'I Had a Commitment to Create a New Home With Soul' – An Exclusive First Look Inside Studio McGee's Newest 25,000-Square-Foot Project
From a tented playroom to a conservatory inspired by the family's favorite songs, every room of this home tells a story
With 25,000 square feet to play with, this Utah home surrounded by mountains could easily have felt imposing. Instead, it feels remarkably intimate.
Designed by Studio McGee in collaboration with architect Colton Broadbent of Broadbent Architectural Studio, the newly completed home was created for a family of nine who wanted something timeless yet deeply personal – a house design for gathering, creativity, and connection rather than vast scale.
Yes, there are soaring ceilings, dramatic steel-framed windows, and impressive views of the Provo foothills beyond. But there are also craft rooms, music spaces, a bowling alley, and one very charming striped playroom disguised as a tent.
Ahead of the full reveal, Shea and Colton take Homes & Gardens on an exclusive first look round.
'My biggest influence on this project was the family itself and a commitment to create a new home with soul,' says Shea. 'The way they live – music every day, dinner in the kitchen, a real love of the Netherlands, fifteen songs that mean something to them – became the design narrative.'
Homes & Gardens: The landscape seems to play as much of a role as the architecture itself. How did the setting shape the home's story?
Shea McGee: The clients had a clear vision – a legacy home for their family of nine, anchored by a classical European aesthetic and built to feel as though it had always been there. The setting shaped almost every decision.
The warm, brick-cut stone on the exterior was selected to settle the home into its surroundings; the steel windows pull the mountain views inside; the entry hall was intentionally framed so that the moment you walk through the front door, the landscape opens straight through to the backyard. This was never meant to be a home imposed on the site. It was meant to belong to it.
Cole Broadbent: From the outset, Jason [the homeowner and Crumbl Cookies founder] wasn’t simply interested in building a home; he was interested in creating a story. He often spoke about wanting a place that captured the essence of his childhood.
The site itself played a significant role in shaping the architecture. The mountains provide a dramatic backdrop, but there was never a desire for the house to compete with the landscape. Instead, we wanted it to feel as though it had gradually found its place there over time. The architecture draws on familiar, time-tested forms, but it is composed in a way that feels fresh and tailored to the family.
One of the central challenges was accommodating an ambitious program without allowing the home to feel oversized or overly formal. Homes of this scale can easily become a collection of features. Our goal was to create something more enduring.
'The most meaningful projects often emerge when architecture begins with a broader question than style,' says Colton. 'In this case, the question was how to create a home that could encourage curiosity, creativity, gathering, and joy.'
Homes & Gardens: This project pivoted during the design process. How did that shift ultimately shape the final design?
Colton Broadbent: One of the things I love most about residential architecture is that the project you begin is rarely the project you finish. The design process has a way of revealing priorities that aren’t always obvious at the outset. Not only to us as designers, but often to the clients themselves.
When we first began exploring this home, the architectural language leaned somewhat more contemporary. As our conversations with Jason and his wife, Whitney, deepened, however, it became clear that what they were ultimately seeking wasn’t a particular style; it was a feeling.
As that became clearer, the architecture naturally evolved. Rather than asking, 'How can this be different?' we found ourselves asking, 'How can this feel lasting?' That shift ended up influencing almost every major decision that followed.
The final home feels richer because of that journey. The collaboration with Studio McGee and Northland Design was instrumental in that outcome. The architecture established the framework, but the interiors and landscape expanded the narrative, adding texture, depth, and continuity that extend well beyond the walls of the home.
'The conservatory and dining room create an immediate sense of occasion through scale, light, and volume,' says Colton. 'Large openings frame views, natural light fills the interiors, and carefully considered proportions keep the rooms from feeling cavernous despite their size.'
Shea McGee: Every project of this depth has a pivot, and ours came with the dining room. It was originally imagined as a glass-lined pavilion gently set over water – an outdoor room.
As the design evolved and the family’s needs shifted, the pavilion was enclosed in glass and embraced within the home’s more traditional architecture.
The illusion remains. The room still feels as though it’s floating, with the water carrying out beneath the house and through to a cascade beyond. That single decision created some of the most layered views in the home – moments where you can look through one space and discover another. It also shaped the way we thought about the rest of the floor plan: as a collection of spaces revealed gradually, rather than taken in all at once.
'I returned again and again to the classical European homes I’ve loved most,' says Shea. 'Belgian farmhouses for their refined, yet rustic elegance. Dutch interiors for the scullery. English sources for many of the textiles and furniture pieces throughout.'
Homes & Gardens: Despite the scale of this property, it's surprisingly cozy. How did you approach creating that sense of intimacy?
Shea McGee: A home this size could easily feel grand to the point of being impersonal, so we worked very carefully to bring that feeling down through layering, pattern mixing, cottage-inspired details, and antiques that feel collected rather than precious.
The architecture also allowed for a nice ebb and flow between the grand spaces and the more intimate ones, and we leaned into that contrast. We were intentional about choosing finishes with warmth – oak, for instance, throughout the great room.
We added oak moldings around the openings that create almost a hug effect around the living room before drawing you into the more intimate spaces beyond. That mix is really instrumental.
We filled every corner of the home with personal pieces – artwork and decorative objects that belong to the family – and that's what makes it feel lived in rather than staged.
'Throughout the project, we were interested in creating different expressions of significance. Some rooms achieve that through height and light. Others achieve it through intimacy, materiality, or detail,' says Colton.
Homes & Gardens: The home balances the wife’s softer, more cottage-inspired style with Jason’s cleaner, more tailored vision. How did you bridge those contrasting styles?
Shea McGee: The overall aesthetic is classic European with American livability – layered, warm, and quietly tailored.
Whitney leans toward softer, more cottage-inspired moments: the chinoiserie murals in the children’s wing, the romantic ruffled cushions in the craft room, the slipcovered seating, the wallpapered ceilings.
Jason gravitates toward cleaner architectural moves: the limestone entry, the steel windows, the dark-stained tongue-and-groove garage, the rich oak of his dressing room.
The way they meet is the heart of the project. Architectural continuity – the same paneling, the same plaster, the same material vocabulary – held the home together, and within that backbone, each room could lean a little softer or a little more tailored without losing the larger story. The home is neither his nor hers. It’s both, settled into one.
'People often say to me, “You’re so creative, I’m not creative,” I think we are all creative. A house like this can remind people of that,' says Colton. 'It can create space for discussion, for imagination, and for the kind of making and experimenting that kids should grow up around.'
Colton Broadbent: We ultimately landed on a Belgian-inspired archetype because it could hold both sides of their taste.
It can handle Jason’s cleaner, more tailored sensibility, but it also has room for the softer, more cottage-like qualities that Whitney was drawn to. There is a sense of history and craftsmanship in that style, but it doesn’t have to feel overly ornate or out of place.
That became the bridge. The architecture could be rooted in history and European precedent, but still feels restrained, edited, and appropriate for the way they live. From there, Studio McGee was able to carry that story into the furnishings, materials, and layered interior details. It was really a shared story that we kept building together and riffing on as the project developed.
'The result is a home that feels collected rather than curated. It doesn’t read as overtly traditional or aggressively modern,' says Colton. 'Instead, it occupies a middle ground where timeless architecture often resides: familiar enough to feel comfortable, yet distinctive enough to feel memorable.'
Homes & Gardens: Are there any details in the home that visitors might overlook, but shouldn't?
Shea McGee: So much of what makes this home feel personal lives in the details, and the artwork is where a lot of that comes through. A few highlights for me:
There's a painting of our client's grandmother hanging in the kitchen, and a wall of historical family photos in the mudroom. We also commissioned a local artist to paint a beautiful family tree featuring the family crest and a small rendering of the home itself – it hangs above a George Smith chaise tucked under the stairs, which is one of my favorite quiet moments in the house.
On the finishes side, I love what we did with the stone step details in a few different spots. In the entryway, there's a solid piece of limestone with a chiseled edge, and at the base of the staircase leading up to the kids' wing, there's a marble step. They're small moments most people might not register consciously, but they're the kind of details that make the home feel crafted rather than built.
'Architecture is often discussed in terms of destinations – the kitchen, the dining room, the library – but some of the most important experiences happen in the transitions,' says Colton.
Colton Broadbent: I hope people notice the spaces between the spaces.
Throughout this home, we paid close attention to moments of arrival, pause, and anticipation. There are vestibules, compressed passages, framed views, and subtle thresholds that help define the experience of moving from one space into another.
A great piece of music is not defined solely by the notes. The pauses matter as well. Architecture operates in much the same way. The moments of compression make the larger spaces feel more expansive. The quieter moments make the dramatic moments feel more meaningful.
There is a kind of cognitive mapping that happens, where your body can sense that you are moving from one type of space into another. As you move through the house, the architecture asks you to pay attention. It makes you feel that something has shifted, and hopefully it sparks a little curiosity about why that space feels different.
'For me, the magic is in the material mix: things that lean decidedly relaxed, like seagrass, rattan, and stripes, set against an awe-inspiring backdrop,' says Shea.
Homes & Gardens: From craft rooms to bowling alleys – how important was creating different moods throughout the home?
Shea McGee: If every room hits the same note, you stop hearing any of them. The conservatory is enveloping and a little theatrical – Pierre Frey Chantonnay wallpaper carried up the walls and across the ceiling, two Steinways at the center, a design narrative built around fifteen songs that mean something to this family.
The craft room is cheerful and atelier-like – soft cream millwork, ruffled cushions on the built-in benches, label holders on the drawers.
The theater room is intimate and club-like – lounge seating instead of stadium rows, deep green velvet, plaid lumbar pillows. They’re each true to themselves, but there are threads that carry between the spaces with the materials, inspiration, and color palettes.
'With seven children, the conversation quickly became less about square footage and more about experience,' says Colton. 'How do you create a home that supports daily family life while also becoming the backdrop for decades of memories? That question guided many of the decisions that followed.'
Homes & Gardens: We have to talk about the tented playroom. Where did that idea come from?
Shea McGee: When we design kids' spaces, we're thinking about playfulness and youth, but we're also thinking about how a room can evolve over time.
The bunk room is a good example – we chose gender-neutral tones so it could grow and accommodate whoever is staying there. We did a playful design with the cutouts and shaping of the bunks, upholstered headboards, and built-in daybeds.
The star of the children's spaces, though, is the tented room. From the very first time I saw that space on the plans, I knew I wanted it to feel like a play tent inside the home. I'd always wanted to do a tented room, and our client was open to it, so I knew this was the perfect opportunity.
The blue and white stripes feel classic and elegant – every home needs a few moments that feel like surprises, and this is one of them. It is the happiest room. Tented rooms have a rich history, and with a few styling adjustments, this could function as a really inspiring lounge space as the kids grow older.
'That tension between casual and grand is what makes the home feel warm and actually work for everyday life,' says Shea.
Homes & Gardens: There's a pattern in almost every room, yet nothing feels overwhelming. What's the secret?
Shea McGee: There's a rise and fall with the pattern throughout the home. Nearly every room features some sort of pattern – whether it's tile work, a textile on a pillow or chair, or wallpaper – but there are also calmer, quieter moments that let the eye rest. The goal was to create continuity and repetition without making every room feel the same.
A lot of the cohesion comes from design details we carried through the main spaces, but in subtly varied ways – the opening around the fireplace is repeated around the kitchen range, cabinet corbels, and in the primary bedroom.
We also took a lot of inspiration from the natural surroundings. You see those palettes and textures pulled directly from the foothills behind the home – many of the dusty, earthy tones throughout were chosen with that landscape in mind. That connection to place is really what holds everything together.
'Looking back, I think the success of the project comes from the fact that it never tried to be larger than its purpose,' says Colton. 'Despite its scale, it remains fundamentally about family, place, and belonging.'
Homes & Gardens: Architecturally, what was most important to establish early on?
Colton Broadbent: If I had to point to a single idea that guided the project from the beginning, it would be proportion.
Large homes are not inherently grand. In fact, size alone often works against the feeling people are trying to achieve. Without careful consideration, larger homes can quickly go from feeling grand to just feeling big.
We use the phrase 'house bloat' internally quite a bit, and this project constantly challenged us to resist it. Every square foot had to earn its place within the larger composition.
From the beginning, we focused on creating hierarchy rather than simply increasing dimensions. Every space needed to understand its role within the larger composition.
A room with a high ceiling, for example, required architectural elements that could help bring the scale back to the individual. Millwork, beams, openings, and material transitions all became tools for creating comfort within larger volumes.
'The family itself became the greatest source of inspiration,' says Colton. 'Jason and Whitney were willing to embrace moments of delight throughout the home. The floating dining room, the dramatic steel windows, the music room, the craft spaces – these aren’t gestures made for spectacle. They are expressions of the way the family lives and what they value.'
Homes & Gardens: Is there one room or design detail that best captures the spirit of the project?
Shea McGee: Maybe it's because it's one of my favorite rooms in the house, but I think the scullery best captures the personality of the family. It's a large, overflowing space that's incredibly practical but just as beautiful.
The Delft tile on the walls is representative of a favorite trip our client went on, so it's deeply personal. In the center, there's a huge island for baking. We hung copper pots that feel very collected, and a sentimental art piece hangs in the corner. It's so connected to a personal story, but you can also see the vibrancy and life of the family who lives here. To me, it captures everything we wanted this project to be: chic, collected, personal, and a space that actually works for the people who live in it.
Colton Broadbent: There are a lot of spaces I’m proud of in this house, but I find myself returning to the relationship between the dining room and the craft room.
On paper, those spaces serve very different purposes. One is devoted to gathering around a table. The other is devoted to making, experimenting, and creating. Yet their proximity tells you a great deal about the values of the family.
This family is very much about storytelling, inspiration, togetherness, and creation. They wanted a home where their kids could feel inspired, where creativity was part of everyday life. I think that is a really beautiful thing to foster in children.
That connection between family dinner and the craft room really captures the heart of the project for me: togetherness, creativity, and a home that encourages everyone who lives there and visits to be inspired.
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