Maxwell Ryan

CEO

New York, NY

Maxwell left teaching in 2001 to start Apartment Therapy as a design business helping people to make their homes more beautiful, organized AND healthy. The website started up in 2004 with the help of his brother, Oliver. Since then he has grown ApartmentTherapy.com, added TheKitchn.com, our home cooking site, and has authored four books on design. He now lives with his daughter in a lovely apartment in Brooklyn.
This Incredible Blanket I Bought 2 Years Ago Still Looks Like New
And they make great gifts!
May 3, 2024
A Note from Maxwell, Our Founder
Welcome to the new Apartment Therapy.
May 1, 2024
How to Insulate Hot Pipes with Rope
They don't have to be such an eyesore.
Jan 11, 2024
The 11 Best Sleeper Sofas and Sofa Beds Your Guests Will Love Crashing On
We'll help you find one that's comfortable, attractive, and fits your budget.
Dec 26, 2023
You Can Shop Apartment Therapy's New Cammie Collection Now!
For your brightest, boldest sleep yet.
Oct 6, 2023
Party Architecture: #1 – Density
Ever been to this type of party?You’re invited for 9.You walk in at 10:30.But you’re still early.A few people are sitting around the living room. Others are leaning against the wall. You find the host in the kitchen pouring a drink for someone under the bright, fluorescent light. A plate of crudites sits on top of a stereo playing a blah rock mix. Someone is already saying their goodbyes…Don’t let this happen to you!
Oct 4, 2023
I Tried This Under-the-Radar Brand’s Customizable Organic Cotton Percale Bedding — Here’s Why It’s a Game Changer
Mix and match from more than 40 colors to create your dream bedding set.
Sep 14, 2023
Our Favorite Drinking Glasses to Use Every Single Day
Good design isn’t just for wine glasses and fancy occasions. We like to incorporate it into everything we use on a daily basis, from the rugs under our feet to the lighting above. And that includes our regular tableware. So if you’re looking for beautiful drinking glasses that you can use every day, look no further than these 11 picks.
Jul 31, 2023
Get Amazing One-Time Deals on Furniture and Art in NYC, LA & Atlanta
Bridge Props doesn't usually sell outside of the trade, but right now, it's offering local NYC, Los Angeles, and Atlanta communities the option to buy these pieces for their spaces at steep discounts and deals.
May 24, 2023
Introducing Max Plexibox: The Framing Gamechanger
A new way to frame.
May 17, 2023
Apartment Therapy’s New (Online) Frame Shop Will Help You Frame Your Art Easily and Beautifully
NEWS
I’ve always wanted to offer a really simple, really reliable online framing solution. Now, by teaming up with Simply Framed, we’ve gone and done it.
Apr 3, 2023
Use the 57″ Rule To Hang Pictures at the Perfect Height
You only need to remember one number to get it right, every time.
Mar 30, 2023
A Simple, Sweet Way to Celebrate Yourself This Month
You deserve it.
Jan 27, 2023
13 Tips for The Sexiest Bedroom … Like Ever
Mae West was famous for saying, “The best way to get over a guy is to get under a new guy.” Despite its many implications, it was a good reminder to me that amidst all the politics of dating, as an Apartment Therapist, underneath it ALL is a bed and the BEST way to catch the new person you want is to have a fantastic bedroom. Your bedroom is the clearest expression of how you are feeling about yourself right now and is bathed in your pheromones.
Jan 25, 2023
Bazaar Daily Finds
4 Restoration Hardware Demi-lune chairs – $600 – I had them for about 4 years. Restoration Hardware doesn’t sell them anymore, but you can view details on this page. They are in good shape, very sturdy, oak wood frame is like new – NYC Weekend of February 15 Dear Readers, What are you looking for?
Nov 14, 2022
Best Small Toilets: Toto, Kohler, Duravit & 3 More
Bring on the small, yet powerful, toilets that allow you to save space and still sit down in style. Oh, and yes, you will also save lots of water as well! When I started doing this list nearly ten years ago, this was a novel category. It is no longer. Our reader favorites continue to be these brands: Toto, Duravit and Kohler, and while there’s still debate about the higher prices for these toilets and problems with “streaking” they seem to be generally winning people over.
Oct 15, 2022
Small Cool 2007: The Winners!
We’re all winners. Congratulations to all the winners! We’d like to thank everyone who entered for sharing their homes with all of us and proving that SMALL is COOL. Thanks as well to our four fabulous judges, Kara, Michael, Jamie and Brad for choosing these winners.* And a big thank you to DWR for sponsoring the whole shebang.1st PlaceQuotes from the Judges on London Urchin’s entry:Kara:“I love this apartment because of its simple elegance.
Oct 13, 2022
Great DIY Desks with IKEA Countertops and Legs
This is a pearl of wisdom that I received years ago and wanted to bring back right now. When in need of a really simple, nice, natural material desk, use IKEA butcherblock countertop (which is cuttable, sandable, stainable and paintable) and some cool legs (like the Vika Inge style seen here, which has been replaced with Vika Runtorp).
Oct 12, 2022
Eames Knock Offs, Fakes & Copies
This is the real thing and I love it – an Eames LCW from Herman MillerLately, I’ve been seeing more not-so-bad knock offs of some classic designs.
Oct 12, 2022
How To Catch a Mouse: Our Biggest & Most Helpful Posts
It’s mouse season, and two friends have found critter droppings in their kitchen since New Year’s, throwing them into a tizzy. I’ve been through this before, and it drove me crazy how difficult they are to catch. They have patterns that you can expect, and then they break them. A number of years ago (when I recorded the videos below), I finally DID catch the mouse in our home, but it took days and lots of patience.
Sep 13, 2022
Warm vs Cool Colors: What Are They and What’s the Best Way to Use Them?
The interior palette is roughly divided into two groups of color: warm and cool colors. Reds, yellows, oranges and beige are warm. Blues, greens and grays are cool. If you look at the color wheel, warm colors are on one side of the wheel, and the cools reside on the other. Where they meet, they mix, forming some hybrids, like green and purple. Those colors can be warmer or cooler depending on their mix.
Aug 10, 2022
Upgrade Your IKEA Sofa with Our New, Affordable Slipcover Collection from Bemz
A while back, I worked with the BEMZ team to design a special corduroy collection that was chic, cozy, and perennially in style. Now, I’m excited to finally reveal the brand new colors that build on the success of that project.
Mar 10, 2022
One Good Thing: Holiday Edition – Part 3
Hey, we’re back with our final episode in which we solve two more people’s gift giving problems. This week Nina stops by looking for a gift for her little nephew and then Brenden stops by looking for a gift for his mother, who is INCREDIBLY HARD to shop for. I think Hands and I nailed both of them and I hope you think so too.
Dec 9, 2021
One Good Thing: Holiday Edition – Part 2
Hey, we’re baaaaaaaaack! This week Hands and I solved more gift giving problems and ALSO had two celebrity sightings as Alvin and Whitney stopped by and sat down at our booth. Alvin was looking for a present for a design loving friend who has a small space, while Whitney wanted a housewarming present for a friend who was just moving into a new apartment this holiday season. WE NAILED IT. After offering two suggestions to each, they walked away happy with some very unique gifts.
Dec 2, 2021
One Good Thing: Holiday Edition – Part 1
Hey all you guys! Welcome back to our weirdest One Good Thing yet – a full on gift give away on the street in SoHo. After years of watching others do gift guides, Hands and I decided to not just put forward our favorite gift finds of the year, but to give them all away to folks we met on the street. It was not only a great service to perform, it was fun and got us right into the holiday spirit. Check out this unique setup and enjoy the holidays, no matter how you spend them!
Dec 2, 2021
One Good Thing – Out & About: Hand’s Lovely, Compact, IKEA Hanging Dish Rack
Welcome back to our tour of the city… looking for good ideas that are RIGHT under our noses. This week I got to visit Hands at home. Yes, that’s right, Hands has a lovely small apartment in the West Village where all the magic happens. In this visit Hands shows me great, space saving dish rack that has made her space work so well in the sink department. Originally a great IKEA design, I’ve now been able to find a few spin-off since the Swedish Giant discontinued the design.
Nov 4, 2021
One Good Thing – Out & About: The Incredible Cork Pops Wine Opener
Hey Everybody! Welcome back to One Good Thing, still out and about and looking for good ideas wherever they are popping up. This week I went back to the restaurant I was in last week – Emporio – on Mott street to go deep on a wine cork opener that I’ve never seen before: The Cork Pops Opener. This handy little gadget is so easy to use and so cool to show off using that I just had to share it.
Nov 2, 2021
One Good Thing – Out & About: Great Everyday Tabletop Setting Ideas from an Italian Restaurant in SoHo
Hey! Welcome back to One Good Thing – still out and about and collecting ideas in the city for you to use at home. This week Hands and I stumble into a super cute Italian restaurant – Emporio – on Mott street and settle in for a fine lunch in the sunshine. Before the food comes I highlight their excellent choice of glassware, napkin-ware and their outdoor table, all of which is classy, affordable and would be great at home, indoors or outdoors.
Oct 21, 2021
One Good Thing – Out & About: Super Cute Yellow Outdoor Seating Arrangement on Crosby Street!
HEY EVERYONE and welcome back to One Good Thing! This week Hands and I walk down Crosby Street – right near our office – and find a super cute seating arrangement right outside of The Alchemists Kitchen, which is a cool, new store and cafe with herbal supplements, CBD and a “whole plant tonic bar.
Oct 14, 2021
One Good Thing – Out & About: Cozy Dusting Slippers from Megan? Who Knew?
Hey Everybody! After being stuck inside my house for the past year and a half Hands and I decided to get out and about – traveling around our city to find good things right under our noses. So many good things that I pick up for my life come from seeing them out in the world – at other folk’s homes, restaurants and hotels – there is really nothing better for good ideas than getting out and about. It’s time to get out and about!
Oct 7, 2021
One Good Thing: My Big JosephJoseph Home Composting Tip!
Welcome back to One Good Thing back in my kitchen! This week I want to share a little change I made in my composting ritual that has made my life better – I’ve traded in my stainless steel composting bucket that sat on the floor for a neat and tidy countertop composter from JosephJoseph.
Sep 30, 2021
One Good Thing: The Tension Rod Shower Solution
Welcome back to One Good Thing!!! I’m excited as ever this week because it’s FALL (and I love fall), and we’re rolling into our new season of OGTs, AND this one was so successful that my daughter stole all the props to build this into her own bathroom. It’s the best vote I could get.What is it that I’m talking about? I’m talking about taking tension rod hacks to the next level with a BIG DADDY TENSION ROD with which to make your shower storage even better.
Sep 23, 2021
One Good Thing: The Simple Effective Hand Powered Breathing Mobile Clothes Washer
Welcome back to One Good Thing! This week I got a tip from a friend that there was a new trend around washing your clothes at home with this thing called the Breathing Mobile Washer. At first, I was skeptical and I also thought it looked like a plunger, but then I tested it and found it to be a surprisingly smart new tool for the home. Why?
Sep 17, 2021
One Good Thing: A Successful Eco Friendly Cleaning Kit
Hello to all of you and welcome back to One Good Thing! We’re back in the saddle this week, kicking off a new run of One Good Things which focus on cleaning and organizing inside your home. This week I wanted to highlight a really nice, simple under-sink cleaning setup that I’ve been using. It’s made my life easier and also made me feel better since I’m finally switched to cleaning products that employ eco-friendly tablets and reusable bottles.
Sep 9, 2021
One Good Thing – TikTok Edition! Great Vanilla Life Hack to Make Your Home Smell Wonderful
Welcome back to One Good Thing again on TikTok! Why? Because it was a fun challenge and we’re playing around with everything.
Aug 12, 2021
One Good Thing – TikTok Edition! The simplehuman cleanstation Opera with Karis
Welcome back to One Good Thing for a special TikTok edition with a guest appearance by my colleague, Karis Danish, who is the Boss Lady on every episode we shoot. This week I wanted to share a truly 2021 product – the simplehuman cleanstation – which is a germaphobe must-have since we all apparently touch our phones 2,617 times per day! This new gadget uses 30 high-intensity UV-C LED lights to blast your phone for 30 seconds, killing 99.
Aug 9, 2021