Blending Worlds: Sefi Studio’s Masterful Fusion of Coastal and Urban Elegance in Berkeley’s Claremont Neighborhood
In the world of design, every challenge presents a unique opportunity for creativity and innovation. While a blank slate offers boundless creative freedom, working with existing pieces requires a dance between vision and restraint—a test of a designer’s ability to unify contrasting elements. For Sefi Studio’s Hillcrest project in Berkeley’s prestigious Claremont neighborhood, founder Hagerenesh Solomon-Cary embraced such a challenge, artfully merging two distinct homes into a cohesive and stunning masterpiece. We Become sat down with Solomon-Cary to delve into her creative process, favorite spaces, and the philosophy that drives Sefi Studio.
The Design Brief: Two Homes, One Vision
Sefi Studio’s design brief was to combine coastal furnishings from her client’s southern California home with urban-chic ones from their San Francisco Bay Area home into a larger stately Edwardian home in the coveted Claremont neighborhood in Berkeley, California. Combining two homes into one is no small feat, especially when the furnishings from the two properties came with their own distinct styles. Solomon-Cary’s goal was to create a home that could at once serve as a sanctuary for the family’s everyday living and also as a stylish backdrop for entertaining.
“Combining two homes into one cohesive space is no small feat,” Solomon-Cary notes. “Especially when the furnishings themselves come from entirely different worlds. ”There was also the added complexity of incorporating certain design decisions the client had already made.
Her solution? Build a color story—a visual thread that would weave together the distinct styles. “For this project, I wanted a palette that honored the grandeur of the home while introducing the warmth and intimacy required to make it feel like a family haven,” she explains.
Creating a Vibrant Narrative Through Color
In the main living spaces, Sefi Studio orchestrated a striking interplay between deep blue and vibrant chartreuse. This bold combination establishes a dynamic yet harmonious ambiance, anchoring the room’s elegance while infusing it with lively energy.
In the main living spaces, Solomon-Cary paired deep, stately blue with a vibrant chartreuse-yellow. The result? A visual narrative of bold contrasts and dynamic energy. “Deep blue has this serene, almost timeless quality that evokes the vastness of the night sky, while chartreuse-yellow is like sunshine—it brings warmth, joy, and vibrancy,” she says. The colors together symbolize the perfect yin and yang, creating a space that is calming for everyday living yet energizing and inviting for gatherings.
One of the home’s most striking features is the bespoke feature wall Solomon-Cary introduced. “The home’s grand scale called for something to anchor the space,” she explains. Wall moldings were meticulously added to bring depth and texture, creating a focal point adorned with curated prints that bring the room to life.
“The accent wall was conceived to anchor the expansive space,” she shares. “The intricate molding and selected artworks contribute layers of character, making the room truly resonate with the family’s essence.”
The Reading Room: A Sanctuary of Reflection
Among the many spaces in this transformed home, Solomon-Cary’s favorite is the reading room. “It’s a space that’s both simple and striking,” she shares, her voice warm with affection for the room. “The design itself is understated, but the view it frames is breathtaking. It’s a space to unwind, to escape, and lose yourself in a book.”
The reading room perfectly encapsulates the ethos of Sefi Studio—spaces that are both aesthetically beautiful and deeply meaningful. The room mixes soft and hard elements: a hand-carved wooden Kenyan maternity chair stands elegantly beside a plush fur rug, layered on top of a mid-century patterned carpet. A chartreuse chair serves as the room’s focal point, striking the balance between traditional craftsmanship and modern sensibility.
“There’s something incredibly special about this room,” she reflects. “It feels both timeless and deeply personal, an ideal space for a modern family living in a 1920s Edwardian home.”
Elegance Meets Intimacy: The Anteroom and Dining Area
Transitioning through stately French doors from the living room, guests enter an anteroom and dining space where Solomon-Cary employs a layered palette of pinks, plums, and dark blues. This sophisticated combination cultivates an atmosphere of intimacy and opulence, ideal for hosting and entertaining.
The anteroom invites the hosts themselves and guests alike to savor cocktails by the fireplace, enveloped in rich, comforting tones that exude elegance. The adjoining dining room continues this narrative, featuring dynamic fuchsia, light pink, coral, and navy blue chairs that infuse the space with energy and charm.
“We wanted these areas to feel luxurious yet welcoming,” she describes. “The colors and textures work together to create an experience that’s both memorable and inviting.”
A Lifelong Passion
Solomon-Cary’s journey into interior design began long before she founded Sefi Studio. “From a young age, I was always designing spaces,” she recalls. “I’ve always been very intentional about what goes where. My friends would come over and love the way I arranged things. It was just something that came naturally to me – an instinct.”
Yet, it wasn’t until later in life that Hagerenesh realized her passion could become her profession. “There’s something profoundly fulfilling about helping people create their own sanctuaries,” she reflects. “When you discover that you can turn what you love into your career or even second career, as it is for me, it’s a transformative realization.”
This realization is a message Hagerenesh hopes to share with aspiring designers—that pursuing your dreams is not only possible, but often requires the courage to begin. It starts with embracing your talents, sharing them with those around you, and trusting that what comes naturally can lead to something extraordinary.
The Sefi Studio Philosophy
At the heart of Sefi Studio is a commitment to designing spaces that resonate profoundly with those who live in them. Solomon-Cary emphasizes that her approach transcends aesthetics; it’s about optimizing spaces to enhance functionality, comfort, and joy. “Often, it’s the challenge of solving the unique puzzle each project presents that leads to the most interesting spaces,” she reflects. This process, she explains, involves embracing the idiosyncrasies that don’t have an immediate solution—like harmonizing the contrasting furnishing styles from different homes in Sefi Studio’s Hillcrest project. Yet, the true reward lies in uncovering these solutions, and turning what might initially appear as a design flaw into a defining feature.
We Become asked Solomon-Cary if there was a designer who inspired Sefi Studio. After thoughtful reflection, she revealed that her inspiration didn’t come from another interior designer or architect, as one might expect, but from Diane Von Furstenberg. “DVF is a true master of her craft. She understands a woman’s body intimately, crafting clothing that not only enhances the female form but celebrates it. I aspire to bring that same balance and mastery to interior design,” Solomon-Cary shared.
For Solomon-Cary, the joy of designing spaces goes hand in hand with the joy of making people feel at home. “Our mission is to create environments that not only look beautiful, but also function and flow with ease,” she articulates. “We want our client’s space to feel as fitting, flattering and comfortable as a Diane Von Furstenberg dress on a female form. We consider how every element contributes to the lived experience, ensuring that each space supports and enriches our clients’ daily lives.”
This philosophy is mirrored in the Hillcrest project, where thoughtful design choices reflect and elevate the client’s lifestyle and aspirations.
“There’s immense satisfaction in knowing that our work brings happiness and comfort into people’s lives,” Solomon-Cary expresses warmly. “That’s the true essence of what we do at Sefi Studio.”
As Cary continues to expand her design portfolio, one thing remains clear: her passion for creating beautiful, intentional spaces is as strong as ever. With each new project, she breathes life into her vision, one room at a time.
I am absolutely thrilled to showcase the work of Hagerenesh Solomon-Cary, the visionary behind Sefi Studio. Her interior design studio helps clients optimize their living and work spaces to be functional, comfortable, and stylish—a brand that shares many parallels with We Become, where together, We Become Stylish, Fit, and Free.
Are you ready to optimize your space? You can work with Sefi Studio and learn more here. It helps to know what your personal design philosophy is before starting your interior design journey. For tips on how to find your own unique design philosophy, check out We Become’s post on the subject.
Do you have a favorite room in your home or office? Did you work with a designer? We’d love to hear from you.
