LJ Smelker

Associate Editor, Shopping

Brooklyn, NY

About Me

I'm originally from a small beach town in West Michigan, but I moved to NYC for college where I got my BS in Fashion Media from LIM College. Brooklyn is now my permanent home, where I love exploring celiac-friendly cafes or bakeries, and I’m constantly reading and bringing my latest book wherever I go. I was Dorm Therapy's Editorial Intern in the spring of 2025 and immediately knew that Apartment Therapy Media was meant to be home in my post-grad career. I'm passionate about helping readers find products that are genuinely useful and improve their lives in one way or another. I write shopping content that solves issues, adds value, and sparks joy.

Latest Stories

Our Complete Guide to the Best Early Black Friday Home Deals You Can Shop Right Now (There Are Over 100!)

Savings up to 75% off!

Megan Gray

yesterday

This Luxurious, Pet-Friendly Sectional Seems Too Good to Be True (but It’s Not)

When my boyfriend (now fiancé) Jeremy and I moved in together, we didn’t have a sofa or much of a budget for one. I quickly found an affordable sofa on Amazon that was the perfect “starter” sectional, but a year later we weren’t happy with it. While it was comfortable and looked great in our living room, the fabric constantly pilled, the foam needed daily fluffing, and the cushions shifted after lounging.

LJ Smelker

yesterday

There’s Now a Mini Version of the Viral Beverage Fridge That’s Always Sold Out (and It’s on Sale!)

Remember when skincare mini fridges were trending on social media a couple of years ago? The fun colors and small size made them so cute and convenient, and luckily, all mini fridges caught on to the design-forward trend.Case in point: Viral fridge brand Rocco just released a brand-new Mini Mini Fridge that blows all other mini fridges out of the water.

LJ Smelker

1 day ago

10 Comfy Chairs and Sofas I’m Eyeing from La-Z-Boy’s Black Friday Sale

Growing up, my Papa’s La-Z-Boy chair was in my aunt’s living room, and my brother, cousins, and I constantly argued over who sat in it when we got together for the holidays. Then, when my Nana bought a La-Z-Boy recliner for her own living room, we continued bickering over that chair too (even though it was Nana’s “assigned” seat).

LJ Smelker

2 days ago

She Created a “Pink Paradise” Bathroom Using Her Home’s Original Tiles

Laura Trexler and her husband’s 1915 historic house had a few quirks after being renovated in the ’80s to run as a bed and breakfast. One of them was that the guest bathroom was built directly into the room’s closet. The couple decided to renovate the entire house all at once, and ended up rewiring and basically replumbing every room — specifically the guest bathroom, because of “a decades-long leak that ruined the subfloor” and a leaking vanity sink.

LJ Smelker

Nov 7, 2026

An All-Blue Bathroom Feels Like a "Boutique Spa" After an Old-World Redo

While Bobby Ruocco’s apartment was built in the 1930s, the bathroom had been updated in the ’90s by the previous tenant. And the renovation “just hadn’t really stood the test of time very well,” he says. After living with the all-blue bathroom for roughly four years, Bobby was finally tired of the worn features and dirty tiles that just wouldn’t get clean.

LJ Smelker

Nov 5, 2026

The 41 Best Deals to Shop This Week from Anthropologie, Wayfair, and More

I even got you some exclusive discounts!

Megan Gray

Nov 5, 2026

A Statement Ceiling Gave This New-Build Bedroom an Elevated Cabin Feel

When interior designer Denise McIntire’s clients moved into their new-build Craftsman-style home, they had a “blank slate” primary bedroom that had simply been painted white and left alone. “It was lacking personality and personal style,” Denise explains. As founder and principal interior designer of Elevated Spaces Staging & Redesign, Denise was excited to create a space her clients could retreat to at the end of each day.

LJ Smelker

Nov 3, 2026

Lowe’s Viral Mini Tool Box Is the Gift I’m Giving Every DIYer This Year

I grew up in Michigan with two engineer parents, so I learned the signature Midwestern phrase that “everything is figureoutable” early on. If you’re not familiar with the saying, it applies to basically everything — especially home projects. I still live by that phrase and have my own collection of tools to “figure out” problems around my apartment — but I don’t have a smart way to organize everything.

LJ Smelker

Nov 2, 2026

Bouqs Co. x LEGO Botanical Is Back with a Limited Holiday Set

My parents are always the hardest to shop for around the holidays because, as they always say, they have everything they need. But when I saw that the Bouqs Co. x LEGO Botanicals collection was back with another limited-edition collab just in time for the holiday gifting season, I immediately knew this would be the perfect gift for them. Each purchase includes a LEGO bouquet of red roses and baby’s breath that lasts forever, and a farm-fresh bouquet of Bouqs Co.

LJ Smelker

Nov 2, 2026

This Renter's Bold Green Kitchen Redo Breaks Every “Renter-Friendly” Rule

“Ironically, wallpapering one living room wall to create an atmosphere somehow morphed into ‘the entire kitchen needs to be updated,’” Audrey Morguess says about her apartment. She’d lived in the same rental for years but finally got tired of the kitchen’s “mash-up of outdated materials.”“Nothing about the kitchen was appealing,” she adds.

LJ Smelker

Oct 31, 2026

They Customized IKEA HAVSTAs to Create the Ideal Dining Room for Hosting

“We really wanted a dining room that we could host family and make memories in,” Trina Irwin says about her 1959 home. But Trina and her husband felt they couldn’t do that in the current setup they had.The room wasn’t cohesive, and while it did have a built-in corner bookcase, it made the space feel more dated than it was. Plus, the current paint color didn’t match Trina and her husband’s design style.

LJ Smelker

Oct 29, 2026

This Apartment’s Living Room Used to Be Bedrooms — You’d Never Know It Now

When a room’s layout isn’t working, you change it to work for you. In Sean Matthew Robinson’s case, he flipped his entire apartment because the layout wasn’t working. Originally in his Hell’s Kitchen apartment a tiny living room was at the front of the railway-style apartment, and two small bedrooms were at the opposite end.

LJ Smelker

Oct 27, 2026

An AI-Created Design Turned Her Empty Corner into a Breakfast Nook

“The breakfast nook was one of those spaces that had so much potential but never felt intentional,” Carmen Murphy shares. Carmen and her boyfriend had moved in together two years ago and had been slowly transforming their apartment.But the couple never really did anything with this space — besides accidentally making it a catchall — because “it’s oddly shaped and in front of the bedroom door.

LJ Smelker

Oct 24, 2026

They Wanted a Tiny Bathroom to Look Vintage (and Nailed It!)

Renovating a home yourself can take a while — especially if it’s an older space that’s been patched or updated occasionally over the years. When Nicole McQuade and her husband moved into their historic Richmond, Virginia, home eight years ago, they tackled renovations room by room.

LJ Smelker

Oct 22, 2026

A Builder-Grade Bathroom Felt "Generic" Until an Elevated and Calming Redo

“When we first bought the house, the bathroom had standard builder finishes and felt fairly generic,” Lita Lee, founder of Stories from a Stylist, says. As an editorial interior stylist, Lita typically works with designers to create a room’s finished look, but in her and her husband’s home she took designing into her own hands. Lita wanted to give the bathroom more character and move away from the “original builder-basic feel.

LJ Smelker

Oct 20, 2026

She Was “Done Living with Beige,” and This Dramatic Color Replaced It

When Julia Gallagher’s cousin, Amma Phaff, asked for help renovating her townhouse, Amma had one clear goal: “She was done living with beige,” Julia notes. As principal architect and founder of JAGA Studio, Julia was eager to help her cousin feel excited about her own home.“We grew up together under the creative influence of our grandmother, spending countless afternoons painting and drawing in her backyard,” Julia shares.

LJ Smelker

Oct 17, 2026

She Gave Her Patio a Renter-Friendly Redo — Even Her Landlord Loved It

An outdoor area isn’t just aesthetically pleasing; it offers real, tangible benefits, too. Whether you live in a small apartment, work from home, or live somewhere with year-round sunshine, getting some fresh air and vitamin D might be high on the priority list. At least it was for Austin-based DIY and home decor influencer Lauren Gutierrez.

LJ Smelker

Oct 16, 2026

This Small Kitchen’s Makeover Takes Open Shelving to a Whole New Level

“We hated to spend any time in this space,” Sharon Exley says about her and her husband Peter’s kitchen. Sharon and Peter’s Chicago apartment was built in 1893, and the kitchen alone had water damage, “five doors and three windows, little wall space, and a healthy floor slant,” Sharon explains.

LJ Smelker

Oct 15, 2026

Her Living Room Feels "Like Being in a Treehouse," Thanks to Custom Bookcases

“The tenants who were there before me had what can only be described as ‘gift shop’-themed furniture,” Rosie Dart shares about her apartment in London. As an illustrator, content creator, and director, she’s drawn to colors, shapes, and details, but even Rosie wasn’t a huge fan of the previous tenants’ decor.

LJ Smelker

Oct 13, 2026

A Cozy DIY Reading Nook Gave This Junk-Filled Space Purpose

“I could never figure out the best use of this space or its true potential,” DIYer Crystal Ransons says of her home’s large storage closet. The space was the only “extra” room and had gone through several phases of use.

LJ Smelker

Oct 10, 2026

Instead of Tossing Her Bed Frame, She Put a $40 DIY Headboard in Front

“I have a really high-quality bed with a vaguely modern aesthetic that no longer suits me,” Maya Drozdz says. She bought the bed frame years ago, but her current style shifted towards an eclectic, vintage look. Maya had originally wanted to replace just the headboard, as that was really the only noticeable part.But because it couldn’t be detached from the frame, Maya had to come up with another solution instead of replacing it.

LJ Smelker

Oct 8, 2026

She Used "Psychedelic Wallpaper" to Make a Tiny Bathroom Feel Bigger

Every square inch matters when a room is only 40 square feet large. It’s important to maximize the room’s functionality and organization and get the most out of the limited space you have. This was the issue Julia Gallagher, principal architect and founder of JAGA Studio, faced with her client’s bathroom.

LJ Smelker

Oct 6, 2026

This Bungalow’s Striking Fireplace Is So Green, It’s Almost Black

“The living room was our first project,” Maudie Francek says about her and her husband Ronnie’s 1928 Milwaukee home. Because the couple was tackling the whole home room by room, they needed at least one space away from the renovation messiness in other parts of the house.“We knew it would be the space where we spent most of our time, so we wanted to create a comfortable landing spot to relax in as we tackled the rest of the house,” Maudie shares.

LJ Smelker

Oct 3, 2026

The Two-Toned Cabinets in This Kitchen Make It Feel Like a “Retreat”

For a lot of people, the kitchen is where a lot of time is spent. Everything from cooking to entertaining to hanging out with family happens in this space. So it’s a win if it represents the people who live in the home.Gina Gutierrez, interior designer and founder of Gina Rachelle Design, had a client who wanted their home “to support a family that truly lives in and enjoys their home,” Gina shares.

LJ Smelker

Oct 1, 2026

A Controversial Color Made This Bathroom Feel Like “a 5-Star Hotel"

“They always say ‘make a small, dark room a lighter color to make it feel larger’ and I feel the opposite is true,” DIYer and influencer Ava Russo says. She’s always loved warmer colors and dark, moody rooms, so her and her fiancé Danny’s basic all-white bathroom was the perfect opportunity to explore that style and “make it dramatic.

LJ Smelker

Sep 29, 2026

They Drenched a Dining Room in Deep Blue — Now It’s Moody and Vintage

For an interior designer, there’s nothing like having a blank slate to design and a client who puts their full faith in your process. Sandy Baisley and Natasia Smith, co-owners and principal designers of Re-Find, had found that exact dream scenario with Julie. “Our client was moving into this home with no previous items for a fresh start,” Sandy shares.

LJ Smelker

Sep 26, 2026

They Turned Their Beige 1900s Parlor into a Bold, Green “Analog Room”

Older homes have unique charm because the layout includes special details that, typically, aren’t seen in modern builds today. Historic homeowners Alexander Rigby and Bobby Naugle, who live in a Pittsburgh townhouse built in 1900, have a gorgeous parlor room. The front room has a fireplace with an original wood mantel and green tiles, plus large stained glass above the front window.

LJ Smelker

Sep 24, 2026

Her Sister Painted Flowers on Her Hallway Walls — Now It’s a Colorful Escape

Blank white spaces, given their expansiveness and endless potential, can be tricky to decorate — especially if it’s a long hallway. But luckily for plant enthusiast Paige Tailyn, she knew she wanted to create an experience for her hallway that would make guests “feel suddenly engulfed by their surroundings,” she says.

LJ Smelker

Sep 22, 2026

A Tiny Bathroom Went from Grimy to Cozy After a "Gothic-Aquatic" Redo

“That feeling of scrubbing a bathroom until your arms ache, only for it to still look kind of grimy, is the ultimate motivator,” DIYer Joe Bergantino says. Joe is one half of the DIY duo @HomosWithHammers, an account he shares with his husband, Ricky Gonzalez. They’ve slowly been restoring their 1800s Chicago home, and that grimy feeling was the couple’s inspiration to make the tiny powder room “pack a giant punch.

LJ Smelker

Sep 19, 2026

A Victorian Home's Entire Kitchen Was Demolished — Except For the Dishwasher

Historic homes often come with complicated maintenance and renovation challenges — like uneven foundations, tricky electrical or plumbing, and even health concerns with lead paint and asbestos. And sometimes the problems are significant enough that there’s little left to salvage. For Christine Urbanek, her 1890s Victorian was one of those instances where it was better to reconfigure the interior layout completely.

LJ Smelker

Sep 17, 2026

A Plain Attic Bedroom Is Now a “Little Jewel Box” After a Colorful Redo

Guest rooms are traditionally used to host out-of-town visitors, but because friends and family typically stay for only short periods, it can feel like a waste of space when no one is there. Project Lead for Mira Jean Designs, Jessica Viator, had clients who wanted to make the most of their extra bedroom. “They were craving a space they enjoyed walking into and one that reflected their personalities and flowed better with the rest of the home,” Jessica explains.

LJ Smelker

Sep 15, 2026

A Dark Kitchen Got a Bright, Neutral Makeover — It’s Anything but Boring!

Even rooms with tall ceilings and large windows can feel dark if the color palette isn’t lending itself to an airy vibe. Pamela Stewart’s kitchen looked “dated, dark, and dreary” — despite the 9-foot ceilings and amazing views of the Arizona landscape. While the walls were white, the floors, cabinets, and countertops were all shades of brown, which made the space feel darker than it actually was.

LJ Smelker

Sep 12, 2026

Her Neighbor Helped Make This Bathroom Feel Like Hers Again

There’s something so special about a neighbor-to-neighbor bond. Neighbors are like a nearby safety net — watering each other’s plants, checking in when the power goes out, or shoveling each other’s walkways in winter. Or, for Holly Saulie-Rohman, giving her neighbor Jackie a ride whenever she needs one. “We support each other in all the neighborly ways,” Holly shares. But the neighbors’ bond goes beyond helping with admin tasks.

LJ Smelker

Sep 10, 2026

A Wall of Cabinets Did More Than Add Storage to This Living Room

In today’s world of technology, it’s not uncommon to find your next living situation on social media. As a New York transplant, I’ve heard stories from friends who have found apartments on TikTok or who have stumbled upon a group needing another roommate on Instagram.

LJ Smelker

Sep 8, 2026

A Tiny Corner of an NYC Bedroom Became the Most Inspiring Office

If you work from home, you might want to create a workspace that inspires and motivates you — even if that means getting a little unconventional. For Sean Matthew Robinson, it made the most sense to turn what used to be the apartment’s living room into his bedroom… and a corner office.

LJ Smelker

Sep 5, 2026