Sogno Design Group

Kathy Rogers and her team at Sogno get our very highest recommendation. They shepherded us with ease and confidence through a project that had the potential to be disastrous because of our very steep lot and dicey driveway and we couldn’t be happier with the process and the outcome! We now have a gorgeous light and view filled attached ADU that will provide so much space, comfort and happiness for our family. Kathy is an extremely good listener and wove in her vast design knowledge and expert creative sense to elevate our wishes and desires. Her team was also wonderful about taking our ideas and making them so much better for a beautiful result. It’s an added advantage that Kathy has been working in Berkeley for so long and knows so many people in the permitting offices (and people know and trust her). Navigating the permitting process without Sogno’s support would have been really difficult. Kathy also connected us with LCI which was an excellent contractor whose staff went above and beyond for us. Our ADU completely exceeded our expectations and we really enjoyed working with everyone at Sogno and feel so grateful for all of their creativity, sense of beautiful design, expert work, patient guidance and willingness to grapple with our very complicated site. Don’t hesitate to work with them if you have the chance!

Kathy and team at Sogno design group turned our dark, dysfunctional, 40-year+ old kitchen into a modern functional space that we now happily use daily. Accounting for our specific requests of coffee bar, entertaining space, light, and family function - the end result achieved all the wish list design items. Easy and efficient communication and process to work with and happy with the end result. The construction portion of the project grew - as is predictable - in scope with unexpected findings in a 100-year old house, but we navigated through electrical, heating and other structural issues that came up as the project progressed. Would recommend Kathy and team highly to others in the market - particularly in the messy business of renovating older homes in the SF Bay Area.

Project was a complex addition to a 1930 house during the pandemic, adding a master suite on the 2nd level. Communication and execution were excellent throughout the project, and the result is outstanding. Sogno took care of a huge number of logistical and technical aspects in addition to an excellent design. The result looks like it was always part of the house.

We worked with Kathy on a two-phase renovation on our North Berkeley home. Kathy and co were responsive, professional, and did a good job balancing our uneducated ideas with their experience to get a cohesive plan that aligned with our vision. We've now completed construction for phase one and planning for both and we're so glad we chose to work with Kathy and Sogno!

We worked with Kathy and her team on a substantial kitchen/bathroom remodel and had a great experience. Our favorite things about the design were all ideas that Kathy came up with and designed beautifully. She also connected us with a fantastic contractor. I also had some pretty particular design desires that were maybe a little weird, but they did a great job harmonizing those ideas with the rest of the house. Would definitely work with the group again for any future projects.

We loved working with Kathy and Jeff. We hired Sogno to design our second floor home addition and they were fantastic. Kathy was very familiar with working on homes like ours - a 1920's craftsman bungalow in Rockridge. She was able to reconfigure several existing spaces in our home while designing a second floor that seamlessly fit into our existing design. At the beginning of the process, she listened to what we wanted and needed (and what we didn't) and was able to design something that perfectly fits our family's needs. Best yet, every single inch of our space was well utilized. Throughout the process, Kathy and Jeff provided the perfect blend of communication, professionalism and creativity. They were happy to lead the way when we needed, selecting design elements within our budget when we wanted and providing feedback when we wanted to be more involved in the process. Their experience in the area also meant they were able to refer us to other amazing professionals, like our contractors, Berkeley Craftsmen, our color consultant, etc. We are lucky that we worked with the Sogno team and could not be happier with the result.

We originally contacted Sogno to help us reconfigure the square footage of our 1500sf house. We felt like the size of the house was fine and it had "good bones," but its layout was inefficient and uninspiring. After meeting with Kathy, we knew we definitely wanted to work with her. She seemed excited about the project and had a confidence and taste level that was very reassuring. The architectural choices Kathy and Lin made have completely transformed our cute but very patchworked/piecemealed older home into an elegant, updated space that we absolutely love. Additionally (and this part probably gets underestimated in these projects), they completely understood our style and as professional designers, they were able to give us a vocabulary for how to think and talk about the things we were intuitively drawn to. We were excited about the project throughout the renovation process, but now that we're back in the house, we've been amazed at how much our (high) expectations were exceeded. Home renovation projects are scary and stressful no matter what and it is so important that you really trust your whole team. Our trust in Sogno has given us a house we will love for many years to come. This was a great partnership for us.

We renovated our kitchen and main living level, including a guest bedroom and full bath. Kathy did a great job of understanding our needs and came up with a terrific design that made our home far more functional. This was a large, stressful project for two busy professionals, and Kathy was very easy to work with—Easy-going and funny. Our project is a testament to hiring an architect. Kathy had ideas that we would have never thought of on our own, nor would any contractor that we know. Also, Kathy sourced countertops, hardware, etc. for us to review, and generally, we didn’t need to ask for other options. We often loved her first choices (and we have well-defined tastes). We highly recommend Kathy and her team.

Kathy was the architect on a full remodel of the first floor of our Rockridge Craftsman home. She was a terrific listener, and her designs reflected our desires and hopes for the house. When we first met with Kathy we had a list of things that were not working for us in the house- now, not only are all of those problems solved, but our space is beautiful, functional, has amazing flow and a design that is so right, that people can't beleive it wasn't always this way. We saw Kathy's greatest strengths in the plans-- her instincts around where to put an opening, how big to make it, where to put a window, how big of a door, the lighting design, etc are all things that contributed to creating a space that we love and enjoy everyday. Kathy is a seasoned and well respected professional- she knows old homes and understands how families live today and combines these two things to transform homes in beautiful ways.

I have worked with Kathy Rogers for 7 years on many totally different types of projects from traditional to transitional to ultra-modern. She has wonderful ideas, is very easy to work with, is a good communicator, and builds great relationships with her clients. Kathy has just begun another big project and I met the clients a few days ago. They told me they had interviewed 5 architects before deciding to hire Kathy. They felt she was the best at understanding their needs and had the best ideas of possibilities for their home.

We are nearing completion of our kitchen and bathroom remodel. We decided to use the talents of Sogno design group for this project, and were not disappointed. What would normally be a gut wrenching, hair pulling experience, has become a rather pleasant affair. Kathy and her team worked with us every step of the way. They became our team, and were thoughtful of our ideas. The final design was an amalgam of our wishes, expert design, and practical input from our contractor. The results are stellar. Our tiny kitchen has become this jewel box, not only visually, but functionally. We now have triple the counter and storage space. Our bathroom used to be this small "Jack and Jill". Now, through expert design and use of space, it is this spa-like retreat. One other big advantage of working with Sogno is having access to contractors they work with. This was a hard decision because they were all great. We eventually went with James Terrell Construction. Boy, are we happy with them! I can recommend James and his team most highly.

With Sogno Design’s architectural planning we had our 1924 Berkeley Flats bungalow transformed into a very sophisticated, contemporary version of this neighborhood house. While still modest in size, our new beautiful home really maximizes the available space in style and efficiency. It was a comprehensive remodel. We started the planning with Kathy and Kerstin in October 2015. They expertly interpreted our ideas and guided us through an otherwise overwhelming process. (Choosing 5 tiles means you also have to choose 5 grouts! Aaah!) Construction began in September 2016; we moved back into our house in August 2017. Sogno was with us every step of the way. Sogno’s leader, Kathy, is very experienced, smart, thoughtful, and a lot of fun to work with. Sogno have developed quite an excellent reputation in the greater Berkeley area with their hands in community projects as well as private homes. If you can get them on your project you’ll be very happy working with them. Check them out! You wont regret it.