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Unapologetically Moody: This Space Leans Into The Depth & Drama Of A Dark Palette

“I’m probably the only one in the room who’s drawn to brutalist architecture,” laughs Boston area-based architect and designer Sashya Thind. “But the way I like to describe my work is ‘warm minimalism.’” This style – influenced by the tropical modernism of India (where Thind was born) and her experiences living in Madagascar, Dubai, Saudi Arabia and England – is well defined in her client’s penthouse. A moody, masculine home layered in shades of ash, charcoal and umber, it’s at once both refined and welcoming.

The client had purchased the home for its ideal location and great bones. What didn’t appeal to him was its bland palette and lack of architectural details. He knew it needed an infusion of creativity. “Sashya understood my vision,” he recalls. “Then she developed it in ways I never would have imagined.”

Besides the generic design, there was a lack of natural light. To most designers, this would be a hindrance. Thind, however, celebrated it. “The condo itself doesn’t have a lot of direct sunlight,” she explains. “I wanted to embrace that, versus trying to brighten it, and that’s where the tobacco palette came from. As soon as you walk into the foyer, the moodiness greets you.”

The jumping-off point for the layout was a vintage Adrian Pearsall sofa with integrated travertine tables on either side. “It framed the living room window really well,” Thind describes. “Everything came together after that.” On the other side of the room, a David Fokos photograph hangs above a modernist couch, which, along with a lounge chair in a deep shade of chocolate and a leather-upholstered armchair, centers around a vintage, glass-topped coffee table. Organic gray-brown walls set the backdrop. “I imagined my client coming home, making a cocktail and unwinding there,” the designer shares. “But it’s also a space for entertaining.”

Hosting played a factor in the dining room as well, where leather chairs surround an Italian dining table. Overflow can easily be handled by pulling in some of the counter stools from the adjacent kitchen. To create texture, Thind covered the walls in huge slabs of the dark quartz she also used in the cooking area. “We didn’t have time before the client moved in to fully renovate the kitchen, but we updated it. I wanted to do a backsplash without it feeling like one, so I continued the use of the stone in the dining room.”

Thind carefully considered how the homeowner would use every space. “As I design a home, I think about a person’s day and how they travel through it. How do they start their days? What do they do on their weekends?” She didn’t just consider that he relaxes in the living room at the end of the day or enjoys having a small group of friends over on a Saturday night. “It’s about the little moments. He likes to read The New York Times in the morning, so the design of the entire study stemmed from the Eames lounge chair in that room’s corner.”

In the primary bedroom, this approach meant creating a serene space that sets the tone for the day. “This part of the condo gets beautiful morning light,” she notes. “We wanted to harness that and create a stark dichotomy from the rest of the home.” The homeowner, an early riser, embraced the concept, adding, “I love the contrast between the dark moodiness of the main space and the open lightness of the bedroom.”

The juxtaposition is reflective of Thind’s overarching theory of design. “Every space does something different. I work with what I have in terms of context.”

Photography by Jared Kuzia.
Building by Brite Builders.

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