I Designed Superyachts for Years - Now I Organize Luxury Homes

"In a post-pandemic world increasingly shaped by wellbeing and optimization, things have turned inward, into the home itself. For a growing number of high-net-worth individuals, this means moving beyond impressive interiors towards something more exacting: deep organization. It's here that Elle Webster Ryan, founder of Maison by Elle, has found her niche ­- translating a decade spent inside the ultra-precise world of superyachts into homes designed to function optimally."

""I started [working] in 2015 on yachts," she tells Elite Traveler. "I was in the industry for 10 years, working across four different vessels." Rising quickly through the ranks to chief stewardess and interior manager, she became responsible not only for how yachts looked, but how they worked, from liaising with design studios during new builds to managing crew, logistics and daily life onboard. "At sea, there's nowhere to hide a flaw," she says. "Everything has to work.""

""My smallest crew was 17... they all needed their laundry doing, they all needed food." Stocking alone was a military-grade operation. "Everything has to be filled to the top - cereals, biscuits, toiletries. When you're traveling somewhere like the Maldives, the journey takes 21 days. You need to make sure you've got enough of everything from milk to toilet roll." Every detail was anticipated, so that life onboard for guests ran as smoothly as possible. That same principle now underpins her work in private homes."

Luxury now emphasizes time saved, avoided decisions, and effortless environments with focus shifting inward to the home. High-net-worth individuals increasingly prioritize deep organization over purely impressive interiors. Elle Webster Ryan applied a decade of superyacht expertise to domestic environments, translating strict onboard systems into residential solutions. On yachts she managed aesthetics alongside operations—liaising on new builds, running crews, overseeing logistics and meticulous provisioning for long voyages. Anticipation and redundancy were essential to seamless guest experience. Personal life changes prompted a move ashore, revealing that many beautiful homes lacked yacht-level functionality; the same operational rigor now informs residential projects.

Read at Elite Traveler