BEHIND THE HOUSE
Hi, I’m Dani.
I’ve always been making something.
I grew up around homes being imagined, built, changed, and made beautiful. As the daughter of a contractor and an interior designer, I learned early to see the possibility in a space—not just what it was, but what it could be.
That way of looking at things never really left me.
For nearly twenty years, I was self-employed, and my work took a lot of different forms. I worked as a handyman and landscaper. I catered, created grazing tables, and put together events. On paper, those might sound like completely different businesses. Looking back, I realize I was doing the same thing over and over again:
Taking what was there and making something beautiful out of it.
I loved working with my hands. I loved figuring things out. I loved the details other people might overlook—and I especially loved watching an idea that existed only in my head become something real.
Then I got to create a whole place.
Eventually, I had the opportunity to create a lakefront cottage Airbnb that I designed, decorated, and ran myself.
It brought so many of the things I loved together in one place—design, hospitality, problem-solving, and creating an experience for someone else.
I wasn’t interested in making it look like every other rental. I wanted the cottage to have personality. I wanted it to feel connected to its setting while still feeling like me. Most of all, I wanted someone to walk through the door and feel something.
Because that’s what I believe a home should do.
Collected, not decorated.
I’ve never been particularly interested in following one design rulebook.
I love vintage pieces and modern ones. Old houses and unexpected color. Beautiful furniture, architectural details, things with history, and the random find you weren’t looking for but somehow can’t leave behind.
I don’t think everything has to match.
I think it has to belong.
The rooms I love most look as though they happened over time. They tell you something about the people living there. They’re imperfect, layered, personal—and impossible to duplicate exactly.
That’s what I mean when I say collected, not decorated.
And then came House of Dani.
House of Dani started with a simple idea: create a place where I could share the rooms, ideas, projects, and finds that make me stop and think, Ohhh, that’s good.
Some will be investment pieces. Some will be vintage. Some will be things you can order online. Some will be DIYs, old-house ideas, or inspiration you take somewhere completely different.
Because I’m not here to tell you exactly what your home should look like.
I’d rather help you discover what your version of beautiful looks like.
House of Dani is where I get to bring everything I’ve spent years loving—designing, hunting, building, fixing, styling, hosting, and creating—under one roof.
And maybe help you create something that feels unmistakably yours along the way.
Because your home isn’t a catalog.
It’s the backdrop of your life.
— Dani
