Tour Fashion Designer, Artist and Trixie Motel Designer Dani Dazey's Bold, Maximalist Los Angeles Home

Dani Dazey is a true Renaissance woman: She's an art apparel designer, a fashionista, a textile artist and the Trixie Motel designer who lives and works 24/7 surrounded by bold color in her Palm Springs-meets-Beverly Hills Hotel-style home. Her mission: to inspire others to be less afraid of color.

By: Rachael Jones

Show: HGTV Handmade

Shop This Look

Photo By: Marcus Meisler

Color Everywhere All at Once

Owner of art, apparel and accessories company Dazey LA, Danielle Nagel — known by fans and followers as Dani Dazey — is a self-taught, multitalented creative with a colorful calling as a graphic, textile and fashion designer, and designer on the Discovery+ series Trixie Motel. From the exterior to the interior, Dani’s home, shared with her husband Phillip Butler and their two pups Franklin and Yuki, is a blend of her bold personality and career portfolio. “I think design is an incredibly powerful tool that can actually change your mood and make you feel more bold and more like yourself,” Dani says. “So, my home [style] is daring, colorful and playful, but also elevated."

Watch the Video: Tour a Designer's Colorful, Mural-Filled Home in Los Angeles

Potential at First Sight

A sunny color palette greets anyone that visits Dani's home, but it wasn't always a full-scale color swatch. "When we moved in, the living room looked nothing like this, it was a white box," Dani says. "We really turned this space on its head by wallpapering the ceiling, changing out the lighting fixture for something really statement-y and adding an accent wall."

Watch the Video: Tour a Designer's Colorful, Mural-Filled Home in Los Angeles

Tile Be There

"If you like a statement like I do, tile is the way to go," Dani says. "Tile can add so much pattern and color to a space and really make a bold statement. I’m going with a little bit of a circle theme in the house, and I just loved this tile so much. We even ended up using [it] on our kitchen counters and on the steps outside our house on the way in."

Watch the Video: Tour a Designer's Colorful, Mural-Filled Home in Los Angeles

Continuing a Colorful Motif

"I love to put an accent wall on the very first wall you see when you walk into the house because it really gives that pop of color," Dani adds. Her yellow accent wall pairs perfectly with the trendy cane chairs and Dani's beloved circular tile.

Watch the Video: Tour a Designer's Colorful, Mural-Filled Home in Los Angeles

Dancing on the Ceiling

If adding colorful tile or a modern chandelier is too basic, try wallpapering a ceiling. "One of the most forgotten surfaces in the home is the ceiling," Dani says. "And this is our statement ceiling that me and [Phillip] wallpapered ourselves. It was a labor of love, but I think it was well worth showcasing the good bones and coffered ceilings in our home. But if you don’t have the patience to wallpaper your ceiling, try a mural or paint your ceiling a fun color."

See More Photos: 8 Reasons Designers Are Painting Ceilings

Mod Mix Up

Dani likes to layer matching colors in her designs by way of furniture. She adds, "A lot of people ask me all the time, 'Where did you get your couch?' And this is a modular couch that we just ordered in a different color for each section. It's a definite furniture-buying hack and a total statement piece."

Watch the Video: Tour a Designer's Colorful, Mural-Filled Home in Los Angeles

Protractor Procedure

The first of many murals handcrafted by Dani welcomes guests as they get acquainted with the living room. It's a type of mural she says anyone can do. "Another really easy way to start introducing color to the wall is a circle mural," she says. "All we did was put a nail on the center of the wall, took a string and a pencil, and drew the circle using the nail as an anchor point. Then we painted it in."

Watch the Video: How to Make a Plant Wall Mural

Powder Pink Dining

Dani's pink dining room is the muted middle point opposite the vibrant yellow living room, with an equally impressive modern chandelier that complements the living room's light fixture.

Watch the Video: Tour a Designer's Colorful, Mural-Filled Home in Los Angeles

Designer's Choice

"My favorite piece of the house is this table," Dani says proudly. "It's different colors of marble all inlaid together. The [dining room] really is a big room given the size of the house, so I needed to find something that was going to fill it and kind of be the centerpiece."

Watch the Video: Tour a Designer's Colorful, Mural-Filled Home in Los Angeles

The Break Up

Black cane chairs and an elegant marble table wasn't quite enough to add contrast in the space. So Dani created a visual divide between the muted dining area and bold green kitchen with her favorite thing. "I was just planning on leaving [the dining room] wall white, but when I finished designing this space it just looked so odd, and I felt like it needed a mural."

Watch the Video: Tour a Designer's Colorful, Mural-Filled Home in Los Angeles

Practice Makes Perfect Murals

"A lot of people get really intimidated by murals," Dani says. "The edge work can be a little bit tricky, but you just have to keep a steady hand and make sure you have the perfect amount of paint on your brush and you’ve got this." The dining room mural is just a half arch that intersects with a circle and then is painted in the middle. Dani recommends adding a fun macrame art piece on top for texture.

Watch the Video: How to Make a Plant Wall Mural

Easy Being Pesto

"I love every color in the world — I even love black and white," Dani says. "But I don’t like gray, and the counters were all gray when we moved in. So I knew it had to go. We used a sponge roller to paint the cabinets this color called Pesto, which is very fitting for a kitchen."

Watch the Video: Tour a Designer's Colorful, Mural-Filled Home in Los Angeles

Little Swaps, Big Impact

Dani continues, "It really popped and brought life to a kitchen that was once kind of sad." The same circular pink, yellow and black tiles act as the perfect countertops and backsplash, seamlessly tying together all the color choices seen in the home.

Watch the Video: Tour a Designer's Colorful, Mural-Filled Home in Los Angeles

No Can Do

Dani explains that lighting is another fun way to spice up a room, and she has very strong feelings about new construction fixtures. "I feel like recessed lighting is the number one enemy, and I’m trying to cancel canned lighting," she says. "We ended up switching out almost all of the recessed lighting in our house for something really cute and special, and I think it made a huge impact in our kitchen and bedrooms."

Watch the Video: Tour a Designer's Colorful, Mural-Filled Home in Los Angeles

Literal Bed Room

Living in LA means interior space comes at a premium, so Dani opted for a super cozy spot to relax. "When I say bedroom, I say 'bed room' because it’s literally just a room with a bed in it — because that’s all we could fit," she says. "We chose the smallest room in our house for the bedroom because all we really do is sleep in there, and it’s also a really relaxing, peaceful space."

Watch the Video: Tour a Designer's Colorful, Mural-Filled Home in Los Angeles

Matchy Maximalist

"It can be hard to pull off a space that feels colorful and playful, but also grown up and — I guess — fancy, for lack of a better word," Dani continues. "We went with matching wallpaper to matching sheets. And as a textile designer, it’s always been my dream to have a fully patterned, singular room. We also added pops of color [to the closets]."

Watch the Video: Tour a Designer's Colorful, Mural-Filled Home in Los Angeles

Small Statement Bath

Dani designs all of her interiors on Photoshop first before committing to the wall, even in the bathroom. The small space leans on wallpaper to add colorful patterns and pairs nicely with a marble-topped vanity and gold trim mirror.

Watch the Video: Tour a Designer's Colorful, Mural-Filled Home in Los Angeles

Multipurpose Multicolor Room

Dani's office and guest room combo is designed with function in mind. "When you live in LA, you don’t always have a lot of space, so we try to make the most of all the different rooms in our house. The yellow sofa is actually a pull-out couch — and it is possible to find beautiful pull out couches. This one is from Joybird."

Watch the Video: Tour a Designer's Colorful, Mural-Filled Home in Los Angeles

Trust the Process

"This is my message for people who are afraid of color: You can always paint it back. Paint is not permanent. It’s actually the opposite. It’s extremely easy to paint something yourself and then to paint it back if it doesn’t work out." And that's almost what she had to do in her home office. Worried the initial colors were reading a little too much like ketchup and mustard, Dani added several more coats of paint to darken the look with a perfect end result.

Watch the Video: Tour a Designer's Colorful, Mural-Filled Home in Los Angeles

Watermelon Den

Dani’s green room — her conversation pit — is a design based on the lovely secondhand chairs she found and paired with another new design technique she favors. "Half-wall splits have been one of my favorite things to experiment with lately in my house and in clients' spaces," she says. "Sometimes I like to even do wallpaper on the top and paint color on the bottom. You can flip it. You can have so much fun. There are so many endless options."

Watch the Video: Tour a Designer's Colorful, Mural-Filled Home in Los Angeles

Dazey LA Apparel

Another thing about the den that's special to Dani is actually found behind closed doors. "The den has the largest closet in the home," Dani says. "So it's my personal closet where my clothing line Dazey LA is housed."

Watch the Video: Tour a Designer's Colorful, Mural-Filled Home in Los Angeles

Take Me to Palm Springs

Exit the den and head straight to Dani's Palm Springs-esque escape. “Our patio is probably one of our most used spots in the house," she says. "California is all about indoor-outdoor living, so we always have the doors open and it’s really become our little sanctuary in the city."

Watch the Video: Tour a Designer's Colorful, Mural-Filled Home in Los Angeles

Same-Styled Tile

The black, yellow and pink circular tiles made famous in Dani's living room and kitchen step their way to the outdoor stairs. "Some of my biggest inspirations for the outside color scheme are Palm Springs and Beverly Hills Hotel," she explains. "I really want it to feel like a resort and like we’re on vacation every day."

Watch the Video: Tour a Designer's Colorful, Mural-Filled Home in Los Angeles

Desert Skies

Modern outdoor seating and cushioned ottomans provide guests a comfy, shaded spot to lounge beneath the wide umbrella and blooming citrus trees.

Watch the Video: Tour a Designer's Colorful, Mural-Filled Home in Los Angeles

Year-round Entertainment

"We love the seating arrangement with a fire pit in the middle for entertaining," Dani says. "I think the carpet also really makes it feel like that indoor-outdoor living. We got so lucky with all the foliage and landscaping and citrus in our yard, and I think it just adds a fun pop of color with all of the orange."

Watch the Video: How to Make a Plant Wall Mural

Mini Mural You Can Do

Make a mini mural with planters to liven up your outdoor space by checking out Dani and Phillip's how-to video. The project requires a sunny day, basic paint brushes, exterior paint, planters and a dash of simple creativity.

Get The How-To: How to Make a Plant Wall Mural

Not a Boring ADU

Mere steps across the patio sits Dani's accessory dwelling unit (ADU) that's packed with color and just as much style as the main home. "If you can’t tell, whether it’s my clothing line or my interior design, I'm a sucker for a coordinating moment," Dani says. "And the best way to achieve that in a room is doing some artwork on your own. That way you can add whatever color makes the room work and ties [it] together."

Watch the Video: Tour a Designer's Colorful, Mural-Filled Home in Los Angeles

Designed to Match

"So we painted this mural in our ADU and it matches and flows so well," Dani says. "It can be a little intimidating to put paint to canvas or paint on the wall, but if you have an artsy friend that you can ask for help, it’s the perfect opportunity to take advantage of that."

Watch the Video: Tour a Designer's Colorful, Mural-Filled Home in Los Angeles

Endless Possibilities

The moral of Dani's home tour story is that color doesn't have to be scary — even a little bit has a big impact. "I think every home needs a pop of color," Dani says. "Even if you’re a minimalist, you can use a pop of color tied into your pillows, or maybe on an accent wall or a piece of furniture. I think pops of color can add so much to a space and bring a lot of joy."

Watch the Video: Tour a Designer's Colorful, Mural-Filled Home in Los Angeles

But Wait, There's More of Dani’s Work on 'Trixie Motel'

Want even more color realness? Check out Dani's fabulous design work on Trixie Motel, a renovation series starring drag royalty Trixie Mattel as she faces the reality of having invested her life savings into a rundown motel in super-trendy Palm Springs in desperate need of an updo.

Learn More: Discovery+ Greenlights Renovation Romp 'Trixie Motel' Starring Drag Royalty Trixie Mattel

Tour Fashion Designer, Artist and Trixie Motel Designer Dani Dazey's Bold, Maximalist Los Angeles Home

Related To:

Shop This Look

Color Everywhere All at Once

Potential at First Sight

Tile Be There

Continuing a Colorful Motif

Dancing on the Ceiling

Mod Mix Up

Protractor Procedure

Powder Pink Dining

Designer's Choice

The Break Up

Practice Makes Perfect Murals

Easy Being Pesto

Little Swaps, Big Impact

No Can Do

Literal Bed Room

Matchy Maximalist

Small Statement Bath

Multipurpose Multicolor Room

Trust the Process

Watermelon Den

Dazey LA Apparel

Take Me to Palm Springs

Same-Styled Tile

Desert Skies

Year-round Entertainment

Mini Mural You Can Do

Not a Boring ADU

Designed to Match

Endless Possibilities

But Wait, There's More of Dani’s Work on 'Trixie Motel'

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