The Best Thing Shea McGee Ever Bought at IKEA

It’s refreshingly simple.

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When you run a 70-plus-person business that includes a design studio, multi-platform blog, and decor shop, you need one thing: really good desks. Also probably a steady IV drip of coffee. 

Shea McGee of Studio McGee knows this firsthand—and she turned to IKEA to get it done. She and her husband, Syd, went to the retailer to outfit their fledgling office in 2016, an approach not unlike the one people decorating a first apartment take. However, unlike a first apartment, they’ve never outgrown the Melltorp tables they use as desks. 

“We didn’t have a big budget, but we had big dreams for the company, so we needed something inexpensive that we could also continue to use as the company grew,” says McGee. The white IKEA tables ticked all the boxes: sleek, simple, and clean. “We’ve bought more of these desks with each new employee, lining them up side by side and face-to-face to create rows. Eventually, our entire studio became rows of the Melltorp desk!” she adds.

Fast-forward to now, and they use the desks for much more than just workspaces. Over the years, McGee has employed her trusty tables as makeshift food buffets at office parties, box-packing stations, and cashier stands for warehouse sales. Even in a nonprofessional setting, she’s found uses for the multifunctional wonder weapon: as extra surface space in the  laundry room or as a streamlined dining table in the kitchen. 

If you’re one of the 900,000-plus Instagram followers who covet Studio McGee’s breezy style (guilty), these desks are a step in the right direction. “We’re known for our light and airy design aesthetic, which is why I think we were initially drawn to this desk—it’s exactly that!” says McGee. “Even when our studio gets messy or crazy busy, these desks always keep the space from feeling heavy. It’s great to use in a place that doesn’t need any more visual weight.”

See more of our favorite IKEA products: 5 Ways to Hack IKEA’s Most Popular Pendant Light 7 Colorful Ways to Hack IKEA’s Lack Shelf IKEA’s Latest Drop Is Fueling Our Summer Dreams

Elly Leavitt

Writer and Editor

Elly enjoys covering anything from travel to funky design (tubular furniture, anyone?) to the latest cultural trend. Her dream apartment would exist on the Upper West Side and include a plethora of mismatched antique chairs, ceramic vessels, and floor-to-ceiling bookcases—essential to her goal of becoming a poor man’s Nora Ephron. You can probably find her in line at Trader Joe’s. You will never find her at SoulCycle.