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Design Your Peace: Heal Space & Mind with Dani Gottschalk
26 Plays22 days ago
Transform your home into a sanctuary of creativity, peace, and healing in this episode of Unsolicited Perspectives! Host Bruce Anthony chats with Dani Gottschalk—an interior designer and psychotherapist—about how your living space directly impacts emotional well-being. Discover actionable tips for creating dual-purpose spaces, designing remote work environments that reduce stress, and turning chaotic rooms into calming havens. Dani’s unique blend of interior design and psychotherapy reveals how to craft “healing interiors” that reflect your personality and nurture your mental health.
From her inspiring journey as a copywriter-turned-“Space Whisperer” to real-life stories of overcoming WFH burnout and reclaiming space, Dani offers fresh ideas for anyone passionate about design. Whether you want to revamp your workspace, add personal touches to your home, or explore psychology-driven decor, this episode is a masterclass in transforming not just your home, but your life. Keywords: interior design, design therapy, creative transformation, home sanctuary, remote work spaces, stress relief, healing environments. #interiordesign #DesignTherapy #hometransformation #creativespaces #HealingInteriors #MentalWellnessSpaces #WFHBliss #unsolicitedperspectives
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Thank you for tuning into Unsolicited Perspectives with Bruce Anthony. Let's continue the conversation in the comments and remember, stay engaged, stay informed, and always keep an open mind. See you in the next episode!
Chapters:
00:00 Welcome to Unsolicited Perspectives 🎙️🔥💥
00:44 Meet Dani Gottschalk: The Space Whisperer 🛋️🧠
01:46 From Words to Walls: Dani’s Unconventional Career Shift ✍️➡️🎨
04:46 Healing Spaces: Where Design Meets Therapy 🛋️💭
10:31 Your Home, Your Sanctuary: Crafting Emotional Safe Havens 🏡✨
27:44 WFH Bliss: Turn Your Workspace into a Creative Oasis 🖥️🌴
32:10 Uptight or All Right?
32:52 Creativity Knows No Borders: Breaking Stereotypes Worldwide 🌍🎭
34:28 What Is Tinseltown? A Dreamspace Realized 🌟🎥
35:57 Instagrammable Spaces for the Content Creators 📸🎭
38:37 Designing Joy: Why Your Space Should Reflect YOUR Soul 🎉❤️
44:08 From Soup Kitchens to Success: Dani’s Rollercoaster Ride 🥄🎢
52:52 The Road Ahead: Big Dreams and Fresh Spaces 🚀🏠
55:25 Your Space, Your Sanctuary: Key Takeaways 🌸🎙️
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Transcript
Introduction: Comfort vs. Stress in Living Spaces
00:00:00
Speaker
Is your living situation giving you comfort or stress? I'm talking about interior design, y'all. Let's get it.
Unsolicited Perspectives Introduction
00:00:18
Speaker
Welcome. First of all, welcome. This is Unsolicited Perspectives. I'm your host, Bruce Anthony, here to lead the conversation in important events and topics that are shaping today's society. Join the conversation and follow us wherever you get your audio podcasts.
00:00:32
Speaker
Subscribe to our YouTube channel for our video podcast and YouTube exclusive content. Rate, review, like, comment, share. Share with your friends, share it with your family, hell, even share with enemies.
Interview Preview: Dani Gottschalk
00:00:44
Speaker
On today's episode, I'll be interviewing Dani Gottschalk. She's an interior designer and psychotherapist. We're going to be talking about how your living spaces can affect you mentally and emotionally.
00:00:56
Speaker
That's enough of the intro. Let's get to the show.
Dani's Background and Career Journey
00:01:07
Speaker
Okay, like I said at the top, I'm here with Dani Gottschalk. I'm probably butchered that last name, but I'm trying my best. She's an interior designer and bar owner with a diploma in psychotherapy.
00:01:19
Speaker
We're going to be sitting here talking about interior design spaces and how they affect you. Danny, I am so excited to have you on the podcast and and do this interview. Thank you so much for joining me.
00:01:33
Speaker
You're very welcome. I was very excited. ah I'm glad you're excited. i love it when the guests are excited. It normally leads to a good interview. So I like to start off every interview with the same question.
00:01:46
Speaker
Can you tell me a little bit about your background and what led you to pursue your career, specifically your career in interior design and project development?
00:01:56
Speaker
Yeah, that was now the last step in a long journey. So I always kind of knew that I'm a creative person, but I don't think we all get really well trained in school to figure out what our talents are. If you're not going to a Waldorf school, it's pretty lame.
00:02:14
Speaker
So I knew I'm good with words. So, and then I saw these billboards and I'm like, I want to do that because I was thinking that's all one job, like the Marlboro man and the Marlboro claim. I thought it all coming from one and the same person.
00:02:27
Speaker
So then I wanted to do that. So then I became a copywriter. That's the term it's called when you do something like this, a junior copywriter, copywriter. But I felt like in this whole complex of advertising agency, it's not about creativity. It's about power. It's about politics.
00:02:47
Speaker
ah You have to submit in to to the person in the higher hierarchy. It's not about the good idea. And all the clients in Germany, they're also very conservative. So they're not even going for the good idea, you know, and you have to claim, calling yourself a creative.
00:03:03
Speaker
but you're not allowed to be creative. So you deliver a very good, sharp idea, but the client is too coward and there's no one fighting for you. So in the end, it's still your spot or your advertising, but it's like kind of like deconstructed to a point where you can't even put your name under it. You're basically embarrassed because there's no...
00:03:28
Speaker
There's no spark in it anymore. There's no joke in it anymore. It's not like slightly political, or incorrect or like something that makes it
Empathy and Therapy in Design
00:03:36
Speaker
stick out. So I'm like, I can't work for these people. so like i mean, I to be one, them but I'm like, I can't work in in a complex like this. I want to be creative and i have a very strong feeling if the idea works and if it's good. So yeah.
00:03:51
Speaker
i du but You just can't trick me out of that. So I know when it's good and it's like cooking. So you can't tell a chef, well, take the but basil out. It will not taste the same. It's just like, no, but I made just some small changes. Yeah, but now it's not the dish.
00:04:08
Speaker
The dish isn't working. So same with creation, I think. So um I needed to do something for myself. So I was like, okay, I must become self-employed. And I took a completely different road and opened a restaurant, which was like only a soup bar, like only had soup and sandwiches.
00:04:25
Speaker
But now in the end, I know I never wanted to open the restaurant. What I wanted is to be able to have like a room to display my ideas. And get standard feedback from the customers, and which doesn't have to go through a process or whatever. So it's just like how people react to what I put out there.
00:04:44
Speaker
So for me, the biggest problem was to interior design the shop. So I was thinking also must run it. But in the end, no, I would not have had to run it. It was basically enough to create but of course I was running it because nobody was paying me for it to open it.
00:05:01
Speaker
And then I opened a bar and the whole process of, um, of creating these new rooms and all the idea I have in my head, how to create new room. But then also as an empathetic person and with my own personal struggles and more difficult relationship with my mom and all the years of therapy I did myself.
Personal Relationships and Therapy
00:05:20
Speaker
Then I found myself in the position when you're behind the counter. And in a bar as well, people start to talk to you. So they basically, though they have a beer, they have a gin tonic and they...
00:05:33
Speaker
They want to pull their heart out. So, and if you are like conditioned like I am, you can not, not listen to it. You want to listen to it and you want to give like good advice. And that led me to also do psychotherapy studies.
00:05:50
Speaker
So then I had like a ah claim, a label on it. though that I'm not just like an adversetic person. i also know what I'm doing. And yeah, basically the whole being with people, creating spaces, also creating spaces where people are free to express themselves. Like if it's a bar, I mean, one could say, okay, there's alcohol involved and all of that.
00:06:12
Speaker
But alcohol is just a token, like ordering a gin and tonic is just a token to be able to talk to someone and probably also like cherish an environment. I had so many people who said like,
00:06:23
Speaker
my bar helped them to coming out of the closet or they just feel they can be how they want to be. And yeah, that in the end led me to like, what I really want is create spaces and encourage people to express themselves, live themselves, be them themselves, give them themselves like the words and the creation where they flourish the most.
00:06:49
Speaker
So you said you, you had issues with your mother and that's thought you because of your issues with your mother, you sought therapy. When was it that you realized, okay, I have issues with my mom and I need to get help with this.
00:07:11
Speaker
I think for the first 15 years, I thought my mom and I are really best friends, which stopped in the moment that I became my my own person, as long as she basically owned me like a pet and I had no mind of myself.
00:07:26
Speaker
things were beautiful but when I got into puberty and became a woman and she basically could sense that I'm soon going to kind of lead her in a way.
00:07:38
Speaker
So she couldn't have that. So she was very jealous, very manipulative, very covert narcissistic which I all couldn't I couldn't figure out what it is, why she's suddenly so hateful towards me.
00:07:50
Speaker
So I basically had no support from her. She always wanted me to feel bad and she wanted me to stay small and she agreed with her. And she took so much room in my personality and in my heart.
00:08:03
Speaker
So I think, and then I had my first relationships and they all kind of failed because they all repeated the pattern I had with my mom. They, I mean, my mom was my first love and it's our old first love. So we were lucky and had a good relationship. We probably are also going to have good relationships.
00:08:22
Speaker
But you if you want to, we are basically doomed to repeat what we haven't solved. So yeah.
Creative Outlets and Personal Expression
00:08:29
Speaker
And then I attracted always the same kind of narcissist and basically through my relationships, I figured out my mom's diagnosis because i had no clue what she has and that she has a diet and that she has anything specific. But then living with men who had the same...
00:08:47
Speaker
And that basically then, I think i started my first therapy was 25, but I never stopped ever since. I did all therapies that are available. And once you, it's like with a diet, you know, some people just want to go on a diet and then they want lose five kilos and then they go back to their old habits.
00:09:08
Speaker
And other people completely change your lives their lifestyle because they figure out it was unhealthy to live like that before. And I would rather keep on getting healthier and getting a better figure and staying where I am because it gave me so much, not only pride, but I feel so much better now that I figured that out.
00:09:28
Speaker
So, and the same with therapy. As as soon as you feel for yourself, then it helps. And the more you understand yourself, the you understand everyone else. And there's basically, there's no stop to it. It's not that like, oh, I'm still not healed. I'm still miserable. I still need therapy. How embarrassing.
00:09:46
Speaker
No, it's, you should go to therapy all the time. and Everyone should go. You know, you're like basically just, it It's just the coaching. So like everything goes, everyone would like to go to a massage every week. You should also every every week like talk to someone and get mirrored back what happened and how you react to it and how it's like an old pattern or a new pattern or how you basically behaving better now or feeling better.
00:10:16
Speaker
Do you think that your art is an outlet for your trauma? Yes. And you're creating, it's so funny that it's almost like you are opening up these, the sub shop and the bar to basically supplement because you have to make money to supplement your creative life, your creative ideas and your artistic ideas because you were unfulfilled doing it in the marketing.
00:10:47
Speaker
and And they were stepping all on your creative ability. Like we find this often with artists, right? Musicians or directors or writers where it starts to get to the executives and they start to dissect your artwork and it's no longer your artwork. So it just seems like you started these restaurants and bars solely because, yeah, I want to do the art my way and this way I can display it. Also, I need to make money.
00:11:16
Speaker
Exactly. You're exactly right. That's that's what it is. it well I wasn't aware of that, but it's actually really what it is because ah how to, like, with some dignity, sell something but not losing yourself, you know? If you, like, sell your ideas to someone and he's making them...
00:11:36
Speaker
themselves, you just like drop out. And then again, if you just creating something for yourself, you probably will never make money. So it's a very difficult thing to bring together. And I'm happy that I managed and that basically I had success and that people were acknowledging it and that I only had to report to myself if this is a good idea or a bad idea.
00:11:59
Speaker
And if it's a bad idea, I'm not making any money, but there's no one in between who just has to punish their ego and say, no, and do it my way. Also, your way will probably be better, a better lover.
00:12:12
Speaker
Because that's what I know from home. So trying to keep you small, you know, not trying to to let you know that this actually really was a good idea. But especially in advertising, there are so many people involved and there's the money and there's the... ah Yeah, I can kind understand that.
Tinseltown: Personalized Design
00:12:31
Speaker
So you have something called Tinseltown. Can you give my audience a little explanation of what that is? And would you describe but how would you describe your mission to someone unfamiliar with your work?
00:12:46
Speaker
Tildentown is an interior design company, which I created now here when I bought the house in South Africa. So, I mean, finally after a bar restaurant and a hotel in Croatia and apartment design in London, andd again I figured out, okay, I'm actually an interior designer. I mean, so people always think you must ah commit to something which I don't think because it's all part of but interior designing is my strongest my strongest approach at the moment that's what I want to this is how I want to express myself I will also bring in some psychological themes because I really want to
00:13:29
Speaker
I want to encourage people to live in a surrounding that really reflect themselves, not me, pardon but them. But that's also why of course, prefer to work with people who really like on the same, you know, I can also make them like a ah calm, white, beige house, but everyone can do that because everyone is doing that in the moment. So I'm a very specific person.
00:13:54
Speaker
very circus kind of top art, clam, Bohemian Palm Springs approach which is very vibrant and very stimulating and for some people probably overstimulating but it's a total niche and there are people who are ready for it and probably other people lose their minds but yeah I'm basically here to to fulfill dreams or to create like an adventure. I think like you must come home and
00:14:29
Speaker
You must feel like every time you come into your home, it's like a and and and and weight is lifted from your shoulder. there You are at home. You love it. You know you really love it. You're not just existing.
00:14:41
Speaker
You love it. So the house, is the home is nurturing. It really like stimulates you. You're still able to see something new. Also, you have been there a million times.
00:14:52
Speaker
You just feel... good, you feel calm and it's like inspired at the same time. And that's what Tim Rutan is doing. I dig that. And the reason why I dig that is because I ah absolutely agree with you. I don't think people understand how important it is for your home to be your home. And what I mean by that is whenever I go visit my mom or my sister, I immediately feel at home. Their places are designed just for comfort.
00:15:21
Speaker
<unk>s It's very earth Tony. It's, it's not a lot of lights and and brightness, but it's just calming. Now, I am a huge fan, a group, a huge fan of the TV show Miami Vice.
00:15:35
Speaker
I love pastel colors and neon. So yeah my house, my house has lights everywhere. They're different colors. I change the light colors and everything. And for some people that enter my home, it's overwhelming. And at times for me, it's overwhelming, but I can change the colors of my lights.
00:15:54
Speaker
I can change, I can dim them. I can, I can change the mood. And I, and it kind of feels like, The way you design is kind of similar to what I like. much But also, it's it's also, i like that. And also like the calmness.
00:16:12
Speaker
like there So how do you work with people who are who would be somebody like me that says, I want the lights. I want to walk in and my place is a party. But also sometimes I just want calm.
00:16:26
Speaker
I do understand. And I'm also the same. And I would love to see your house. It sounds like you're living like Sonny Crockett lifestyle. I try to. Sonny and Ricardo. no i tried That's what I try to do in my life.
00:16:39
Speaker
Yes. That's amazing. I would love to see that because it's also very fashionable at the moment. The whole 80s, Miami thing, it's just so coming back. It's around beds and the Floccarties and the pink everywhere. So it's very much coming back. So you're very trending, so to say.
00:16:58
Speaker
So I always, I think like a house must not be or apartment whatsoever.
Psychology in Home Design
00:17:03
Speaker
You must not follow through with one thing in every room because you're not in every room at the same time. You know, I mean, would be very hard if you do like a Italian Toscana villa style at the back of your, like for the living room and the kitchen. And then you have like a,
00:17:22
Speaker
high-end art deco, that will never fit. If you go for two very strong styles, it doesn't fit. But I'm sure can create in the the style you have, you can create a much farther room with less decoration, just stick to one or two of the colors that you have somewhere else in the room and give it a completely different vibe. There's probably completely different lighting.
00:17:47
Speaker
And I like to do that in the bathroom. The bathroom of that house also doesn't really fit the rest of it. It gives you a completely like five-star hotel, marble, could be elsewhere.
00:17:59
Speaker
So if I would be like completely going through with that, it would also have been black and white stripes, which would have been amazing. But a lot of the break going into the spa-like, dark, moody, sexy bathroom,
00:18:12
Speaker
Though I absolutely think you can create a room, must not be the most important room. I think like the main room should be like in one white, but then you have always a room where can go, you pick something out from the other rooms, but then go with that, like color trenching, leave it all in one color, which is like already soothing, no matter what color it is. But if you go everything one color, it will already be like a color white.
00:18:40
Speaker
Hmm. So, And in talking about just taking me personally with my mom and my sister's homes being this comfort and my home doing kind of both ah because of my personality, sometimes I'm hyper, sometimes I'm not hyper. ah And my place is exactly like that.
00:18:58
Speaker
How does your background in psychology approach interior design and shaping spaces for not only you personally, but for your clients?
00:19:10
Speaker
Yeah, I think there is not so much in the way, there's nothing you can say from the beginning, like this is like, this color would be good for you because you have ADHD. I'm not going so far like really like diagnosing like clients, but I can see what they, if they really like OCD and need it all clean, then you also must respect that. So like, then my my house would already be always simulating with all the decorations. So you can adjust to their, first of all, to their lifestyle and then also do their prisoners to their personality disorder or to their little king.
00:19:48
Speaker
So it should cater to that. your Your house cannot make yourself nervous only because it's trendy to have a million coffee books on the table for people that will just be overwhelming and terrible. But you can...
Comfort and Personal Taste in Design
00:20:04
Speaker
Still, you must put consider out the personality of the person, which becomes harder if it's a couple. So there's only so much you can, I think, uh, take in perspective. You must take their overall approach in perspective, but that's also the reason why couples see good in Cherenisama because it's all almost like divorce canceling, like couple counseling. is it like So i they have no concept together and then they now want you to
00:20:35
Speaker
to to take both sides in. And then I mostly go with what I want to do. for Okay. so but how can how can a room design help or hurt a person's well-being mentally and emotionally?
00:20:56
Speaker
Yeah, I think um it definitely can. So if you already have a dysregulated nervous system, you cannot go wild because the the room will just be overstimulating to you. And as I said, you should come home, it should be like a weight is lifted from your shoulder. If you come from a traffic jam and your own house feels to you like a traffic jam because there's so much going on,
00:21:23
Speaker
then you will not feel at home. So it depends on if you very regulated person, if you like internally very clean, then you can tolerate a lot of chaos. I mean, even Albert Einstein said this already. So you must be very um co coordinated inside if you can tolerate chaos on the out outside and creation is chaos. I mean, so even like Cats, for example, love to live in chaos because it's closest to um nature. Nature is also chaotic.
00:21:57
Speaker
Nature is not straight and linear and OCD. So... In general, ah home should be both stimulating and calming. But if you are somewhere on the edge from your personality already, I guess it should be only be calming. And I don't think that anyone who's like whatever, who has no blood pressure, which is not a personality disorder, should live in a wide environment just to get a little bit more high.
00:22:25
Speaker
It could probably happen, but it doesn't happen. But in general, I think most people are rather overwhelmed. I mean, neurodivergent is like, I will not take a new thing, but they are more and more neurodivergent people and they need kind of structure, but also like creativity. So it can, it can, I think in general too much will rather harm you, harm you than too little.
00:22:53
Speaker
But also in the littleness, I would not go for the minimalism because minimalism per se is cold. That's my feeling. So I would go for not too much decoration, but still a lot of color.
00:23:07
Speaker
Still lot of color. How can, are there ways that people are going to be listening to this and they're going to say, i never thought about this before. my house doesn't feel like a home.
00:23:19
Speaker
and Are there ways that they can kind of pick up on the fact that they're not in comfort when they are a home. And this interview can can bring attention to the fact that they need to make some changes at home, that it may not be just work and outside factors outside of the home.
00:23:39
Speaker
It may be your actual home is dysregulating you as well. And you need to take an examination of that. Are there signs that people can pick up on one?
00:23:51
Speaker
think if you, I mean, it always feels like that people are like, oh, home sweet home. i mean, almost everyone would say like, oh, I feel the best at home. But it's of course difficult if you're per se a depressed person and who feels the best at home. That means probably in translation that you just feel sheltered and safe and isolated, which also is not ideal.
00:24:15
Speaker
I think everyone must really take a good look if, If there are places where they'd rather be, if they have a friend where they say, oh, she's so good in this environment. Or like if you now only would feel good with your mom and your mother, it's like, oh, I want to go home.
00:24:33
Speaker
And then you go to your own place and you would say, yeah, still not home. Home is still there where my mom and my sister is. Then you would know you have a problem, know? And if there are places, if it's like hotel lobbies or a restaurant or your friend's place where you somehow feel better than home, than in your own home, you should actually almost feel nowhere better than at home.
00:24:59
Speaker
So, and I have a friend who always says like, you know what, also when you go on holidays, you should never go to something less fancy and less nice than your own home because you don't have to spend money for something that has not the quality of living where you're living in on a daily basis. It can't be a holiday.
00:25:17
Speaker
So if people think there are places where they feel better or calmer, then they also must see, is it because of the person? Is it because my friends live there? Or is it just such a nice atmosphere when you come in there, the lighting is dim and The couch is cozy and it's a nice smell in the air. So really pay close attention to what is it, what you like in the other place, almost better than yours.
00:25:45
Speaker
And then also is it probably because people always like, oh, have no taste or I have no style. Yeah. But that's not true. Everyone has taste and everyone has style. People are just like,
00:25:56
Speaker
have been told like, oh, you have no good taste. And then they somehow believe that this is true. I mean, there's no one, there's no judge about good taste. You know, if you don't want to end up in interior design magazine, there's basically no one you have to report to. You must feel your best in your house. and right If you all feel uncomfortable and friends come over and you have to defend why you did something that way, that's also sometimes a big problem. But in general, I think you people must learn to listen to the tiniest spark they experience when they see something and they're like, oh, I love that, but that would never fit in my house.
00:26:35
Speaker
No, go ahead and buy me. And whenever you see something where you really have like a visceral reaction where you feel like I'm really like that, don't pass it by. If it's kind of affordable, just take it and start to integrate it in your house and it will change and it will change you and you will be proud of your decisions because you look at stuff that actually makes you happy.
00:26:59
Speaker
And the more, the more of the stuff you have that makes you happy, it's not that that it's all worth it together. It's basically like If you have eight children and and you look at all of them, they will make you more happy than you have one child.
00:27:12
Speaker
You know, I have one child, you know, so it's just like more of a good thing is more of a good thing.
00:27:27
Speaker
So I have another question.
Creating Productive Home Workspaces
00:27:29
Speaker
Remote work is huge. I don't know how big it is overseas, but here in America, remote work is huge.
00:27:39
Speaker
So people are at home and they're working at home and jobs here are stressful. How can they create a workspace and have that separate from their living space? If they can't yeah build an office like outside, their office is inside their home.
00:27:57
Speaker
how can they How can they leave that office and walk into their home and separate it? Is there a way that you can design the two so that they absolutely feel different?
00:28:09
Speaker
I think, yeah. I mean, it would definitely help if your table is not standing right in your living room because then you have to adjust the whole living room. But if you have the luxury luxury of having an own room, like an office room,
00:28:23
Speaker
I don't think that people really want it to look like an office. I mean, some people probably feel safer or more important if they keep it really office-y. So they, but it's also like a wrong conception that people think an office must look like an office.
00:28:38
Speaker
You hated your office when there was no remote work. When you have to go to your office, you probably hated it because it looked so sterile and it was so, there was no creativity. There was no fantasy. There was nothing.
00:28:52
Speaker
So now you have an office where you hang out like ah six to eight or even Lola hours a day. You must make it as nice as you can. So if you want to, you put like pot with warm water under your table just to feel like, oh, you're on the beach and you're like, whatever. So, or like you have like a little thing that that's far as water, like a little fountain. And then you hang nice, um,
00:29:18
Speaker
You just make it a ninth room. You must make must not make it a room that streams office. So that's basically, that must be like a holiday room. So that must be the nicest room in your house because there you spend most of your time office.
00:29:34
Speaker
The good thing is now that you don't have to go to office, you don't have to leave your house. You can make your your workspace the nicest room. You go on holiday every day. I mean, you have to do tasks, but you look around and there are all these pictures that you love and probably you get a nice curtain or you get a good view or you have a lot of plants and it feels really generally. So make your workspace the nicest place in the house.
00:30:03
Speaker
Ah, I like that. I like that a lot. and that's a shout out for everybody that still gets to work from home. You've traveled all over. Yes.
00:30:14
Speaker
Is there a difference? Obviously, there's a difference. is there do you see a connection oh with,
00:30:24
Speaker
how can i how can I phrase this question properly? I would say that Americans are a little uptight, not a little, a little bit more uptight than Europe and other places.
00:30:38
Speaker
Do you see that in the way that we design things and design our homes as well? Is there a difference of, in other words, what I'm asking is, is there a difference between and designs that could lead to a more peaceful, less uptight nature that you see in other countries?
00:31:01
Speaker
I think I can't say that for rural countries, you know, I think like if you live in an A or if you live like in some kind of redneck, a be little intern U S state where I've never been there, it will be the same, like in Cape town. If you live in Cape town,
00:31:21
Speaker
Even in Cape Town, you can find low taste, but a lot of the stuff from the restaurants to go the houses is high taste. But then you go to whatever Pretoria or to small suburbs and it's as suburban and as...
00:31:38
Speaker
um Uptight is everywhere else. And though it is in Germany, oh my God, Germany is so uptight. I would think nowhere in the U.S. it could be more uptight than in Germany. Germany is the capital of uptightness.
00:31:53
Speaker
I don't know. I live i live in Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. is pretty uptight. yeah I don't know. I've never been to Germany, but I have a friend who is listening and watching the show from Germany and lives here. And and she could honestly say, you know, which one is more of type. She might say Germany, though. She might say Germany.
00:32:13
Speaker
I mean, I have a friend. She's like a German who also lives in Washington, D.C. And he loves Washington, D.C., but he also loves Germany. So I think that might be very similar. Okay.
00:32:26
Speaker
No, but I think it's very individual and you will find uptight people everywhere in the world, in every country. You'll find creative people everywhere. You'll find tasteless people. You'll find cheap people. You'll find people who don't care about how it looks in their houses at all. You'll find modern people.
00:32:47
Speaker
i think I've not seen anything... that is particular with, I would say, I mean, okay, my bar, for example, in Frankfurt, everyone comes in and say, oh, it's so Berlin.
00:33:00
Speaker
Which is still Germany, but I don't want to be Berlin. I never wanted to be Berlin. I can't stand Berlin, but Berlin is the thing. I mean, even when I was in the US, everyone was like, oh, Berlin, Berlin.
00:33:12
Speaker
I'm like, yeah, difficult. No, but I can't, I'm for their classical Italian stuff. But even if you go like very down in the South of Italy, Also they have these beautiful buildings, but then the inside are these old beds and you hardly can sleep in it. So there's agniness everywhere. There is uptightness everywhere. There is also a little bit of looseness.
00:33:36
Speaker
and I mean, I think it's only like small trout which are more creative than others, but I could never say that for whole country or a whole city or...
Cultural Differences in Design
00:33:47
Speaker
Okay. there So you just can't generalize.
00:33:49
Speaker
I like to generalize America compared to everybody else because it seems like we're a little bit more conservative here, but there are absolutely pockets, you know, Miami Vice, right? So Miami is completely different world than many of the cities that are right next to it. So yes, what you're saying makes absolute sense.
Home as a Content Creation Hub
00:34:05
Speaker
What is there a particular project that you've done or worked on that you feel like best represents your style because you have your bar. You have your company where you do interior design, but is there one particular project that you were like, this is it.
00:34:23
Speaker
This is me in its entirety. Well, I must say that's like the house I renovated and created, which is basically my Tindle Town business card, which I bought like two and a half years ago here in Cape Town.
00:34:36
Speaker
That's my best work. I get like everything, but I mean, I think the latest project is always the best work because you also develop yourself. You know, I wasn't that bored in my bar. My bar is also bored, but I have it for 23 years. course, 23 years ago,
00:34:53
Speaker
I was still not that it's getting more and more. and You try out more and more and you're, you're started more and more at once and nothing's holding you back anymore. And this worked. Okay. Now you can go a step further.
00:35:05
Speaker
And, um, I think this house is completely neat. And the next project will be even more. what But then the, all the, this, um, this hotel here, it's not hotel, it's a villa that I'm renting out for photo shoots, but also for Airbnb guests.
00:35:23
Speaker
That is like complete. That is, that's just perfect. I'm saying. Okay. So. Tinseltown is kind, is kind of a concept for content creators, correct?
00:35:38
Speaker
Yeah. So can you explain to me a little bit about how that works? So I did not really, really create it.
00:35:49
Speaker
i mean I maybe did, but I never did anything in my life with business plan. So I was not sitting down and saying, I'm making a content creator house. But the way it turned out, it was pretty clear that this is going what it's going to be because it was like four weeks on Airbnb on the market and I had about...
00:36:09
Speaker
around 200 influencers checking in, asking if they can come and if they can do stuff. So it just developed and it was basically parallel that I even found out that this is the thing that they're actually like influencers, content creator outside. They actively looking for stuff that gives them such a brilliant background. And, um,
00:36:34
Speaker
Yeah, that's pretty amazing, actually, because that's perfect for that. and It's perfect for all kind of photoshoot. It's perfect for your Insta story. It's just like it gives you so much, so much to play with. So it's your place, though it's home, is kind of also like a studio, like a movie studio. Yeah. Or a studio live, where they will have different designs for different shoots, different TV shows. Exactly.
00:37:01
Speaker
and And so people come. And they film. Now, you don't they don't stay right. Do they stay with you? Is it a content creator house where influencers will actually stay or do they just come rent out spaces for a certain amount of time to shoot their content and leave?
00:37:18
Speaker
It's both. Some only rent in for a day and then not stay overnight. Others come for two days. Others come for a whole week. So whatever someone wants to invest in, combine. Someone just to make holiday. just Someone just to want to feed their feed.
00:37:35
Speaker
So some just so like, I mean, I now had like some bigger companies doing photo shoots here for their advertising campaigns. So it's for all kinds, actually like a movie set, you're right. So then every room is different. The outdoors is different.
00:37:50
Speaker
You can in Mykonos somewhere in Greece, but you can, most of the time you will be in Palm Springs or in the Beverly Hills Hotel, something like that. So that's the main theme of the house.
00:38:01
Speaker
But you can find so many backgrounds where so much is happening so that you can, for a lot of scenarios, just like say, oh yeah, that's the right house for me. So that's so crazy. How does that feel personally to know that you are creating a house for yourself, but in that house for yourself, it's so welcoming that people want to come to your house to feature your house when they're featuring themselves.
00:38:27
Speaker
How does that feel personally to know that you created something? that other people say, I want to be a part of that. Yeah, maybe that's a little bit my kink because I think that also was like the the underlying feeling of opening a restaurant in a bar. You know, people, there is something that is so attractive to people, but I created all of this. So I have to give something to the people.
00:38:51
Speaker
They want to actually come. They want to have a drink here. They want to have a soup there. So because they feel good in that environment that I created. And it's the same with the house. I'm also not like, Stingy and sharing that because um I love hosting and I love sharing that with the world. And I love that people that I'm able to create something for people where they say like, Oh my God, Oh my God, because are there are also places for me where I say, Oh my God, I must go there. Oh my God. So I must save all my money just to spend three days wherever it must not be the right notice. But
00:39:23
Speaker
So people beat me if like if they write to you on Airbnb or whatever, and you just realize they definitely want to stay there. They can't, they don't want to spend that amount of money, but at least they want to be there two days. And I'm the same person. There are places where I can't afford to stay very long, but at least I want to be there for one or two nights. I just want to go there. i just want to...
00:39:46
Speaker
Feel it because the feeling you take with you, you can also make your content and your pictures, but you will never forget how it felt to come into that house and be overwhelmed by all of that. Yeah, but the what fascinates me more about this is when you're creating a bar or shop, you're a expecting, you're creating an environment where you're expecting and you're hoping that people will come in.
00:40:10
Speaker
When you're creating your home, yeah, you like to host, but I'm sure in the back of your mind, you weren't creating, like you said, this was not a concept that you had originally thought out to do.
00:40:22
Speaker
This was a home that you designed, but in that same process of the shops and the bar, there's still an attraction there that people are drawn to, but that wasn't the initial purpose. The initial purpose was for it to be your home. So I know that has, that there's a difference between designing a bar and one and driving people to the bar by the aesthetic of the bar.
00:40:46
Speaker
That's something that you purposely did, but this wasn't something that you purposely did, but it still had the same effect. That has to make you feel good inside that no matter where you go, people are going to be drawn to your art.
Artistic Spaces and Attraction
00:41:01
Speaker
Yeah, it's true. Yeah, that's it. And I have also like a need to, ah I mean, even if I wanted to create a home, but I also knew that this will be my business card for me as interior designer. So whatever I create, it will always be like shown to the public.
00:41:17
Speaker
somehow and yeah, it makes me feel really, really, really good. I love that. I love that that um that I'm able to do that, that something I like, also other people will like in the in a way I like it, not just like you can't be like ambivalent about the house. You will love it or it will be far too much for you. so But if you love it, you really love it. And it was also the same with my bar. My bar was like so special and for two years it did not really work. And I was...
00:41:50
Speaker
so concerned because it was done with so much love and passion and intention and, but it's not a mainstream thing, which I had to learn, but now it's running for 23 years. It's the oldest bar in Frankfurt.
00:42:05
Speaker
It's, um, And when there was COVID and no one was allowed to go out, people were basically waiting in front of the bar until it opened again. other Other bars could not open anymore because they don't have their fans.
00:42:17
Speaker
but But this bar really has a fan ah fan base because these people all feel at home there. So they really, they missed it so much. And so the doors opened again, it was full again. so and But this took a time to create because it's not for everyone. So it's not like the, you must make a statement. You know, I think a lot of people don't want to make a statement. They buy a Ralph Lauren shirt because they basically have no taste, but they're on the safe side because everyone knows what it costs and you're dressed with it. So you don't have to make a statement. They would never just choose something, especially if it has not a certain price because they're not
00:42:57
Speaker
aware of their taste or if it's really nice, they just can choose because it has a price and everyone can see he could afford it. He's on the safe side. So I think it's it's only special people who who feel drawn to it, who want to make a statement, who want to be different or have a different taste, and then also be happy that someone has the courage to go out there and put it into the world and not take the seafood and say, you know, we go nickel, we make it all beige, we make it all like IKEA, because that's always okay.
00:43:31
Speaker
But yeah you will not remember it.
Overcoming Business Challenges
00:43:43
Speaker
We've talked a little bit about your challenges, right? Your challenges when you were in the advertising agency, you said it took the bar a little while to get going. What challenge, what would you say is one of the main challenges that you faced throughout your career?
00:43:57
Speaker
And what have that, what has that challenge taught you about design and creativity?
00:44:07
Speaker
the One of the main challenges is really like to trust so much in your own creation and in your own idea that you're not listening to all the fears, your friends, your parents, everyone is putting onto you. If go out and say like, I opened a bar or restaurant when I was very young and my parents know they can't really help me. If it goes wrong, they don't have the money to support me.
00:44:32
Speaker
And also with buying a house on the other side of the world, my friends, and then everyone asking you all the questions that keeps them holding back from doing something, you know, and what are you doing then? And what is happening with this? And what is that?
00:44:47
Speaker
And I'm like, listen, it's not that I was not thinking about it, but I can't answer it. We cross the bridge when we get there. So I do it. I feel it here and do it anyway. I will do it.
00:44:58
Speaker
Don't ask me all that question. It's not that I'm going in naively. It's my whatever, twenty s project. I thought about it. I can't answer to you. I still do it.
00:45:09
Speaker
You can't answer this question and that keeps you from doing it. So... That's one thing. You don't have to be transparent to everyone. Don't share everything you do with everyone because they will not understand. And yeah you, you also know, nobody is that brave that, I mean, you must be stupid to do all of that with no fear, but you don't need more fear from the other people. So they treat you like you must be the expert now. And you're doing that all fearless and that's all falling in your lap and you can only do it because you're so fearless. No, I'm not.
00:45:41
Speaker
I'm, I have fear, you but I do it anyway because i can't stop. So, and then I had a very concrete challenge, which was like business partners.
00:45:54
Speaker
I definitely doesn't work for me. I'm working my own thing. Uh-huh. Yeah. yeah i Yeah. It's also for me, I'm not valuing money enough. You know, the my first business partner poured in the money. Of course, without his money, I could never have done shit.
00:46:12
Speaker
But then on the other hand, it's just money. So, you know, have a cool idea. And he, because he spent the money, he wants to have a say. But that just spoils the whole idea. very hard for me to accept it.
00:46:25
Speaker
But... Hold on, Danny. Hold on, Danny. Hold on. Yeah. I find this hilarious. So you had a business partner that put in all the money, but you didn't want that business partner to have any say in the creation.
00:46:39
Speaker
Exactly. No. Because the concept was ready and it was a full concept. And that's especially basically what made me leave advertising because...
00:46:52
Speaker
It's not logical and it's not fear, but you're not doing yourself and your business a favor. If you give me money for something that will completely blossom, which I can kind of promise you, it will blossom. Then if I start to integrate your ideas in a concept you have no clue about. So this guy did not have a clue about what I was doing. He just believed because I was so passionate about it to give me the money.
00:47:19
Speaker
So, and I know, of course, but if you give her all the money, we also shall have a save, but it's not profiting the business, you know what mean? So... I mean, I get what you're saying. Yes, I get what you're saying. It's just, that's funny. No, no, it's very hard because I want to accept.
00:47:34
Speaker
I do understand, but it's just like, yeah so, okay, but what do you want to say? Yeah, the other challenge was, so I mean, this guy then also wanted to... go out of the business after a year, which was the biggest blessing because I could not have him to say anyway, and he didn't benefit.
00:47:53
Speaker
And it's absolutely unbelievable that he wanted to go out because it was running like crazy. It was the talk of town. People were standing on the street lined up to eat soup. And he still wanted to go out because he started too many projects and he became a father. And he also, I think he also noticed that he has no say and it doesn't make any sense. and So for me, it was a great blessing that he wanted out, but I immediately you're also paid him back.
00:48:20
Speaker
So I paid him everything back so I had no resources. And then I also opened a second branch of the same soup kitchen. And then with the beginning of the new contract of the second soup kitchen, so the, the The summer of the century started.
00:48:38
Speaker
So 2003, and it was 35 degrees from mid-April to mid-September. Basically every day, every fucking day. And I have nothing but food and sandwiches.
00:48:51
Speaker
Okay, so you know we're in America. So what is that? it was it When you say 35 degrees, is that Fahrenheit or Celsius? Is colder than I? Celsius, it's very hot.
00:49:03
Speaker
So hot that you would not eat soup if someone would give you $2,000. So it's just like hot. It's beach hot. It's too hot for the beach. It's too hot for everything. And it was like a a A lot of hospitality completely crashed and so I, because I was so much positioned on soup, which is a blessing.
00:49:24
Speaker
But of course people are not thinking, oh, what's a poor lady from the sub-kitchen doing? They're just not coming because they barely survived. All they want to have is a salad and a coke light or something.
00:49:35
Speaker
So... Yeah, ice cream. So they're not even thinking about lunch or about anything. So you stand there, you still have to open the shop itself and so on. You're cooking soup. Nobody wants to eat it. You're throwing away. You're creating more.
00:49:51
Speaker
So you throw your money down the toilet, but you also don't have the boss to say, you know what? I'm opening in September again. I mean, not after I was only like three years in business, you know? Mm-hmm. look today I would do that.
00:50:03
Speaker
If this would be like this, but you still hope, oh, maybe tomorrow it's cooler. So, ah if not tomorrow, but you have to prepare all of that. That was horrible. I had, like, depression from it. My hair was falling out. It was, ah did I did think that was it, you know? You have a great idea, but, like, Jesus, Petrus, whoever decides it's 35 degrees every fucking day for five months, and you're done. You're bankrupt. It's over.
00:50:32
Speaker
So it was horrible. And after that I worked, I mean, okay, then September came eventually. I mean, that also I knew that September will come.
00:50:43
Speaker
And of course I was a little bit afraid that they will also hate my whole concept so that it was something personal that it was not only the sun, but it was. So suddenly it was colder and business was running and I could pay all the bills. and But I was really traumatized, like post-traumatically traumatized. And I worked then my ass off. I worked from 8 o'clock in the morning in the soup kitchen until 2 o'clock in the bar. So I did all shifts myself because I had this extensional thing of like, no matter how good your idea is,
00:51:20
Speaker
They're the better, which you can't control. I mean, who knows, but I can't control the weather. So you're still on the shorter end. Right. So you must be prepared for everything.
00:51:33
Speaker
for everything Yeah. No, that I have somebody who's had a couple of failed businesses. There's nothing that hurts more than that than the breakup of a business. I've had failed romantic relationships and failed businesses.
00:51:46
Speaker
The failed businesses hurt more. I can deal with a failed relationship. But when you have an idea and you believe in idea and that it doesn't come to fruition or to the goal that you thought that it would go to, it is heartbreaking.
00:52:01
Speaker
But you are successful. yeah Go ahead. What are you going to Especially if you can't, if you not have really done something wrong, you know, also if you have done something wrong, because everyone can make a wrong decision, but if it's completely out of your hand, it's just going down the train, and whatever, because the house went down or it's like super hot or whatever, it's just that's painful, really, really painful.
00:52:26
Speaker
But you are accomplished now. The bar has been running well. You got that content creator. So what's next for you? You've had a successful career, ah successful businesses. What's
Future Plans: Moving to Cape Town
00:52:37
Speaker
next? What's the next thing that's that's for you, Dani?
00:52:42
Speaker
I think I will ah will permanently move to Cape Town as soon as I can, or at least like 10 months or eight months a year. And I'm going to interior design a restaurant here.
00:52:58
Speaker
And I'm going to interior design a bar here. And then you I think I will see. with every um At the moment, I really have a huge urge to do a lot of interior design until my ideas run empty, which will probably never be.
00:53:12
Speaker
happen, but this is what I want to do. I'm by the, so I'm still doing therapy and I'm doing group therapy, like family constellation, but, and I will do, think some handcrafted stuff. I will go into the production of them because that's the great thing about here. You can get very nice things customized. So I will create some own designs and we'll get them customized.
00:53:37
Speaker
Probably eventually open a new shop because there's still so much that you can do in South Africa. It's not so, it's not like Germany where there's everything and everything is in 20 different things and you have to be impeccable. you have to be better than everyone. here People are very appreciated of little creators, businesses of design. So um You have actually a real chance to do hear something. There's still a lot of space of room for but good ideas.
00:54:11
Speaker
I love that. Well, Danny, I want to thank you for coming on on the show and opening it up about your life and your work. And I know people that have listened to this have learned, whether they realize it or not, your home might be a little bit of the cause of your stress. You might want to look into redesigning or adding things. Or like you said, if you like something, add it to your home. Doesn't matter what other people think because it's your home.
00:54:40
Speaker
I want to thank you so much for coming on and just sharing that information to my audience.
Conclusion: Personalizing Home Design
00:54:46
Speaker
Thank you. Thank you, Jude. It was wonderful talking to you. Yes, it really truly was wonderful talking to you as well.
00:54:52
Speaker
Thank you. You're welcome. Thanks. If any of you guys follow me on Instagram, some of you might, some of you might not. You should definitely follow our Instagram page for Unsolicited Perspectives.
00:55:07
Speaker
But my home, as I was telling Danny, is very much my personality, vi Miami vibe, you know, a lot of lights, a lot of mood setting, and it can be overwhelming for certain people. Like ah ah people have walked into my place and said, can we tone it down a little bit? You got two TVs going, you got music blasting, and you got all these lights on all over place.
00:55:29
Speaker
It's a bit much. But for me, it's comfort. Also, I do have another part of my personality where I need to tone it down to relax. And that's the reason why I love my mom and my sister's place so much, because they are on pure relaxation all the time.
00:55:45
Speaker
So I could go there and take a breath. Not like I can't take a breath in my own place, but I can go there and take a breath. It's interesting to learn how we design our living spaces and how that can affect us emotionally and mentally. And I think Danny made very, very good points about, hey, look, if you go out there, you see something you like, you want to put in your house, but other people are hating on it.
00:56:08
Speaker
To hell with them. It's your house. It's your living space. You need to make your living space as comfortable as it could possibly be. So once again, I want to thank Danny for coming on the show and just enlighten us about how our living spaces affect us and telling us a lot about her life and her work.
00:56:27
Speaker
I thought it was a really good and interesting interview. And ladies and gentlemen, for those of you that working remotely, working from home, Take some of Daniel's advice and make your office the most comfortable place in your house, the most relaxing place in your house.
00:56:44
Speaker
Because aside from your bedroom where you sleep in, it's the place that you spend the most time at. So make sure that it's comfortable and relaxing.
00:56:55
Speaker
And on that note, I want to thank you for listening. I want to thank you for watching. And until next time, as always, I'll holla. Woo.
Episode Wrap-Up
00:57:06
Speaker
That was a hell of a show. Thank you for rocking with us here on unsolicited perspectives with Bruce Anthony. Now, before you go, don't forget to follow, subscribe, like, comment, and share our podcast wherever you're listening or watching it to it. Pass it along to your friends. If you enjoy it, that means the people that you rock will will enjoy it also. So share the wealth, share the knowledge, share the noise.
00:57:29
Speaker
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