Kinky curly straight salon: interiors inspiration

Kinky Curly Straight salon in Adelaide, Australia, is the first salon from  Uros Mikic and Mojca Bizjak-Mikic and features full-scale portraits of fashion icons. When Uros and Mojca decided to make Adelaide their home, it didn't take long before the pair decided to open their first salon. With 15 years' experience working around the world, hairdresser Uros knew just what type of salon he and his policy advisor wife Mojca wanted. "We wanted to create a big, open space with lots of natural light and furniture that would feel more like a French lounge than a hair salon.," Uros explains. Drawing up plans before looking for the premises helped narrow the search so within days of looking they had found the perfect property; a former photography shop. "It had black floors, black and grey walls, a semi-collapsed wall and yellow reside on the floors from the carpet. But it was located on a busy intersection in an up-and-coming area of Adelaide and had huge windows - so it was a challenge we were prepared to take on," he enthuses. Two months of rewiring, plumbing and rebuilding walls later, Kinky Curly Straight salon was born, with the luxurious, opulent, rich and relaxing ambience that the pair had dreamt of. "We took a lot of inspiration from Europe - we wanted to bring a bit of Europe to Adelaide, with a unique design and a different feel to most salons in our area," says Uros. As well as creating a stunning-looking salon, Uros was conscious of the effect his new business would have on the environment. "We use green energy for renewable sources, have LED and energy-efficient lighting and water taps, use disposable towels, recycled foil and animal-friendly products. We are a certified carbon neutral business." The décor is simple and stylish - black and white offset with gold mirrors and silver pieces. "We knew the Rococco and Baroque furniture could become tacky if there were too many colours being used, whereas a simple colour scheme is classic and elegant without being too feminine." Counterbalancing the simplicity is a concrete floor showing all the cracks, imperfections and stones as well as the yellow colour of the faw concrete that contrasts beautifully with the large gold-frame mirrors. These mirrors - which stand 2m wide and 1.5m high - are one of the main features of the salon and offer a dramatic feel against the black wall. Other features include the art work on the back wall: a local artist painted some of the world's biggest fashion icons including Audrey Hepburn, James Dean and Twiggy. "The art work can be seen from the street and is a great talking point," Uros explains.

Kinky Curly Straight Salon: In Pictures

[hji-gallery-legacy] In Brief Name: Kinky Curly Straight Address: 123A Magil Road, Stepney, South Australia 5069 Owners: Uros Mikic and Mojca Bizjak-Mikic Size: 940sq ft Budget: $70,000 (£41,000) Top Tips

• Know what you want. Have a clear design in mind; if you don't, you will get pulled in too many directions and you will end up with a mish-mash of looks.

• If you are not a hairdresser, get your team to tell you what's important from a stylist's point of view - like how much space you need between styling stations.

• Make sure the furniture is functional for stylists and comfortable for clients.