As the world binge-watched seasons one and two of Dream Home Makeover through the pandemic, it made Studio McGee – made up of Shea McGee and her family – a household name.
Despite having two hit Netflix shows, a collection in Target, a line of interiors and a new book to their name in 2021, McGee and her husband Syd are most ecstatic about the arrival of their third baby girl later this year. The duo are already parents to Wren and Ivy.
McGee talks to The National about how she makes her home work hard for her as she seemingly does it all – parenting, helming a TV show, designing for her clients, heading up a huge studio and working on a brand empire that will soon include a children's interior line – with a smile on her face.
With a new baby on the way, McGee has been considering her own home and how it may need to adapt. “We originally had a guest room planned upstairs, but luckily, I hadn’t quite gotten around to designing it. We’ll now be turning that space into a nursery for baby girl McGee. In the rest of the home, we are definitely going to be removing the decor from our ottoman, adding a baby gate and taking away the plates from the open shelves on our island."
I'm a big fan of performance fabrics that clean up easily
Baby-proofing a home is a big question for most parents. Is it better to move furniture around and hide everything to accommodate the baby, or teach them to respect their environment right off the bat? “I think it’s a balance,” she says. “Our home decor at a toddler’s reach is very minimal until kids are about 3 and just don’t really know any better. But then as they grow, we definitely teach them where the horseplay can take place – they can jump on their beds and build forts and make messes, but no eating on the velvet couch, for example. I’m also a big fan of performance fabrics that clean up easily.”
For many families, more than one child and a busy work schedule often means the home front is left to wilt and look rather unloved. Finding ways to make a space at once homely, well designed and functional is tough. But McGee has a top tip to counter this: "Everything has a place is my motto when it comes to teaching my kids to help clean up with me.
"With kids, you have to make storage easy. I love styling woven baskets around my house, they’re beautiful but also make for easy, functional storage – I hide toys, blankets and shoes in baskets around the home.
"I also keep storage bins in the children’s closets to keep their toys organised and out of sight. If everything has a place in the home, then it’s easy for the kids – or me – to pick up after play time.”
Storage baskets in the UAE
If you fancy taking a leaf out of McGee's book, here are a range of options of storage baskets available in the UAE, to suit various budgets:
Home Centre, Dh35
A handcrafted round storage basket that is stylish and eco-friendly, this is ideal to stash blankets or sort smaller items within a wardrobe. Its neutral tones fit into most interiors, while you can add different sizes or a trio for maximum display value.
H&M, Dh99
The brand's jute basket is also the perfect selection for storing toys or smaller items around the home. It's easy to walk around while adding to it, then stash away for another day. It looks great and can be easily grabbed by its top handles for on-the-go play dates.
Zara Home, Dh159
A great novelty basket for the children's room, this is made with woven seagrass and features a fun colourful design with a toggle closure. It will look great on a shelf to store little trinkets.
Bound No82, Dh282
Local to Abu Dhabi, Bound No82 sources baskets and design elements from all over the globe including some stunning woven gourd bowls. The baskets are handwoven using natural plant fibres such as Llala and Indaza, which are grown in Bulawayo. Each is unique in size and shape, adding individuality to the display design, and is perfect for storing all those entranceway items such as keys, wallets, glasses, masks and all those smaller items that often clutter the home.
West Elm, Dh625
If you're looking to store larger items, then this lidded modern weave basket in handwoven rattan peel and whitewashed is the one. The stylish neutral basket can magic away all those extra cushions and large toys that litter the home and get it tidy quickly.
Scores
New Zealand 266 for 9 in 50 overs
Pakistan 219 all out in 47.2 overs
New Zealand win by 47 runs
Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site
The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.
Winners
Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
LIVERPOOL%20TOP%20SCORERS
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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HAJJAN
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MATCH INFO
Everton 2 Southampton 1
Everton: Walcott (15'), Richarlison (31' )
Southampton: Ings (54')
Man of the match: Theo Walcott (Everton)
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Mina Cup winners
Under 12 – Minerva Academy
Under 14 – Unam Pumas
Under 16 – Fursan Hispania
Under 18 – Madenat
Abandon
Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay
Translated by Arunava Sinha
Tilted Axis Press
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
