16 SEPTEMBER 2026 — DESIGN
Trolley Square: Episode 4
The furniture is here. Now comes the fun part—or at least, that’s the idea.
In Episode Four, the furniture arrives—and with it, the next phase of the design process. For Shea, an install is never simply about putting everything where it was planned. Once the sofas, tables, lighting, art, and decor are in the room together, she starts looking at scale, balance, sightlines, and how each vignette feels in person. Pieces move. Layouts change. The original plan becomes a starting point rather than a rulebook.
That process is especially important at Trolley Square. Instead of approaching the Salt Lake City store like a traditional retail space, Shea designed it to feel more like walking through a Studio McGee home. Furniture, art, lighting, textiles, and decor come together in complete rooms, giving you the chance to experience the McGee & Co. collection as it was designed to live.
Of course, the historic building has one more surprise for us. An uneven floor quickly becomes impossible to ignore once lamps and furniture start going into place, sending the team into another round of last-minute problem-solving. With only days left to finish the store, even the smallest adjustment matters.
But amid the install-day scramble, something bigger starts to sink in. For the first time, Shea and Syd are standing inside a physical expression of a brand that has existed largely online. What started more than a decade ago as an interior design business has grown into Studio McGee and McGee & Co.—and now, a flagship store filled with the pieces and design point of view they’ve spent years building.
By the final walkthrough, the construction site has become something entirely different: a store that feels collected, dimensional, and distinctly Studio McGee. There are still details to finish before opening day, but for the first time, it feels less like imagining what Trolley Square could become and more like finally seeing it.
Episode 4 now on YouTube. New episodes air every Wednesday as we count down to the store’s grand opening. New episodes air every Wednesday as we count down to the store’s grand opening.
