The covid-19 pandemic has created tough times for the salon industry. We have all spent the past year coping with new challenges, with the understanding that many aspects of the salon business have been irrevocably changed. There is a heightened focus on salon safety and sanitation. Appointment times, equipment placement and spacing are being modified to accommodate social distancing and lower occupancy. And with these changes, suppliers of top salon equipment have had to retool their product line to meet the new priorities and demands. The popularity of the salon spa UV sanitizer is just one example.
With traditional gatherings prohibited and the threat of another lockdown constantly looming, a growing number of hair stylists, nail technicians and other salon artisans are finding ways of continuing their work from home. Though it might require a few compromises, converting a home office or residential space for styling work need not be difficult. Indeed, when coupled with a bold vision and the right beauty salon equipment, a home salon offers plenty of advantages as well as creative opportunities. To help you get started, we have compiled our top 5 salon furniture selections for building a home salon.
Residential spaces, particularly in major cities, tend to be quite small by service venue standards. Therefore, the best salon furniture for an at-home salon should be compact, modular, and pragmatic. Each piece of salon spa equipment should be able to pull double or triple duty when needed, to justify the space it occupies. Bonus points if they can also fit a particular style theme.
- Consider the type of space you have available. For narrow and boxed-in quarters typical of many residential areas, a single-sided styling stationor a simple wall-mounted salon mirror makes a lot of sense.
Wide open space layouts, on the other hand, would be better served with a double-sided, free standing salon station. Larger salon stations, including barber stations, have additional advantages of providing storage space, as well as effectively double as room partitions.
Extra tip: For an at-home nail salon, a well-placed manicure table or two can also be used to divide a room to maximize productivity.
- Carefully choose your salon seating. Since space is at a premium, a decision may have to be made between using styling chairs or barber chairs, with one type of seating serving all client needs. While barber chairs can support more weight, a neutral toned salon chairor all-purpose reclining chair can be an efficient and reliable space saver with unisex appeal.
- Despite its rather large footprint, a shampoo station is an indispensable piece of hair salon equipment and, due to plumbing restrictions, will require a pre-planned space. For the home salon and spa, we recommend a relatively compact, all-in-one solution: the Anode salon shampoo backwash unit.Available in multiple colors and pre-loaded with all required plumbing accessories, this modern shampoo chair will prevent a lot of headaches.
- Similarly, pick a salon station cabinet type that best fits the layout you have. The rolling trolley cartwould be more ideal in an open floor plan, where it can double as a shampoo or coloring cart.
Against the wall, it may be wise to opt for a larger and stationary salon cabinet. Conditions permitting, even a hair color bar station can also function as extra cabinet space while anchoring a critical service.
- A familiar sight among doctor’s offices and catalogues for medical furniture, the all-purpose rolling stoolcan be a handy way of providing both seating and the odd tool platform in a pinch. Mobility is so important in at-home salon. When space is limited, equipment tends to get shuffled around quite a bit while searching for that ideal placement.
Extra tip: DIR salon hair hooded dryers, steamers and processors can all be wall-mounted to save space.
The main purpose here is to consolidate crucial services and functions into a few well-placed and versatile pieces of salon equipment while minimizing space and cost. And while aesthetics is secondary, there is enough variety in our catalogue to allow for plenty of creativity and preferences.
So do have a little fun with the challenge, don’t be afraid to experiment, and be sure to check back often with our blog for more information and advice, as well as the latest promotions and beauty salon package deals. Good luck!
