the McGees were super reluctant to enter the world of reality television.
Shea revealed that the first production company that came along tried to make the McGees something
they're not, telling The Salt Lake Tribune that they had a very bad experience trying
to create a sizzle reel, which is used to pitch shows.
She went on to say -
"They tried to fit us into a box and made Syd the contractor and us kind of the quintessential
husband-and-wife design construction duo."
At the time, the McGees tried to lean into what the company wanted, but it just wasn't
working, with Syd recalling -
"I got, like, a 40-pound sledgehammer, which is really heavy.
I had no idea.
That's not what I do."
"But I'm more than just the handyman, you know?
Or the good looks."
After that, the McGees cooled off on the idea of any kind of television show — at least
for a while.
After Syd and Shea McGee had a bad experience with the first production company they worked
with, having a TV show seemed like a far-off prospect.
But eventually, they took matters into their own hands, this time creating the audition
tape on their own.
They wrote on their blog -
"We made our own 'Sizzle Reel' to send in that ended up landing us the show for our
initial meeting."
They added that it's super fun to look back at the sizzle reel to see how they've grown
and developed, both in their design choices and skateboarding skills.
After meeting with Netflix and successfully pitching "Dream Home Makeover," Netflix gave
them the green light all the way back in 2018.
They wrote on their blog -
"We've had to keep the secret of 'Dream Home Makeover' for quite some time.
It's hard to believe that after a few years of planning and filming, it's finally released!"
It's no secret that many reality shows on television are a little less than, well, real.
However, there are no curve balls like that on "Dream Home Makeover," at least as Syd
and Shea McGee tell it via a post on their blog, writing -
"Our show was completely unscripted.
We were really lucky that our [show represents] what our real process is actually like."
In fact, that was one of the goals of the series, as they wanted it to be as close to
how things really go down as possible, adding on their blog -
"What you'll see in this show is true to how we communicate with our clients, work with
contractors, and collaborate with our team."
"Dream Home Makeover" showcases the design talent of Shea McGee, who really has an eye
for what looks great in a home.
But that doesn't mean Syd McGee doesn't do anything, or is relegated to the grunt work.
Rather, he's in charge of operations, which is a significant role.
As he explained in a chat with The Wrap -
"I oversee everything that's, like, not pretty.
So hiring, firing, managing the team, managing budgets, when the crap hits the fan."
Syd added that his priority is making sure that everything behind the scenes runs smoothly,
so that Shea can focus on getting her work done.
While it's not as exciting to watch human resource meetings on camera as it is to see
Shea's design magic, Syd still has a significant role on-screen, with Shea sharing -
"He ends up tagging along, he makes everyone feel comfortable on camera and he's really
good at that, so he ends up being my sidekick."
"Installing quartz countertops is a really big deal."
"Of quartz."
But it's off-camera where Syd's real work is, as McGee & Co. has over 100 employees!
While much of the show takes place at Syd and Shea's clients' homes, where Shea works
her design magic, a good portion of it also takes place at the stars' home.
For one, they renovate their own home on the series, so you can really get to know what
their living space looks like.
Additionally, rather than use a studio, Netflix films Syd and Shea's interview segments in
a surprising location.
According to the McGee's blog -
"You might never guess that the set is actually right in their basement.
Since it is unfinished, it provided the perfect backdrop for the Netflix crew to set up a
scene that looks like a design studio with a pinboard and a few plants."
In order to be a successful reality television star, you have to be the kind of person that
viewers want to look at.
Of course, both Syd and Shea McGee are easy on the eyes as well, with their contemporary
fashion, well-kept hairstyles, and healthy physiques.
To that end, you might wonder just how many doughnuts Syd really eats, as it's clear on
"Dream Home Makeover" that he's a fan of the confection.
However, Syd wants you to know that he's not chowing down on a donut every day, but as
he explained to The Wrap -
"When it's game time, it's game time — and I'll go hard."
Before there was "Dream Home Makeover," and long before there were McGee children, Syd
and Shea McGee were just a couple of singles.
As Shea tells it, it's thanks to her brother that they met in the first place, though he
wasn't trying to set them up.
As she wrote in their book, "Make Life Beautiful" -
"On the phone he said, 'My buddy Syd will be there and you're going to like him, but
don't, because he's my friend.'"
Like any good sibling, she ignored her brother's plea and revealed that the first time she
laid eyes on Syd, she was seriously smitten, telling Popsugar -
"As I pulled into the lot, I knew I was in trouble.
There Syd was on a skateboard, wearing the skinniest skinny jeans I had ever seen.
We went on our first date the next night."
While Syd and Shea McGee are certainly sitting pretty now, with a booming business, a successful
brand, and reality TV stardom, that wasn't always the case.
In fact, there was a time early in Shea's design business that they were seriously struggling
to get by, as Syd's company had recently been acquired and soon he wasn't working.
Syd wrote about this time in their book "Make Life Beautiful," saying -
"We canceled cable.
We canceled gym memberships.
We stopped going out to eat.
We cut out everything that wasn't mortgage or food."
And even then, they still had a rough time making ends meet at the grocery store.
That's why Syd began selling off everything he could, from bikes to surfboards to furniture.
He told People -
"It came down to the question: Could we live without it?
If we could, we sold it.
We were losing ground quickly, making my lack of contribution even worse."
It was only after Syd figured out his role in their fledgling business that things began
to fall into place; once he realized he could run the business while Shea did the design,
their problems abated.
The financial stress that stars Syd and Shea McGee dealt with while Shea was working on
her burgeoning design business was, understandably, a lot in and of itself.
But there was also fallout from both that and Shea's packed schedule, as she had more
clients than she knew what to do with.
Naturally, that ate into Shea's personal time.
She wrote in their memoir -
"I was frustrated when I drove by moms at the park in the middle of the day while I
toted my baby to an upholstery shop.
There was guilt when I checked emails while feeding her cereal puffs and sadness when
I sat in her room and rocked her."
Shea found herself in her daughter's room regularly, where she could let her sad emotions
out, continuing -
"I could shut the door, rest my head on the back of the glider, and let the tears fall.
I'm a fighter, but I couldn't see my way out of this situation."
Understandably, issues that Syd and Shea McGee were dealing with spilled into their marriage,
as Syd hadn't yet figured out what direction he was going in with his career.
That's something with which Shea really struggled.
She wrote in their memoir -
"I wanted to support Syd, but some days I felt like too much was placed on my shoulders.
I began to feel resentful he'd put us in this position."
Fortunately, Syd and Shea didn't wind up divorcing, or giving up on each other.
Rather, they rallied and got through it together, which is why they're so prosperous today.
"Early on when he was kinda like, getting into the design side and I was getting into
the business side, that was when we had a lot of problems."
As Shea revealed in an interview with KPMG Spark -
"We soon realized that our skill-sets complemented each other really well and that he could run
the business and allow me to focus solely on the design.
We sold our home in Southern California and moved to Utah to start our design firm in
a more business-friendly state."