About Us
MISSION
Helping people make their homes more beautiful, organized and healthy by connecting them to a wealth of resources, ideas and community online.
What We Believe
A calm, healthy, beautiful home is a necessary foundation for happiness and success in the world.
Creating this home doesn't require large amounts of money or space. It requires inspiration, connection to resources and motivation to do something about it.
The basic elements of good home design can be learned and achieved by all.
Simplicity and luxury are not mutually exclusive.
Our Goal
To connect people to the resources they need to improve their homes, while reducing their reliance on stuff.
Maxwell Ryan
November, 2007
Maxwell Ryan
Twelve years ago, Maxwell Ryan was known as the "apartment therapist," traveling by scooter to his clients' homes to help them make their spaces beautiful, organized and healthy. Part interior designer, part life coach, his touchpoints were simplicity, comfort, and lack of clutter. Unlike typical designers, Maxwell didn't want to dictate where things should go or how people should live; he wanted to arm them with the tools and the confidence to decide for themselves.
Shortly after launching in 2001, he started a weekly email where he would send tips and recommendations to an increasing distribution list, combining education with decoration.
In April 2004, Maxwell, with his brother Oliver Ryan, launched Apartment Therapy, turning the weekly email into a daily blog post, reviewing stores, offering tips, posting photos of Maxwell's design projects, and answering readers' questions.
As the readership grew, so did Apartment Therapy. Between 2004 and 2008, the site launched sister sites devoted to cooking, family, technology, and green decorating. Maxwell hired full-time staff, and an expanding pool of contributors.
Maxwell also wrote three bestselling design books during this time, Apartment Therapy: The Eight-Step Home Cure (Bantam, 2006), Apartment Therapy Presents: Real Homes, Real People, Hundreds of Design Solutions (Chronicle, 2008), and Apartment Therapy's Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces (Clarkson Potter, 2010).
In early 2012, Apartment Therapy relaunched in order to better serve its readers. Because family, technology and green living are integral parts of modern life, these sister sites are now absorbed into two comprehensive sites: Apartment Therapy and critically-acclaimed culinary website The Kitchn. Streamlined and easier to navigate, Apartment Therapy continues to offer its readers different ways to build their own "good life," based not just on style but on lifestyle.
Since the relaunch, Apartment Therapy has also published two more books: James Beard Award-winning cookbook, The Kitchn Cookbook (Clarkson Potter, 2014), and Maxwell’s most recent bestseller, Apartment Therapy: Complete + Happy Home (Clarkson Potter, 2015).
In February of 2016, Maxwell marked his return to design with the launch of the Maxwell Ryan + canvas home tableware collection, followed in May of 2016 by the Maxwell Ryan + Interior Define sofa collection.
Maxwell received his B.A. from Oberlin College, an M.A. from Columbia University, and an M. Ed. from Antioch. He lives in Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill neighborhood with his daughter, Ursula.
