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I do not sell furniture or in any way earn money from designing salons. I have built and owned a few salons. While sharpening scissors, I go into a lot of salons. Following are a few ideas you might find useful. I can add your ideas - send me an E-mail.

There are different sensory inputs that affect how a person feels. There is visual, (what you see), tactile, (what you feel), and auditory (what you hear). These all affect a customers feeling of comfort and satisfaction. There is also the comfort of those who work in the salon to consider. After all, if they are more comfortable they will be more productive.

It is commonly thought that everything is a specific fixed color. In simple terms the color you see is a reflection of the colors in the light, which shines on the surface of what you are looking at.

There are different things that create the color of the light in your salon. The most significant is the colors created by the lighting source, usually light bulbs. It is followed by the reflective surfaces in your salon, the walls and mirrors.

Color Rendition Index: shows how close a light source conforms to daylight at 12:00 noon in the shade. Standard cool white bulbs range between 40 and 70 on the index. They give off a lot of green light. You can see this for yourself by looking at an angle at the light if it is in a fixture with a frosted cover. There are many florescent bulbs that are designed to produce light much more like day light. General Electric CR50 and Philips T8/TL950 are examples of florescent bulbs that have a high CRI, both rate about 95 out of 100 CRI. Halogen lamps could give slightly better color rendition but produce a lot of heat. Most incandescent bulbs give off a very yellow light, however some are color corrected and can be used.

Many salons have an inadequate amount of light. The light should illuminate the entire head. There should be no shadow on the face so your client looks good or the back of the head so the stylist can see what they are doing. You can have two different kinds of lighting or the same kind of lighting at different levels. You can have work lights low over the stations, and general lighting high in the ceiling.

The color of the walls should be an off white like eggshell. If you wish to bring in other colors use them as an accent. I have seen salons with yellow walls, some with burnt orange and many other color walls. The light in the salon is reflected off the walls and distorts the color of the hair and your customers face. You are trying to make a person look their best, so you can see the need for the most flattering light. After all we are selling making the client look their best.

You can make the focal point of the salon dropped lights hanging from the ceiling. There are all sorts of fixtures that can set the tone of the salon. Chandeliers can give a classy effect. Hanging florescent lights come in a myriad of colors and can break up the visual effect of a boxy looking salon. Some of them can be connected together creating forms.

In a salon with high ceilings you can paint everything above the hanging fixtures flat black. The effect is soft. This can eliminate the expense of installing a dropped ceiling and at the same time help with your heating and cooling. You can also install fans above the height of the light fixtures. (The blades of the fans can not be lower than the lights to prevent a blinking effect.)

You can understand the importance of the area above you head by taking a picture of a salon, or a person standing in an empty store. The eye sees all that is in the photograph, even when you are looking straight ahead.

Sounds affect your emotional state. I have been in salons that play loud rock music, and some that have what we once called elevator music, slow and soft. I would not presume to suggest any type of music. However, whatever music you provide should be thru a good amplifier and good speakers strategically placed. Poor speakers, producing distorted sound, can ruin any mood.

Much can be done to subdue the din in a salon. High ceilings mentioned before, can absorb sound. If you are installing a dropped ceiling consider the extra cost of using sound absorbing tiles. Other considerations infringe on decor. Basically rough surfaces tend to absorb sound. Flat shinny surfaces reflect sound creating an echo effect. Partitions break up sound.

The floor is an area with many options. A suspended wood floor is the best to work on. It has great resilience reliving stress on knees and feet. If you have that kind of wood floor get a specialist to advise you on finishing it. Most salons have concrete floors. The least expensive is painting it, putting a couple of coats of varnish or polyurethane on it. With a little imagination a lot of interesting effects can be created. Ceramic tile is used in a lot of salons. If you choose tile please check that it is not very slippery when wet. I also suggest a dark grout and a sealer over the grout. Laminated floating floors, Prego is one, are installed over a pad on the concrete. The laminated sections are fitted together. If one part of the floor is damaged, that area can be replaced. The underlayment gives the floor a lot of resiliency. Rubber tiles are not common, while expensive as ceramic tile, they are very durable, are quite resilient and as an added benefit they absorb sound.

The floor should be clean. Keep the work stations off the floor as much as possible. If you have cabinets think about having them attached to the wall or standing on posts. You don't want inside corners that are difficult to clean. Maybe the cabinets can be on wheels, stylists find them convenient. I have seen a few salons using mechanics metal roll around tool cabinets. They are lockable and have a lot of drawer space.

A fresh pot of GOOD coffee on a table with some finger food is always nice. The coffee should be good tasting, don't just buy any brand. Just the aroma of good coffee or tea makes the client feel good. I like a rich French roast brewed strong, but in my salon I used a Kona blend. It is milder and can be enjoyed by most coffee drinkers. In other words please the client.

One thing I wish I had put in my salons is a lock on the restroom door, like the airplanes have, that say vacant or occupied. It's really annoying to have someone try to open the door while you are inside. And while we are talking about restrooms, some have sinks in them where the water splashes onto the floor or other areas. You can put a few large river rocks in the bottom of the sink to reduce the splashing.