Today we’d like to introduce you to Sven Simon.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
It began with dasMOD, an award-winning development firm that broke the mold in San Diego. Known for being unapologetically design-forward, we built a reputation on transforming distressed land and niche coastal assets into architectural benchmarks. Led by Sven Simon and Erik Gilmer, dasMOD spent a decade proving that real estate development could be both a disciplined financial play and a bold aesthetic statement, earning the respect of the industry’s top professionals along the way.
Then, a leap to New York City served as the catalyst for dasCasa—the full integration of Sven and his wife, Sara Simon, into a singular creative force. This partnership effectively bridges the gap between capital and creativity. Sven, a German native, provides the firm’s structural backbone, managing the meticulous finance and construction logistics that ensure every build is technically flawless. Sara, the visionary behind the acclaimed design firm Handsome Salt, brings an eclectic, worldly ethos that has been celebrated in many national and international publications.
After a decade of creating buzz in the California hospitality and residential scenes, the duo is now bringing their “Cali swag” to New York City. Their motto, “Bringing Hospitality Home,” drives their current focus: exclusive, turnkey properties that function like a piece of art. By maintaining total creative control from acquisition to the final interior detail, they deliver spaces that are sensory, vibrant, and entirely uncompromising. For Sven and Sara, a home shouldn’t just be a place to live—it should be a place you never want to leave.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Has it been a smooth road? Hardly. While our finished projects suggest a seamless transition, the reality is that the road to dasCasa was paved with the friction inherent in high-stakes development.
Our early days were defined by the rapid pace of strategic, quick-turnaround remodels. However, as we scaled, we moved into the heavy lifting of ground-up construction and the high-stakes chess match of entitlements. Navigating the ‘red tape’ of zoning and land-use transformed our timeline from months into years, requiring a level of financial stamina and patience that smaller renovations simply never demand. Maintaining our design integrity while weathering a decade of economic volatility and fluctuating interest rates was its own constant, silent battle.
The leap to New York City served as the ultimate stress test. Trading California’s horizontal sprawl for NYC’s vertical intensity meant relearning everything—from complex logistics and historic preservation to the city’s relentless, high-velocity pace. This move was the catalyst for our most significant evolution: officially joining forces as a husband-and-wife team.
Navigating a partnership in this business adds a unique layer of complexity. We’ve had to learn how to weaponize the friction between Sven’s pragmatic, finance-driven German roots and Sara’s fearless, rule-breaking design ethos. We’ve moved beyond just building houses; we are now focused on lifestyle curation at the highest level. By maintaining total creative control from the first spreadsheet to the final interior detail, we deliver uncompromising, sensory-driven worlds. For us, the struggle has been the very thing that polished the vision, allowing us to truly “bring hospitality home” in a way that is entirely our own.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about dasCasa?
What should we know about your business and what sets you apart?
We operate as a Real Estate Collective—a multidisciplinary studio where investment rigor meets top-tier global curation. What sets us apart is our ability to bridge the gap between high-level development and a “no-rules” design philosophy. We don’t just participate in a property’s lifecycle; we guide the entire vision from the initial acquisition through to the final completion.
Our edge lies in our four integrated pillars: Development, Design, Stewardship, and Hospitality. While most firms silo these services, we have spent a decade merging them. We provide the strategic foundation for every project, ensuring each venture is anchored in financial and structural intelligence, while the “soul” of the work is driven by our design arm, Handsome Salt. This is complemented by our private asset management and the owner-operated hospitality standards seen at N+P Boutique Lodge. This 360-degree involvement allows us to curate every detail with a global perspective, ensuring that our projects aren’t just built—they are composed.
What are you most proud of brand-wise?
I am most proud of the brand we have built as a husband-and-wife team. Bringing our individual strengths together—my background in finance and construction management combined with Sara’s fearless, eclectic design vision—has allowed us to create a singular brand identity that feels both disciplined and deeply personal.
We’ve moved beyond the traditional boundaries of real estate to focus on “Bringing Hospitality Home.” I’m incredibly proud of how we’ve proven this concept through our flagship projects, which serve as live proof of our collective in action. Seeing our shared passion for travel and culture translate into one-of-a-kind, turnkey residences is the ultimate reward. We have successfully created a brand that represents a lifestyle of “Cali swag” refined for the international stage, proving that a home can be a high-performing asset and a provocative work of art at the same time.
What do you want readers to know about your offerings?
We want your readers to know that dasCasa is now firmly anchored in New York City, bringing ten years of coastal excellence to the most competitive market in the world. Whether we are unlocking the potential of a new property or delivering a meticulously finished, turnkey home, our goal is to create a total experience.
When you step into a dasCasa project, you are stepping into a world that has been curated at the highest level. By maintaining total creative control from the first investment detail to the final interior touch, we deliver uncompromising, vibrant spaces that are designed to be lived in and felt. We are here to show that when it comes to the intersection of luxury and living, there are no rules—only the pursuit of exceptional execution and a home you never want to leave.
What’s next?
For us, the future isn’t about a radical shift in direction; it’s about refinement and intentionality. We aren’t looking to move faster; we’re looking to move deeper into the projects that align with our ethos.
We’re completely focused on New York City – on expanding our portfolio of highly niche residential luxury projects—specifically townhouses and selective condominiums that allow for the level of architectural storytelling we’re known for. While our primary focus remains our own developments, we’ve decided to open our doors to one or two private end-user clients per year. We want to collaborate with individuals who share our vision for their luxury residence, allowing us to bring the full dasCasa creative engine to their home.
We are also scaling our Stewardship and Concierge division. There is a specific need in the NYC market for expert advocacy and management of pied-à-terre properties. We want to offer townhouse and condo owners the same white-glove “owner-operated” precision we apply to our own hospitality assets, giving them peace of mind that their home is being curated and cared for in their absence.
Finally, we are growing our Hospitality Group. Following the success of N+P Boutique Lodge, we are looking to acquire additional properties that allow us to scale our portfolio while maintaining our signature intimacy.
Ultimately, there are no “big changes” on the horizon—just a commitment to streamlining our process and staying true to our motto. We want to continue doing beautiful work with the integrity of who we are, proving that when you prioritize curation and craftsmanship, the results speak for themselves.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.dascasa.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dascasanyc
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/svensimon
