Ask the experts: your salon design questions answered

Published 11th Mar 2012 by rachael
Ask the experts: your salon design questions answered
Put your questions to the experts with our salon designer Q&A - here three leading names give their advice to queries posted by hairdressers on the HJi Facebook page.


advice-for-making-hairdressing-salon-stand-out.jpg
How do you make your salon stand out on the high street? 


"Your salon design should start from the outside, as this is your client's first point of contact, and you never get a second chance to create a first impression.
"Cutting Room Creative in Leeds was a challenging salon. The brief was to create an exciting, vibrant, colour-focused interior. The main salon was located on the first floor, with the reception and retail at ground level. The goal was to create impact at first-floor level to make the salon stand out from the crowd while linking it with the ground floor entrance.


"The building had two main features that formed the basis of the design. The original ceiling was a sectioned concrete structure, which we decided to retain and expose, and the first floor had a continuous ribbon window running the length of the building.


"You could see styling positions through the window and knew it was a hair salon, but the dominant visual was the ceiling. I decided to floodlight this so that it became visible from the outside and, as the salon majored on colour, I created a colour effect which changed every 30 seconds from purple, blue, red, green, orange, white and back to purple. The effect created great impact, not only inside, but could be seen from the street.


"We repeated this colour trick on the ground floor and by creating a frameless glass entrance with electric sliding doors the visual aspect of the ground floor linked seamlessly with the first floor. With clever task lighting above the styling positions, we ensured that the colour lighting did not affect the hair colour so that the salon functioned perfectly but looked very impressive."
Award-winning interiors designer Charlie Hearn 


advice-choosing-lighting-for-hairdressing-salon.jpg
I always run into problems when it comes to the best lighting for the salon. I feel like the lights I have now make the hair appear warmer than it really is. I don't want fluorescent lighting but find it hard working with shadows on the hair. Can you help? 


"If you were to completely mimic sunlight by using high temperature lamps throughout, the clients skin colour would look grey, and the salon environment quite clinical. Warmer lighting is flattering for general appearance, but does distort the hair colour. A simple solution is to place additional lighting in the technical area which, with the flick of a switch, would turn off the existing warm lighting, and turn on cooler daylight lighting for truer colour rendition.


"Shadows are usually created by light fittings being ceiling mounted. To create reflected light and eliminate shadow, spread concealed lighting sources around the salon. These can be from behind styling unit mirrors, underneath styling unit glass tops or edge-of-ceiling up and down lighting details. 


"Salon lighting is both a utility, and a design tool. If refitting a salon, we use a whole-salon approach using various light sources fitted from various positions to create a warm, welcoming, almost shadowless environment, with true colour rendition where required."
Melvyn Allen, Melvyn Allen Design


advice-for-designing-hairdressing-salon-interior.jpg
During a recession, what is the best concept for a new salon - smart and cheap or luxurious and expensive? 


"There are certain areas you can cut back on and some that you should most definitely invest in. My advice is to always buy the best quality chairs and backwashes you can afford. I hear so often of hydraulics failing after a couple of years, backwashes leaking or massage chairs malfunctioning. These are items that get a huge amount of use and you need them to last - it's a false economy to buy cheap pieces as they will need replacing quickly. 


"Luxury does not have to mean everything in the salon is expensive; you bag a bargain with waiting chairs and sofas, and items like styling stations, mirrors and reception desks can be custom-built for a reasonable amount and will last a lifetime. Lighting, accessories and homely touches can be picked up through auctions and second-hand websites which can save a fortune. Be creative, call in favours, and get deals locally wherever you can. Most importantly in a recession, think about investing in the areas that will actually make you money like your retail area; it will be money well spent." 
Matthew Lutos, managing director Olymp UK and Beauty Planet Salon Designs 




Don't forget to like HJi on Facebook to put your questions to our expert panel!
rachael

rachael

Published 11th Mar 2012

Have all the latest news delivered to your inbox

You must be a member to save and like images from the gallery.