A Big, Crazy Family

The story of how Sophia Anfossi and Ignacio Seron Holley met is truly a fairy tale one. Friends from their home country of Chile ushered them both to a party where they met and got to chatting. Not long after, Ignacio left for Germany to get his Master’s degree. The two of them kept in touch through email (these were the days before WhatsApp and Wechat) and when two years later Sophia was granted a scholarship to do a student exchange in Germany, the two of them met up again and have been inseparable ever since.

Today the married couple live in a beautiful, spacious home in Shanghai with their three children, Magdalena Seron Anfossi (8), Alicia Seron Anfossi (6), and Ignacio Seron Anfossi (2). The house is characterized by rich, vibrant carpets, modern art, contemporary furniture, and pieces they’ve collected from their travels.

When decorating the home, Sophia says she likes to start from the carpets and work her way up. “It’s very easy to pick a nice carpet and later decorate the rest of the home using the carpets’ palettes,” she says. The carpets don’t just provide a color palette for the house, Sophia also says they’re part of what makes the house a home because they make the living spaces feel cozy and warm. Mostly, she describes the décor as reflecting her own eclectic tastes and the nature of the home’s inhabitants who she cheerfully describes as “a big crazy family.”

As her family grows, so does her home. Sophia and Ignacio originally lived in a smaller house when they first moved to Shanghai. Back then, their family included only four members. When the fifth one came along and later started walking, the couple realized that the home was not big enough for their family of five. In their current home, the Seron-Anfossis have the room they need to grow, and to accommodate the friends they’ve made in Shanghai.

Like most expats, their move to Shanghai was the result of two things: a willingness to live in another country, and a job that would take them there. Sophia and Ignacio are no exception. Although Ignacio’s job was the driving force that brought them here, Sophia says that they both love the city and hope to remain here for as long as possible.