Sit Down For Sami

The old green wrought-iron bench outside Belwood Bakery on Barrington Court had been a fixture for a decade. Recently it was quietly replaced by something far more personal: a custom memorial seating area dedicated to Samantha "Sami" Liber, the Brentwood School student who died tragically in 2024.

The piece was designed and fabricated by Los Angeles artist Seth Ernsdorf, known for custom concrete work in homes and commercial spaces across the city. His clients have included Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, and Maria Shriver, and one of his landscape pieces anchors the new garden along San Vicente at Montana.

For this commission, Ernsdorf wove Sami directly into the material. "Sami's parents came to me with the idea, and after reading her story, I knew I had to make something special," he said. "We incorporated tiles from the adjacent stairway and even had some custom tiles created that feature Sami's artwork."

That detail — her own artwork, set permanently into a bench where neighbors sit every morning — is what gives the tribute its weight. The location was deliberate, too. According to Sami's mother, Carla, Belwood was a place her daughter had visited since she was a baby, and her last stop in Brentwood before a trip to Jackson Hole.

"Sami and her friends also hung out there after school," Carla said, "and hopefully future students will see the dedication and search up information about Sami."

Next time you're on Barrington Court, it's worth a pause. Read the tiles, notice the artwork, and take a moment on a bench built to keep a young Brentwood life close to the neighborhood that loved her.