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 premium salon furniture have had to retool their product line to meet the new priorities and demands. The popularity of the salon spa UV sanitiser 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 furniture and 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 compact salon furniture for an at-home salon should be compact, modular, and pragmatic. Each piece of professional salon furniture 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.
1. Choose Salon Furniture That Suits Your Space
For narrow and boxed-in quarters typical of many residential areas, a single-sided styling station or a simple wall-mounted salon mirror makes a lot of sense. These styling units are ideal when you want to transform your salon without overwhelming the room. In a beauty salon or hair salon, this kind of space-saving salon furniture helps keep the layout efficient while still supporting a professional salon experience.
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 the additional advantage of providing storage space, as well as effectively doubling as room partitions. If you are opening a new salon at home, this is also a useful way to plan a more flexible salon design service layout from the start.
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.
2. 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 chair or all-purpose reclining chair can be an efficient and reliable space saver with unisex appeal. In a beauty salon or hair salon, client comfort should always remain a priority. Choosing the right styling chairs can also help keep the room uncluttered while still feeling polished.
3. Plan for a Compact Backwash Unit
Despite its rather large footprint, a shampoo station is an indispensable piece of hair salon furniture 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 colours and pre-loaded with all required plumbing accessories, this modern shampoo chair will prevent a lot of headaches. Compact backwash units like this are especially useful when you want practical beauty equipment without sacrificing too much floor space.
4. Pick a Hairdressing Trolley or Station Cabinet
Similarly, pick a salon station cabinet type that best fits the layout you have. The rolling hairdressing trolley would be more ideal in an open floor plan, where it can double as a shampoo or colouring cart.
Against the wall, it may be wise to opt for a larger and stationary salon cabinet. Conditions permitting, even a hair colour bar station can also function as extra cabinet space while anchoring a critical service. In both a hair salon and a beauty salon, trolleys and styling units can help you keep salon equipment organised and within easy reach.
5. Add a Rolling Stool and Space-Saving Equipment
A familiar sight among doctor’s offices and catalogues for beauty furniture, the all-purpose rolling stool can be a handy way of providing both seating and the odd tool platform in a pinch. Mobility is so important in a 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 minimising 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!
