Sashya Thind

When we built our home our direction was clear right from the beginning when our architect asked us “what 3 elements would you like to see in your home”. The nonnegotiables were 1. natural light and sun everywhere and for as long as we can have it - achieved from from our many large windows and L-Shape construction 2. Indoor/outdoor living achieved with the 2 nanawalls and 3. Barefoot living achieved by radiant floors though out the house . After 10 years of living in the house we that built and loved so much we knew we were ready to take it to the next level. We interviewed many designers who said they do modern/contemporary but the were always missing the mark on our desire for biophilic design…. Cue the amazing Sashya Thind ! Sashya came in with an open mind, the willingness to work with us as clients who love to be involved with big ideas that needed to be molded and refined and most of all the excitement for being able to have opportunity to explore and dive into the biophilic world! Sashya fully understood what we wanted and she took the ball and ran with it! After many conversations and meetings that too during the pandemic where interior design took to zoom…Sashya completed our home and made my biophilic lifestyle come true! The peace and serenity I feel everyday is indescribable! I will forever be grateful for you Sashya for making my home my sanctuary

Sashya was the perfect designer and facilitator for my new condo. I needed someone who could be in charge of everything since I have a busy job with little time off. She did an amazing job of figuring the "look" that I wanted and translating it into a space that I always look forward to coming home to. Almost a year later, there is not a single person who shows up at my place (friends, service people, etc) who don't comment on how great it looks. I particularly was happy with Sashya's communication skills and with her being able to pay attention to all the details and make sure things were getting done. I would recommend her highly and will definitely work with her the next time I need design help. This was a gut rehab of a 3BR condo for which Sashya managed the construction process, design, furniture procurement and installation.

Sashya Fernandes has been a perfect designer for my Cambridge, MA home. When I began my search for a designer, I was looking for a partner who was an expert at the art and science of interior design, but who was also willing to be collaborative as I had many design ideas for my home. Sashya played this role extremely well, her warm minimalism focus complementing my maximalist instincts. Sashya has a deep appreciation for the study of design and architecture, which I believe must form the basis for any great interior designer. She is resourceful, with many local contacts in a variety of artistic realms that proved useful. She didn't hesitate to think outside the box to come up with creative solutions and remained very patient when my particularities came to the fore. I wouldn't hesitate to work with Sashya again on another project and would highly recommend her to anyone else.

Pretty good to work alongside on design projects for commercial uses. Easy to reach and communicate with, and will visit site personally.

From the first introductory call with Sashya in the middle of the pandemic, we immediately knew we were in great and experienced hands. As first time homeowners, we were at first overwhelmed by all of the design possibilities, but Sashya set us at ease by asking high-level questions around our interests, esthetics, and tastes. It was important to us that our home struck the right balance between elegance and comfort. Sashya introduced us to beautiful vintage pieces and accompanied us to stores throughout Boston to get our perspective. She pushed our boundaries in the best way possible and even though we were in the midst of the pandemic and all of the limitations that came with that, Sashya was prompt, timely and provided clear and constant communication. She was able to distill our thoughts into beautiful designs, all while staying within our budget. We absolutely love our home and recommend Sashya for all of your design needs.

In short, we highly recommend Sashya. Her design work and other input was invaluable to our project. Sashya took the time necessary to “get” our tastes and needs and integrate them into a creative, cohesive vision. Our project was a new build that extended over a relatively lengthy period (including during Covid). Sashya maintained focus, high energy, seriousness of purpose and attention to detail throughout. Sashya’s architecture experience and understanding of the entire build process and of all trades meant that she was able to provide important input on all aspects of our project. She also drew as needed from her network to help execute her designs, including for carpentry and stone work. At times when there was uncertainty or disagreement on the team or there were unexpected challenges, Sashya was patient in helping work things through with us or directly with our architect, our GC and various subs. We were drawn to the elegance and beautiful simplicity of Sashya’s portfolio. She was able to help us create the warm and inviting environment we were hoping for. We are delighted with our new home. We would happily work with Sashya and her team again.

Sashya worked with us on a total home renovation for the better part of a year. We had architect designs in hand when we first met with Sashya and walked her through the house and planned addition. She took it all in, evaluated the space, discussed our pain points and what we hoped would be the ideal outcome … and then she made a radical suggestion that turned our plans upside-down. She simply said, “What if instead of building an addition that would only give you 2 new rooms without renovating any other part of the house … for roughly the same price, you could renovate your entire house, better optimize existing spaces and only need to construct one additional room?” We struggled mightily with the decision … do we forge ahead with our existing plans, or heed Sashya’s advice and move out of our house for 6 months during a global pandemic? In the end we took Sashya’s advice and are thankful every day for our “new old house.” Her vision and ability to translate our needs into design elements (before we could even articulate what they were) were key to the success of the entire project. She worked seamlessly with our contractor and was very present and accessible both onsite and off to ensure proper execution and to make any necessary adjustments if needed. Sashya also respected our budget, and was crucial in helping us decide which expenses would really make a difference and which we could forgo without having it impact the overall result. She is also extraordinarily creative, and used mural painting rather than wallpaper to make our basement teen area super cozy without being fussy. Sashya also is the rare breed of designer that is as laser focused on function as she is on form (without ever sacrificing one iota of form!). One of the best parts about working with Sashya was her firm commitment to the overall vision and goal of the project and not allowing her (us really) to sway too far from that. We have a saying in our house whenever we receive a compliment on our house or someone asks why we chose a certain furniture configuration … we laugh and say it was our designer and that “Sashya is always right.” We highly recommend her services without reservation as she brings so much more than just design work to the table … of course you get her impeccable style, but you also get someone with creative problem solving skills, a shrewd project manager, someone who knows their way around a set of blueprints, and who is just plain really fun and interesting to work with. She really is the complete package and would never do another project like this without hiring her again.

We wanted a calming, casual, minimalist, family-friendly design. Before the renovation, the space was very different from a previous owner's tastes - busy, many shades of beige, and sort of like the inside of a generic hotel. Sashya worked with us to understand what we were looking for. She was easy to work with and full of great ideas. She has a real gift of exceptional style, listens well to clients, and is a genius at combining colors. textures, and forms into a cohesive minimalist aesthetic. Our kitchen is now calming and soothing every day - a dramatic change from how it was before. And, even better, it is easy to keep looking clean and tidy like the example photos.

ID8 Design and Sashya in particular were a pleasure to work with on our recent design and renovation project. Her talent really shined when it came to taking an old, warehouse style brick and beam space and creating a slick, clean, modern makeover. Her attention to detail, work ethic and ability to stay within budget were appreciated. She also has a gift of working with people to keep the project on track when problems arise. After interviewing several other designers, we were thrilled that we decided on her.

It has been a pleasure working with Sashya and her wonderful team at ID8. Sashya worked with us as we designed the spaces in our new home including selection of stones for fireplaces, light fixtures, bathroom/kitchen fixtures, wallpapers, tiles and carpets. She understood our preferences very quickly and proposed ideas that made the home a consistent yet creative execution of our vision. She subsequently helped us furnish most of the rooms beautifully, keeping our aesthetics in mind. Sashya has a deep connection with vendors and was able to procure materials rapidly. She and her team also inspected the installations, and helped us find any flaws and negotiate to have them rectified with the vendors. We would recommend Sashya and ID8 without any reservations.

It was a pleasure working with Sashya! As a developer, I’ve worked with Sashya over the years on two different custom home projects and one spec home ranging in size from 2,300sf to 9,600sf, including ultimately our very own home. For all three projects she employed a unique palette of materials and finishes. On the first project, she was employed by my client/buyer and since we worked well together implementing customization of that home, I engaged her on my next spec home project. I sought out her design for her clean, contemporary aesthetic and innovative ideas which were very important for me. As a client of hers on my own home, she took the time to get to know us, understand our lifestyle, learn our preferences, needs, and wants and created a home that we are extremely happy with. It is both functional and aesthetically pleasing. She has a keen attention to detail and manages the trade professionals in a respectful and direct manner to keep the project streamlined to attain the outcome that was envisioned. She also managed the budget and schedule without compromising on the function or design aesthetic from concept to completion including furniture installation. I would highly recommend her!

Sashya and her team transformed our house from a drab, non-functional house to a gorgeous modern space that we love to live in. I loved working with her to hone the look and design to work for our unique needs - kids, guests, and lots of entertaining. We have recommended her to several friends and families.

We initially hired ID8 to help us trouble shoot an awkward transition area that needed to look integrated and function as a small mudroom. It was definitely a tricky task, and not only did Sashya come up with a really creative solution but a stunning one, as well. We were so pleased with how it turned out that we then hired her to help us design our breakfast nook and sitting area. It turned out beautifully and we've received many compliments. (The space ended up being featured in a local and national design publication.) Sashya has that special ability to work with her client's aesthetic while taking it to the next level.

We live in the Chestnut Hill/Brookline area and were lucky enough to find iD8 Design Studio and Sashya Thind Fernandes to help us with both the architectural and interior design needs for our large home rennovation project. With her expert help in finding and creating the most beautiful, personalized ways to fit our taste and budget we gutted and furnished our kitchen, created a lovely and luxurious master bath and walk-in closet, designed a lovely finished basement including a movie room and bathroom, transformed an old school wood paneled study into a light a lovely guest room and more. Sashya was efficient, patient, great with other vendors, picked up on our style and had a sense of what we would like or dislike within weeks of working with us. We cannot say enough about her work ethic and her beautiful work. We recommend her highly and without reservation.

Worked with ID8 on the renovation of our master bathroom. Very pleased with the results! Very creative with design and the options proposed for tiles, vanity and other materials. Had an overall good read on our style and what would work with our place. Great follow up with contractors. Appreciated the check in visits.

It was a great pleasure to work with Sashya. From our initial meeting, she was always very attentive to our needs and wants, and engaged us in a very productive, efficient and iterative process in coming up with a design for our master bathroom. She was very thoughtful, and ensured our continued involvement from initial design, optimization and ultimately execution, with what seemed to us as just the right level of input/involvement from us. We chose to use the contractor she recommended, and to excellent results. We are extremely happy with the finished product: a bright, simple, and very functional design with clean lines. I cannot recommend her highly enough.

Sashya and ID8 Design Studio did a wonderful job with our portico and deck/patio design. With nothing more than a collection of internet photos and some measurements, she produced a beautiful design that was properly sized and balanced for our house, incorporating the appropriate architectural elements for the home and neighborhood. The new portico has transformed the look of our home and we have had many compliments.

This was my first experience engaging a design professional to assist with a home renovation. We did an extensive re-design of our basement to create an area for our young children to play as well as some other typical family space . We were initially referred to Saysha at iD8 by our general contractor when we indicated to him that we felt overwhelmed by the prospect of multiple meetings, selection choices, and the various other requirements as part of a full-scale re-model. Saysha and iD8 offer a range of service levels depending on what you desire and what we wanted was to be involved in the key decisions but essentially isolated from all of the conversations that I know occur on a typical project. Right from the start I was satisfied with Saysha's approach, willingness to work on our schedule and budget, and ownership of the process. She listened to our ideas and as a good designer asked us to consider some of hers, pushed our thinking on a few items in directions that we had not considered, and ultimately blended everything together in a final design that represented our tastes but was clearly enhanced by someone more experienced than my husband or I. A lot of the value I believe we received from working with Saysha was found in the everyday process. She accompanied us for all material selections or found options online for us to review, she coordinated a substantial amount of communication between parties on our behalf, and provided oversight and advocacy as our agent when visiting the site and dealing with the GC and his crew. Saysha clearly knew what she was doing throughout the entire process, was respected by all parties involved, really made the process painless for us, and helped delver a great end result. We'd certainly recommend her to anyone considering design services.

I know Sasha from iD8 Design Studio and her work for some time while she was working for another company. I was very impressed with her attention to details and innovative ideas. I had visited several of her local projects and was very impressed with her work. When we brought our house in Brookline, it needed some renovation work so I reached out to Sasha to help us plan and complete this project. She was available all though-out this process right from planning and visiting the site frequently until the work was completed. She helped us with shopping the material to get best bargain and worked very well with the contractor. I had great experience working with her at this project and I am very satisfied with the final finished product. I highly recommend this company.

Services provided were kitchen designing, color combinations, door and window ideas, flooring details , staircases and general architectural design and ideas. I had a very great experience, received a very professional and dedicated help from them. I will fully recommend.

We hired Sashya to help us decorate a few new rooms we added when we did a large house renovation. She came up with wonderful designs and gave us great suggestions for makers, fabrics, colors, etc. We're very happy with the results and get a lot of compliments. Our house really feels like a home now!

Sashya Thind Fernandes of iD8 design helped me create my dream home. I asked her to help me with finishes, design and layout decisions. She is extremely talented, thoroughly professional and very resourceful. She took great interest in my ideas and send me her input with design ideas and materials to choose for my budget. Her enthusiasm during the slow days and easy accessibility was a huge plus. I learnt a great deal from her about home building and design. Now that the home is complete, I feel so blessed and completely owe to Sashya for showing me the way! She is a gem!!!

iD8 Design Studio did a wonderful job helping us redecorate and design the living space in our house. Sashya took the time to understand our vision and deliver on it. She always kept us informed and gave a us several options backed up with samples and drawings so it was easy for us to make buying decisions. Very professional. I highly recommend iD8 for any design needs.

We hired Sashya Fernandes at iD8 Design Studio for our home renovation project. The project involved a significant interior and exterior renovation to a home we had just purchased. Sashya was one of five architects we met with and she was one of three who submitted a bid. Her bid was not the highest and not the lowest, but we selected her because we liked her ideas, her design sense, and her cost-conscious approach. We told her not to show us too many things that we could not afford and she respected that wish (although Houzz made it possible for us to find layouts and visuals that we would not be able to afford). Sashya helped us select a contractor by putting the project out to bid. She did this after an extensive process of completing a set of project specs, bid specs, and permit specs (many many pages detailing every room's floor plan, fixtures, elevations of selected rooms, demo drawings, lighting drawings, etc.) It was our first such renovation project with an architect/designer involved so we were surprised by the level of detail. Sashya is very, very good at producing clear and detailed specs. In retrospect, we spent too much time on this because the contractor we selected ended up hiring sub-contractors who did not seem to follow Sashya's project specs - causing frustration to both Sashya and us. I was pleased that she seemed to "roll with the punches" and switched approaches to focus more on construction management in order to get the subcontractors to do what we wanted. My wife and I did not have time to do detailed project management - and the contractor did not seem to be doing a good job at managing the subcontractors. Sashya is someone who can "crack the whip" on subcontractors if needed. She earns their respect - which is critical to getting the details right. For example, she cajoled the tiling subcontractor to redo the "niches" in our shower stalls when we did not like the positioning. She also convinced the carpenter to create new modern door handles and various other finishes which have made a huge impact on the final product. Her selections of lighting fixtures, railings, interior paint, and interior doors have drawn compliments from almost every visitor, Our house really would not have had the same level of sleekness or style without Sashya's involvement. Sashya has a good balance of detail orientation and aesthetic sense, which was a happy surprise because that is hard to find in one person. Things were not always smooth in our project (contractor delays, permit delays, ineffective subcontractors, over-budget, surprise beams, etc.). Sashya was usually part of the solution, not part of the problem. I would recommend her without reservation.

Sashya Thind Fernandes of ID8 Design Studio is an amazingly talented, fun, efficient, and exceptional professional designer and architect who delivered more than I could have dreamt of! She's exceptional because she listens---she was able to hear exactly what I wanted. She's talented because she does it all---from design concept, to permit set drawings, job site supervision, and every last detail of material selection---she is a fantastic resource for all your building and renovation needs. She's efficient--for every question I had, she'd come back with material samples, web site resources and her own recommendations practically before I could hit "Send"--she must be working all the time! The process was fun because she was encouraging without dominating and we shared equally in the excitement of the project. And the best part of all -- she'll work within whatever budget you can afford, which translates to-->she's affordable!!

Sashya was hired to help us design the basement of our house (appx 1800 sq feet). She has previously worked with us with our interior design of our house and had done an excellent job. She not only designed the basement but also helped us with the contruction process. She adds a lot of details to her work which makes it easy for the contruction process and shows attention to minor details which adds quality. She is respectful of our time and budget and gives us options to stay within our limits for both. She has a friendly personality which makes it easier to work with and fun during the project. I would highly recommend her to anyone who would like to do any design or architect work big or small.