Daniel Toti Interview

Welcome back to another installment of our Creator Series!

Per usual, this series celebrates the storytellers and design lovers transforming their homes into personal sanctuaries of creativity. These features are a reminder that interior decor isn’t just about furniture or color palettes—it’s about crafting spaces that reflect who we are, where we’ve been, and where we’re headed.

In this feature, we step just outside of Paris, into the calm and inviting home of Daniel “Danny” Toti, a content creator, engineer, and dad whose thoughtful approach to interior apartment design blends functionality, coziness, and warmth.

His story is one of discovery, growth, and learning to embrace creativity within everyday life—a perfect reflection of what interiors are truly about.

Who Is Danny Toti?

Daniel “Danny” Toti is a 32-year-old engineer, data manager, and father who lives just outside Paris in the peaceful suburb of Le Perreux-sur-Marne with his fiancé and young daughter. His journey spans continents—from his childhood in Côte d’Ivoire (West Africa), to his university years in Ghana, and finally to France, where he pursued his master’s degree and began building both his career and his family.

Danny’s professional background in technology has had a strong influence on the way he approaches interior apartment design. With a foundation in frontend engineering and user interface development, he has an eye for simplicity, structure, and function—principles that now inform the layout and balance of his home. He states “I was asking myself if there was another field where I could apply that design language. Not knowing it was right under my nose in the apartment I was living in.”. His day-to-day work revolves around building data dashboards for decision-making, but his creative side thrives through interior decor, photography, and design.

A self-described “homebody,” Danny finds fulfillment in quiet, intentional living. When he isn’t immersed in coding or creating content, he enjoys photography, working out, playing football, and spending quality time with family. His lifelong interest in technology and video games sparked an early appreciation for visual storytelling—something that now translates seamlessly into his interior design content.

Blending his analytical background with a love for aesthetics, Danny’s life is a reflection of balance—between work and creativity, structure and warmth. His home has become the place where design meets emotion, and where functionality and beauty coexist effortlessly.

The Home Decor Journey

Like many of the creators we’ve featured, Danny’s path into interior design wasn’t planned—it began with one small moment of awareness that changed everything.

“In May 2023, my fiancé and I bought our apartment,” he recalls. “We moved in together with our previous furniture—mostly from the almighty IKEA… At the end of 2024, around Christmas, I was watching an anime and wanted to share it on my Instagram story. After taking a picture, I looked at our space and thought, it feels so bland. That photo changed everything.”

That single snapshot sparked a creative awakening. “I decided to finally pay close attention to everything we owned and apply my design language to it. Interior design, for me, is a continuous experiment.”

But like all creative processes, it wasn’t without challenges. “My biggest challenge was my impatience” Danny admits. “I wanted every trendy thing I saw on Instagram or Pinterest. Until I understood that this is our space. I should take my time and pick pieces that feel right to us.”

That shift in mindset has shaped not only his apartment but his entire design philosophy. “Quality of life is what motivates me. I’m not rich, but I want to create a simple space that feels warm and inviting—for my family, my friends, and myself.”

His long-term vision is rooted in intention and serenity. “The goal is to keep adding to our space with intention—and maybe someday buy a house with a garden. Luckily, we live near a river and greenery, so we already get to enjoy a bit of nature on our family walks.”

Danny Toti: The Content Creator

For Danny, content creation began as an experiment—an instinctive desire to share the cozy corners of his home, not as a polished influencer, but as someone learning along the way.

“To be honest I’d been watching a lot of creators showcasing their aesthetic homes, but I was always kind of scared to show people mine, mostly for privacy reasons. Then my fiancé told me, ‘Why don’t you make it about transforming our living room and see how it goes?’”

He finally took her advice. “At the end of January this year, I just took my phone, filmed three short clips of our cozy space, put them together, and posted it—around 11 p.m. That’s where everything started.”

Recalling the early days he states: “As with everything, my content was bad at first. I had no posting schedule; I was just going with the flow. But I learned. I taught myself software like DaVinci Resolve, color grading, and Lightroom. I was inspired by creators like ericallenluis—his content about home and family really clicked for me—and xxchouchouxx, whose creativity is a huge inspiration.”

His approach to interior decor content is simple but thoughtful. “Cozy, simple, and straightforward—that’s my thought process,” he explains. “I want to express that coziness in the videos. People want to feel something quickly, so I go straight to the point. Just like in my design work, things should be simple but aesthetically pleasing.”

Music also plays a big role in his process. “I always pick the song first before writing down ideas,” he says. “It sets the tone. It’s what brings emotion to the visuals.”

Today, his creative growth has led to unexpected opportunities. “For a small account like mine, I never thought brands would be interested,” he admits. “But I’ve already had a few collaborations. The biggest one is with Humanscale. I’d also love to collaborate with other creators, maybe photograph their spaces or work together on design projects. I stay open to whatever comes.”

Photography, Fujifilm, and the Soul of an Image

It’s no secret that Danny has the creative spark to design a warm and inviting space. Creating a visually appealing space has helped expand another pillar in his creative playbook. This is his passion for photography and his expert use of the Fujifilm camera.

Danny’s deep love for photography shapes the soul of his content—and his design philosophy. “I started photography about nine years ago,” he says. “At first, I was just some amateur doing street photography with my phone. Five years ago, I got my first film camera—an Olympus—and fell in love with it again.”

That rediscovery led him to Fujifilm. “Film photography has something that modern cameras can’t replicate—the emotion, the warmth. When I discovered Fujifilm’s film simulations, I thought, this is it. They let me capture that same soul with a digital camera.”

He speaks passionately about the craft. “I wanted to capture moments that have a soul—it might sound strange, but film creates that emotion. Since my content is about coziness and home decor, Fujifilm was the perfect fit to bring out that warmth and feeling.”

He even customized his tools. “For Christmas, my girlfriend gifted me my Fujifilm X-T30 II—the biggest gift I’ve ever received. I created my own Fujifilm recipe through trial and error: one for video, another for photos. They look similar, but they’re fundamentally different. My content really depends on that camera. It gives my work its signature mood.”

Danny sees Fujifilm as more than a tool—it’s part of the design language of modern interiors. “It’s only natural that it’s become so popular. Humans are drawn to warm light. Even creators who don’t use Fujifilm try to recreate that warm, cinematic effect through color grading. It makes your content—and your space—feel inviting.”

Inside the Home

Taking a step into the home the first thing you’d realize is the mid-century modern influences and the calming colors from the walls to the furniture. Dressing the home in lighter browns and tans allows for the beautifully orchestrated pieces stand out like the green chairs, the bright lighting, and of course the red side table.

When describing his apartment, Danny tell us “Our home isn’t filled with sentimental art—except for family photos and one picture of my fiancé on her 30th birthday,” he says warmly. “But each object here still has a story.”

The 55-square-meter apartment has been designed with intention. “Our living room is about 20 m², so every piece needs to be functional and modular,” he explains. “Our dining table, for instance, is extendable. And since our daughter loves playing in the living room, we’ve customized furniture to make sure she has space to run around.”

There are touches of personal history woven throughout. “On our shelf, we have an object from my birth country—it holds traditional meaning for me. Another favorite is a tiny house we brought back from Amsterdam, a city my fiancé and I fell in love with. We even thought about moving there someday.”

Lighting, too, plays a starring role. “I love light wood furniture and lamps,” he says. “It’s the best combo to create a cozy atmosphere. We use multiple lamps with different positions and intensities to create a soft, layered glow.”

Danny’s aesthetic has been described by others as “everyday simplicity”—a phrase he fully embraces. “That’s exactly it, I take inspiration from interior styles that catch my eye—nothing specific. The most important thing is to make sure our space breathes, feels simple, functional, and aesthetic.”

For the future, Danny and his fiancé are taking their time. “We’re slowly replacing our old IKEA furniture with pieces that reflect who we are now. We want to create a space that feels intentional and warm—a home that evolves with us.”

Advice to You

As our conversation comes to a close, Danny’s advice is refreshingly practical and heartfelt—perfect for anyone beginning their own interior decor or content journey.

“Take your time,” he says. “Research, find what you like and what you don’t, and start experimenting. That’s the key.”

He emphasizes starting small and staying true to your vision. “You don’t have to be rich to design a beautiful home. A lot of people find amazing pieces at flea markets or second-hand shops. Check Pinterest or Instagram to create a vision board of your space.”

For aspiring creators, his encouragement is even more direct: “Just post your content. If you have an idea, go ahead and bring it to life. You’ll learn along the way. There are people out there who genuinely appreciate what you create.”

He’s quick to remind others not to measure worth by numbers. “Likes don’t define you,” he says. “There was a time I hid my like count because I wasn’t getting enough engagement. But then I realized—it’s just numbers. I may never go viral, but I love the process of bringing my ideas to life. Even small accounts get to work with dream brands.”

His final words linger: “As long as you love what you create, you’ll keep going. That’s what matters most.”

A special thank you to Danny Toti for being a great steward and sharing his story. His journey reminds us that the heart of interior isn’t perfection—it’s patience, personality, and purpose.

Stay tuned for the next feature in our Creator Series, where we continue to highlight the everyday creators shaping the future of interiors one space at a time.