Designing PlacesFor a Life Well LivedDesigningPlaces ForA Life WellLived
Spaces MadeTo Be Lived In
Sonja Skvarla Design Studio creates interiors shaped by the way people live, gather, and experience a place.
Our work spans residential design and experience-driven commercial spaces, with an emphasis on thoughtful planning, materiality, and the details that make a space feel distinctly its own.
Based in Northern California, we work with homeowners, builders, and hospitality teams to create places that are considered, expressive, and made to be lived in.
Design for HowWe Live & Gather
Whether you are reimagining a home or shaping the experience of a business, we begin with the people who use the space. Our services bring design and strategic thinking together to create environments that feel personal, work intuitively and support everyday life.
How WeSee Things
Good design begins with paying attention to how people move, gather, connect and experience a place. We look beyond what a space needs to do to understand how it can feel, noticing the patterns, possibilities and small details that might otherwise go unseen.
Then we give form to what we see. Through space, material, light and detail, we shape places that feel personal and connected to the lives unfolding within them. A beautiful room is only the beginning. We make living, working and gathering there better.
From VisionTo Daily Life
For full-service design, the journey begins with understanding your space and the experience it needs to support. A standalone Grounding Session establishes clarity before three design phases carry the work from initial direction to finished environment.
The Story ofSonja Skvarla
Long before Sonja thought about design, she noticed the feeling of a place. Memories of her grandmother's closet and sleepovers on a glassed-in porch stayed with her, not simply for how they looked, but for the experiences they held. That early awareness became a lasting curiosity about how our surroundings shape us.
Through her work in restaurants, offices and education, Sonja kept noticing the same thing: place changes experience. The right environment could help people feel more welcome, more capable or more at ease. Over time, design became a way to shape that experience with intention.
Today, Sonja brings that perspective to her Northern California studio as Creative Director and Principal Designer. Her work connects interior design with hospitality thinking and close attention to people. Whether shaping a home or a gathering place, she looks beyond appearance to the experience of being there.
Let's BeginWith a Hello
Tell us about the place you have in mind and what you hope it can become. Whether you are planning a home or exploring a new direction for your business, we would love to hear what matters to you and start a conversation about the right next step together.