Are you a fan of designer Shea McGee like me? It seems like every decor she does is just perfect… Timeless, warm and with a unique character that represents each family. It’s no surprise that its success on Netflix has been immense! She popularized the farmhouse style, but with a more Mediterranean approach. Shea by Studio Mcgee is excellent for mixing modern, rustic and classic styles. Although all of his designs are different and unique, one can recognize that a particular kitchen was designed by Studio Mcgee. So, how do you find your way around if you like the style and want to use it as inspiration to renovate your kitchen? It’s not as simple as saying ”I want a farmhouse kitchen!” I’ve been deconstructing Studio Mcgee’s style through their latest kitchen renovations and will explain in this blog what elements come together to make WOW this is my dream kitchen!
1st idea for renovating your kitchen Studio Mcgee: CHOOSING FLOORS
Is the era of ceramic floor tiles in the kitchen over? In any case, Shea from Studio Mcgee doesn’t like it at all, except for one small exception that I’ll explain below. Definitely, Shea has the same opinion as me, we don’t really like ceramic in the kitchen. First of all, it is very cold for the feet unless you install a heated floor (that’s wonderful!). Second, stains and dirt look much better than on a wood floor. And third, grout is the worst invention in the world, right?! So we prefer the wood floor in the kitchen! It’s really beautiful and adds a lot of warmth to the kitchen. Plus, it’s easy to maintain because the wood is never perfect and completely smooth, so the little daily stains don’t show and it ages beautifully! As for water, you don’t have to worry, wood resists well to daily use. It is still recommended to put a small carpet on the floor in front of the sink.
The second option found in Studio Mcgee’s kitchen designs for floors is black and white checkerboard tiles! I know it is the dream of many of you to have a floor in this style! It is so elegant, classic and stylish at the same time! To do this, use marbled effect porcelain. To have a good contrast, choose a light color, ideally white or light gray and a dark color, charcoal or black, for example. As for the size, the large formats are more popular, if you have a large kitchen to renovate, I recommend 24”x 24”. Then, as for the diagonal or straight installation it’s hard to say, both are nice. I would say it depends on the rest of the design, maybe validate this detail with your interior designer.
So if you want a Studio Mcgee style kitchen, prioritize a choice of hardwood or black and white porcelain checkerboard flooring first.
2nd idea for renovating your Studio Mcgee kitchen: CHOOSING CABINET DOORS
The shaker style door is the most popular for farmhouse design! It is classic and timeless. It is a good choice since it will last and adapt to all styles. Studio Mcgee is a fan of the shaker door, virtually all of their kitchens feature this door design. In order not to overload the kitchen, we juxtapose the shaker door with straight fronts for the drawers. See the example on the picture below:
When it comes to door color, Shea’s kitchen designs usually come in two colors. Designers like to play with contrasts and add texture. Here are some examples of door layouts that work perfectly for a farmhouse-Mediterranean kitchen:
-a white lacquer and a wood stain
-a white lacquer and a colored lacquer
-a colored lacquer and a wood stain
I suggest not mixing more than two colors for the cabinet doors because there will be several other colors in the materials, such as for the countertop, furniture finishes and flooring. The strength of Studio Mcgee’s designers is to put many colors, contrasts and textures, keeping everything very well balanced.
3rd idea to renovate your Studio Mcgee kitchen:
BACKSPLASH AND COUNTERTOP SELECTION
To make a kitchen design warm and interesting, the interior designers at Studio Mcgee really like to vary textures and finishes. This is very much reflected in the choice of backsplash. Irregular tiles are popular and glossy finishes are mixed with matte finishes for maximum texture. To create a farmhouse kitchen we also like tiles with a rough finish (imitation plaster) in creamy white tones. The subway tile is as popular as ever, but less original! Always prioritize light colors for the backsplash and countertop to brighten the kitchen and reflect the lighting fixtures.
For countertops, I notice in Studio Mcgee’s latest kitchen designs that their choice often settles on marbled effect quartz in shades of white and gray.
4th idea to renovate your kitchen Studio Mcgee: ACCESSORIES AND HARDWARE
It is very important to tackle the small details such as the choice of hardware or lighting for your kitchen. This is often what will influence the style of the room in general. To pull off your farmhouse kitchen style, I recommend choosing industrial-inspired lighting fixtures, especially metal ones. Studio Mcgee likes to use mid-century and vintage lighting in their designs. The most popular shapes are lanterns, cones and spheres. There is no shortage of choice when it comes to design!
Then for the handles, you can choose up to two colors of metal for your kitchen, so think about matching the colors of appliances, fixtures and handles together. It is quite possible to mix gold with silver, just follow this interior design rule: each color must be repeated at least twice to make a beautiful whole.
5th idea to renovate your kitchen Studio Mcgee : COLORS
When it comes to colors, designer Shea of Studio Mcgee is heavily inspired by nature. It always mixes noble materials with timeless colors. For example, she uses a lot of wood colors in her designs, from white oak to caramel stained wood to chocolate brown stained wood.
Farmhouse and Studio Mcgee style kitchens are very bright even though they use a lot of wood. Designers will soften the contrasts by often choosing very light shades such as cream, vanilla and light gray for upper cabinets, walls, countertops as well as ceilings.
As far as colors that go well with a classic rustic style, there are two; green and blue. Of course, they can be made in different shades of light and dark. Green will be very trendy in 2022 and in the next few years for kitchen designs.
Stone is another element of nature found in beautiful kitchen designs!
Again, it adds warmth and style to your kitchen. It is placed on an accent wall that does not have kitchen cabinets, so it can be the entry wall to go into the kitchen, or a wall in the dining room. Brick in light tones comes back a lot, it completes a farmhouse kitchen. I can also see designer Shea using the larger stones to make pretty fireplace mantles in shades of cream and beige! Beautiful!!!
6th idea to renovate your kitchen Studio Mcgee : DETAILS
Interior designers often say that it’s the details that make all the difference in a fine kitchen design! I totally agree and that’s what you see in Shea Mcgee’s designs. First, she never leaves the ceiling on the white painted drywall, it’s way too boring! In most of her kitchen projects, she uses wood paneling, beams and decorative roof trusses. To keep your kitchen design from becoming too heavy, be sure to use light colors for the ceilings ideally.
An important and central element of the kitchen is the oven hood. The possible designs for this element are truly endless. For a farmhouse kitchen style, we prioritize a custom metal hood with exposed hardware, in shades of black, gray or even gold if you really want to showcase the hood. Otherwise, for a more sober style, opt for a white painted gypsum hood, or one with a plaster texture. I’ve also seen a few projects from Studio Mcgee with a hood covered in glossy rectangular ceramic tiles! This is a great idea for a farmhouse-rustic style.
PS. The metal fireplace style hood is really out, we don’t want to see that in your designs!
Then, one last detail that interior designers really like to add to a kitchen is small or large wall shelves. They are placed on either side of the hood to clear the space and not weigh down the walls. The shelves are a great way to make callbacks to materials that are present in your kitchen, such as perhaps the color of your wood floor for the shelf and the finish of your cabinet handles that could be a callback in the brackets.
7th idea to renovate your kitchen Studio Mcgee : DECORATION
To make your farmhouse or Studio Mcgee style kitchen design a success, the addition of accessories is very important, it completes the style. Of course, you should keep the same colors as your kitchen by adding touches of greenery. Remember, we want a style inspired by nature! So all wood, clay and natural fiber accessories are welcome in the kitchen.
Here is a small list of trendy accessories to style your kitchen:
-Natural branches with some greenery
-Rustic wood tray
-Wicker basket
-Clay vase
-Small vintage painting (still life, landscape)
-Metal book holder
-Checked linen dishcloths
-Candle
-Marble glass holder
-Vintage brass salt and pepper shakers
To find this type of accessories, I suggest two Quebec stores:
V of V
in Montreal
Olive House
in Quebec City/Online
Now you have all the knowledge you need to make your dream kitchen. I summarize the 7 big ideas for doing a Studio Mcgee inspired kitchen design. First, choose a wood or black and white marble checkerboard floor. For cabinet doors, select a shaker pattern and ideally mix two colors between wood and lacquer. Next, it is important to balance the contrasts by selecting a bright backsplash and countertop. When it comes to accessories, you can mix mid-century and classic styles. Make sure you have metal touches in either the handles or the fixtures. The most common colors used in Studio Mcgee’s designs are natural colors such as gray, beige, cream and all wood tones. If you want to add a punch of color, I recommend green or blue in all their variations. Don’t forget to design all the details of your kitchen, consider treating the ceiling and walls that don’t have cabinets with wainscoting, stone or wallpaper. For the finishing touch, select decorative items that match the farmhouse style!
If you want more kitchen design inspiration, subscribe to my account
Pinterest
Where I share all my latest home improvement projects.
