How Shea And Syd McGee Spend Time For Themselves With Three Kids With Their Packed Lives

Shea And Syd McGee Are Two Busiest Names

Shea and Syd McGee are two of the busiest names in interior design and are still figuring out how to juggle every aspect of their whole lives. The couple star in the third season of their hit Netflix series Dream Home Makeover, which launched July 27 on the streaming platform, while balancing their three children and their ever-expanding design firm Studio McGee.

But as Shea says, "It's always a dance" they make time for themselves amid their growing family and bustling business. She thinks we realized that, for us, it's not about an even split of time every single day, she admits.

There are times when filming is a long day, and then, come the weekend, we are going to go somewhere really fun with the kids, and we are putting those phones down, and we are focusing on that.

Or it's time for us to go to dinner; the kids are with the babysitter; she adds that we have to choose that time wisely. But it can't all just be an even split every day, which has worked for us.

Third Child Responsibility

The Utah-based pair are parents to daughters Wren, 9, Ivy, 6, and Margot, 12 months. Shea notes that "family is so important to us," and they were ready to take on the responsibility of a third child while filming the most recent episodes of Dream Home Makeover.

"We were not in that first parent mode where we were stressed about everything, and so that was nice to have that. Like, 'I think we can do this. I think we know how to do this. On the one hand, it's busier, but this wasn't our first rodeo," Shea says.

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Syd Younger Daughter Helping Situation

Syd interjects; it felt like we could do it after she stopped waking up three or four times a night. As the pair point out, having a five-year age gap between their younger daughters helped the situation. We can say, Hey, play in the backyard, and it helps a lot to have them be a little more independent, says Shea.

As Wren and Ivy adjust to spending more of their lives on camera, the McGees say they've grown far less "camera shy" and were "stoked" to get their microphone packs while filming the latest season.

Babysitter Turns With Regularly Fighting

The sisters also couldn't be more in "love" with their new sibling, regularly fighting to take turns as a babysitter.

They love her so much everyone wants to do everything for the baby, who is excellent and helpful; Shea gushes. It has made a big difference. You can say, 'Hey Wren, go get a diaper, help me do this.' And they love to help, so it has been different this time.

As Syd points out, everyone wants to pick up the baby and carry her around. But their helpfulness can sometimes lead to overzealousness. Sometimes Ivy will be like, 'I'm watching the baby,' and we're like, 'Awesome.' And then she'll leave, and we're like, 'Okay, we cannot rely on that.

The kids have become more interested in design and are taking an active role in their personal spaces. When it's time to make the bed, they take it very seriously, which I am very proud about, says Shea.

They style their pillows and ensure their blankets are just right. I'm like, yes, and they are learning something! Syd admits he is now fourth out of fifth in the house when it comes to the making the bed category, slotting just ahead of baby Margot until she can do it for herself.

Syd Joined To Home Renovation With Handle The Business

The couple shot to Instagram fame in 2010 when Shea, an interior designer by trade, began sharing some of the home renovations she was undertaking on the platform. Her followers fell in love with her signature light-and-rustic interior style. Syd joined to handle the business side.

Together the pair turned Shea's passion into a design empire, and Studio McGee was born. They launched the Netflix series in 2020 and still can't believe their immense success.

It's enjoyable to meet people and be like, Hey, we watch your show, and this happened, or We did this at our house because of you guys. Sometimes we joke, like, 'Do people know who we are? Do they watch our show? I don't know, Syd says with a laugh. Then we will be at the grocery store, and someone will put things in their cart and stare.

We love hearing when people come up to us, and they're like, we watched this episode, and we saw that you did this, and so we did this in our homes. That is the best compliment to me, Shea adds.