The Apartment Therapy makeover
The one-bedroom Miracle Mile apartment belonging to Corinne Loo and Eugenia Barbuc is small but has lovely architectural details including high ceilings, crown moldings and delicate decorative reliefs on the walls. The couple was chosen to receive a living room makeover courtesy of Apartment Therapy founder Maxwell Ryan during his cross-country book tour for “Apartment Therapy Complete + Happy Home.”
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)On a cross-country makeover tour to promote his new book “Apartment Therapy Complete + Happy Home,” Maxwell Ryan adds his Apartment Therapy touch to a young couple’s Miracle Mile living room.
A midcentury credenza is shown before the art was installed...
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... and after. All of the homeowners’ artworks are from the Los Angeles-based Exceptional Children’s Foundation.
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A tall West Elm tray table and a wool basket from Wayfair creates an entrway place to toss keys and mail.
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Corinna Loo and pug Walter look on as her Los Angeles apartment is redecorated.
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Shannon Muldoon, Wayfair producer, tests a selection of drapes during the makeover.
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The dark living room is instantly brightened after Apartment Therapy founder Maxwell Ryan lays down an area rug by Safavieh over a rug pad.
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Maxwell Ryan hangs the couple’s heart-shaped piñata above the fireplace as Christiane Lemieux, Wayfair executive creative director, advises. Wayfair donated the furnishings for a series of makeovers that were held during Ryan’s cross-country book tour.
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Corinna Loo, left, and Eugenia Barbuc react to their finished living room. The couple describe themselves as playful and happy, yet say they agonize over the simplest of home decor decisions. “We want to feel like adults,” says Loo who is 27. Adds Barbuc, 28: “We want to nest legitimately.” When the room is complete, their final request of the decorators is simple: “Can we hug you?”
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Apartment Therapy founder Maxwell Ryan enjoys a moment of levity during the five-hour makeover.
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Ryan and Lemieux held on to the couple’s quirky accessories to reflect their personalities: a colorful skateboard, piñatas, ceramics and an astronaut helmet. “It’s all about mixing their stuff with the new things,” says Lemieux. “That’s why it works.”
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A leather chair provided by online furnishing retailer Wayfair adds a modern touch during a recent apartment makeover by Apartment Therapy founder Maxwell Ryan and Wayfair’s Christiane Lemieux.
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The couch, tables and wall in the pre-makeover stage.
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Corinna Loo, from left, and Eugenia Barbuc enjoy the new living room in their Miracle Mile apartment. The couple were the recipients of a living room makeover from Apartment Therapy founder Maxwell Ryan and Christiane Lemieux, Wayfair executive creative director, whose company provided all of the decorations.
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A Moroccan pouf by Dwell Studio adds extra seating in the small space.
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The new living room is a lighter and brighter space with more seating. It’s also sophisticated and fun and deeply personal, thanks to the use of the couple’s furnishings, art and collectibles in the makeover. For more house tours, go to www.latimes.com/home
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