Obsessions salon, ramsgate: interiors inspiration

Obsessions Salon owner Jennifer Baker wanted to give Ramsgate in Kent a salon to be proud of – and one that reflected her mission statement: Obsessions – obsessed with detail. After a successful eight years in the premises, however, Jennifer decided it was time for a redesign. The aim was to create an atmosphere of relaxed glamour, where clients could feel at ease but also thoroughly pampered. The white reservation desk, sourced at Salon International, is the “hosting hub” of the salon. A spacious, bespoke retail unit extends from the side of the desk, so stylists can guide clients through the range, making recommendations. "This is a great advertising window for us as it is very well lit and stays lit all night," says Jennifer."It also keeps retail at the for front of what we do and is easy for our team to talk guests through our range, filling out a recommendations checklist for future purchases." Jennifer designed the salon herself - with a little help from her architectural draughtsman husband. It was getting the team involved, however, that she cites as a great help. "My team were definitely involved in the planning process," she says. "They came up with a great way to add a colour bar by moving a wall and a door, which was something I hadn’t thought of. It also got them excited by the refit and behind all the changes and helped us to iron out some problems before we made some costly mistakes." [hji-gallery-legacy]

Obsessions Salon, Ramsgate

In Detail Name: Obsessions salon Address: 16 York street, Ramsgate, Kent, CT11 9DS Owners: Jennifer Baker Staff: 5 Styling stations: 6 Budget: £12,000 Design: Jennifer Baker Furniture: Aston and Fincher Top Tips

• Fail to plan and you plan to fail! Give every one working on the refit a timeline so they know they cannot go over their agreed time. I also added all the tradesmen's numbers to the sheet so they could discuss issues between them should they arise.

• Make a moodboard. This gives you a clear vision of what you are trying to achieve when you're making decisions and keeps you focused.

• Get the team involved. They come up with great ideas and also alert you to problems they may encounter with changes that your frazzled brain may not have seen.

• Do the maths. What do you want your retail sales to be? To achieve this how much stock do you need to hold? What does that amount of stock look like? How big does the shelf space need to be to hold it?

• Shop around and don’t be afraid to keep some bits that are still ok! Our reservations desk is the model that was used at Salon International. Companies will often give you a great discount for showroom stock. Likewise use local companies for the smaller work - you can usually view their work on their Facebook page and see their reviews.