Regular makeovers are essential for salon businesses, particularly in today’s social media and digital age. Customers want their beauty makeovers done in “instagramable” salons. If they can’t take beautiful photos or videos in your salon for Instagram, if they cannot brag about the classiness of your salon on Facebook, you will definitely struggle with client retention. You must maintain top-notch quality services at all times and keep your salon’s interior design elegant, unique, trendy, and out of this world. The décor has to reflect a “pampering and self-care” vibe that millennials and younger clients so desperately want to be associated with. Guided by this understanding, this article elaborates 6 ideas on how you can give your salon business a makeover; make it go viral, both online and offline.
1. Choose a décor theme that your clientele relates with
There are tons of interior décor and design themes to choose from, and each style speaks to a very specific demographic of the population. Always choose a theme that speaks to your target demographic. Here are a few ideas that you can go for:
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Asian-inspired
Is your clientele super conscious about the environment? Do you want to create a peaceful and calm space- tap into the Zen energy? An Asian-inspired décor theme would be great for your planned makeover. This theme emphasizes natural wood furniture with clean lines, water fountains for Feng Shui, wall-mounted scrolls, and neutral colors on the fabric. You could also install Shoji panels to divide up your salon floor layout.
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Send a statement with your colors
The psychology behind colors is quite interesting; different colors stimulate different senses in the human brain.
Do you want to create a contemporary feel in your salon, for example? You can achieve that by repainting your walls in bright and bold colors and then having a few stark white walls for a little contrast.
Do you want to create an upbeat atmosphere and ramp up energy levels in your salon? Repaint your walls with bright colors such as red or yellow. On top of creating an energetic vibe, the two colors also create a sense of urgency. They attract people to the items on sale and stimulate their urge to make impulse purchases.
Bring in red and yellow product display racks both for their décor features and their ability to grab the attention of clients (drive sales). Red chairs would also be great additions for an elevated upbeat atmosphere
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Go for a grand design if your clientele is upscale
Grand designs are glamorous- exactly what your clients need for social media. We are talking crystal chandeliers, elegant window treatments, marble or granite countertops, and high-end shampoo bowls. The whole upscale package for an upscale clientele! Ensure that your fixtures and furniture, color-processing technology, the waiting area and restrooms, and all finishing touches create a feeling of luxury and class.
2. Install proper lighting
On top of its obvious aesthetic appeal, proper lighting will improve your stylists’ precision and give clients the perfect mirror shot for Instagram. Besides, poor lighting can be a safety hazard in small spaces. There are more than enough reasons why you should install better-quality lights and/or change the placement of existing light bulbs.
Here are some lighting ideas you should try out:
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Decorative lighting
You know, for an extra pop of color and a little sophistication. The lighting fixtures are primarily for their beauty, not so much for adding light. They include chandeliers, ceiling lights, track lights, under-cabinet lights, wall sconces, and cove lights.
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Vanity lighting
Place lighting fixtures around the mirrors to remove shadows and give your hairstylists or makeup artists a better shot at perfection.
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Task lighting.
These fixtures include table lamps, pendant lights, and floor lamps. They bring light to tucked-away corners and hallways and accentuate the beauty of your salon floor.
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Accent lighting (directional lights).
As the name suggests, these lighting fixtures will help you draw the clients’ attention to important sections of your beauty salon or spa. Wall sconces and tiny recess lights are good accent lights. You can use them to point new clients in the direction of your waiting area, retail products display, or magazine racks.
3. Bring in houseplants
Houseplants will bring a refreshing component to your salon’s interior. Their greenery makes indoors lively and adds an extra edge to your salon’s aesthetic appeal. Live plants are also proven to purify the air and boost people’s mental health- the tranquility of nature has a way of calming and soothing troubled minds. It will improve everyone’s mood in your salons, creating the happy and cozy environment needed for excellent service delivery.
If your salon is too closed off for plants to thrive, or if you cannot trust yourself with the life of a live plant, you can always opt for faux greenery
4. Rethink organization
Your planned makeover should at the very least increase efficiency in your operations. Reorganizing your space and clearing out everything you don’t need or use anymore will help you with that. It will enhance smoother movement between styling stations, maximize comfort and relaxation, and minimize stresses in your work environment.
The effective reorganization also means minimizing crowding in your waiting area. It means upgrading your scheduling in order to keep an organized schedule. For this, you’ll need to invest in a hair salon online booking system to create and maintain efficient scheduling. The system will relieve you of the burden of answering phones so you don’t take too much time with clients. That minimizes crowding. Furthermore, you can use the system to automate appointment reminders (emails or SMS) so that clients arrive in good time for their appointments; not too early and not too late.
Install functional furniture too in order to improve not only comfort but also speed and practicality in your salon. Of course, you shouldn’t ignore the beauty of the furniture and how it blends with the rest of the décor, but functionality should take precedence. Avoid benches or couches that are too big for your space, no matter how comfortable they could be. Avoid furniture that gives you a hard time when cleaning them or the areas around them, no matter how beautiful it could be.
Lastly, create vertical storage spaces while at it for easy access to towels and shampoos, and to maximize your floor space. You can also bring in auxiliary trolleys as mobile storage units for nail polish, dryers, and brushes, among other commonly used items.
5. Rethink the layout
Mapping your salon layout is arguably the toughest part of a beauty salon makeover. For inspiration, here are a few common salon layouts:
- Narrow floor plan. This is a good layout if you want to create a charming small and intimate space. Styling stations are close together and that enhances collaboration and conversations between stylists and clients. The downside of it is that too tight spaces aren’t the smoothest to work with.
- Open concept floor plan. Styling stations in this case are mounted on the walls. This opens up your space for everyone to see your beautiful floors and lighting. The design is great for not only showing off but also versatility and a cleaner look. It leaves room for your staff to add their own personal touch to their respective stations.
- Double-sided station layout. This one is designed to maximize your space and add functionality. It allows you to fit multiple styling stations in tight spaces. It’s not the cleanest layout, but it fosters teamwork and collaboration between stylists.
Conclusion
Appearance is everything in the hair and beauty industry. That’s the industry’s very nature, and social media growth has made this reality even more obvious. Invest in stand-out interiors in order to attract and retain social media enthusiasts. Most importantly, use your décor to reflect your personality around your salon.
