Today we’d like to introduce you to Candance Toscano.
Candance , we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’ve never really had one job title, and I think that’s probably the best way to tell my story.
I started in new home sales in Colorado more than a decade ago, but even then I was always paying attention to more than the sale. I cared about how a home felt, how people lived in it, what could be changed and what made someone walk in and immediately feel connected to a space.
That eventually grew into interior design, and in Colorado I built both my design business and my brick-and-mortar shop. That was really where I learned how much I loved creating something from the ground up, not just designing homes, but creating a place people wanted to walk into, stay awhile, discover something new and feel inspired. Colorado was also where I received much of the recognition and awards that helped establish me professionally.
Then I moved my family and business to Florida, and I had to do something I think a lot of entrepreneurs can relate to: start over without actually starting from zero.
I had the experience, the portfolio, the confidence and all the lessons I had learned, but I had to rebuild the relationships, the community and the business in a completely new market. I reopened Toscano Interiors here in Florida, continued designing, opened another brick-and-mortar location and eventually found myself being pulled back toward real estate.
That’s when everything started connecting.
I realized I had spent most of my career looking at homes from every possible angle. I’ve sold them, designed them, staged them, remodeled them, merchandised them and helped people figure out how they actually want to live in them. Real estate wasn’t a departure from what I had been doing. It was another piece of it.
Now, when I walk through a property with a client, I’m not just seeing three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a price. I’m looking at how the house lives. I’m thinking about what can be changed, what should be left alone, where someone could easily waste money and where there may be an opportunity other buyers are overlooking.
My career has had a lot of chapters, and some of them have required me to completely reinvent myself. I’ve built businesses, moved across the country, rebuilt a client base, watched industries change and learned more than once that the plan you start with isn’t always the plan you end up with.
But the common thread has always been the same: homes, creativity, people and connection.
I’m still figuring out exactly what the next version of all of this looks like, and I actually think that’s the most exciting part. I don’t want to fit neatly into one box. I want to keep building something that brings together real estate, interiors, retail and community in a way that feels completely my own.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Definitely not a smooth road. I think from the outside, people sometimes see the finished projects, the awards, the store, or the real estate business and assume there was some straight line that led there. There wasn’t. I built my business in Colorado, including my brick-and-mortar store, and had created a name and a network for myself there. Moving to Florida meant leaving a lot of that behind and essentially proving myself all over again in a completely different market.
There have been seasons where business was incredible and seasons where I questioned every decision I was making. I’ve had to rebuild audiences, change direction, learn new markets, and figure out how to make interior design, retail, and real estate work together instead of treating them like three separate careers. I’ve also learned that something can look successful on paper and still need to evolve.
Probably the biggest challenge has been accepting that growth doesn’t always look like constant upward momentum. Sometimes it looks like starting over, changing your mind, closing one door, or admitting something isn’t working the way you thought it would. I’m still figuring some of it out, but I think that’s also what has made me better at what I do. I’m much less interested in looking successful than I am in building something that actually feels meaningful and lasts.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’ve built my career around homes, but I’ve never fit neatly into one box. I’m an interior designer, a shop owner, and a Realtor, and for me those things have always been connected. I don’t just see a house for what it is. I see what it could become, how it should function, and how it should feel to the people living there.
I’ve owned brick-and-mortar design businesses in both Colorado and Florida, worked in new construction and residential design, and have been fortunate to have my work recognized with several awards, particularly during my years in Colorado. I’m proud of the recognition, but I’m probably more proud that I built my businesses from the ground up and kept reinventing myself as my life, my family, and the market changed.
What sets me apart is that I’m not interested in creating spaces that look like everybody else’s. I like homes with personality, collected pieces, imperfections, stories and a strong point of view. I’m the same way in real estate. I’m looking beyond square footage and finishes and helping people understand the potential of a home and whether it actually fits the life they want to live.
At the heart of all of it, I think I’m a connector. I connect people to homes, to beautiful things, to ideas, and often to other people. That has probably been the common thread through everything I’ve built.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was definitely the wild one growing up. I hated rules, questioned everything, and had a rebellious streak. I was also absolutely the kid who would do something just for the shock factor, and if I’m being fair, there’s still a little bit of that in me today.
I hated school, but not because I didn’t like learning. I hated the structure of it. I hated all the rules, and I disagreed with a lot of what was being taught and the idea that there was only one right way to think or learn. I’ve always had a hard time accepting something just because someone in authority said that was the way it was.
But give me an art class and I was happy. Anything creative had my attention. Dance was really my world growing up. I danced throughout my entire childhood, and for years I was convinced that was what I was going to do with my life.
Looking back, I was already becoming exactly who I am now. Creative, independent, rebellious, opinionated, willing to push the envelope, and never particularly interested in following the path everyone else expected me to follow.
Pricing:
- $250 for a discovery session
- $2200+ design packages begin at
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.toscanointeriors.com
- Instagram: https://www.Instagram.com/toscanointeriors
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/toscanointeriors
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@candancetoscano?si=F2TcbwbG_caIXiTJ
