What Salon Renovations Provide the Best Value?

Remodeling your salon can be a much-needed and fun process, but it can be hard to determine where to start and which salon renovations will provide the best value for your business. Sure, having everything shiny and new sounds great, but, ultimately, the renovation should also make sense and be practical.

Whether your whole salon needs a facelift or you would only like to retrofit certain areas to become more modern and appealing to your guests, we’ve broken down the renovations that could really give your business a boost while also providing your employees with an innovative place to work.

Before we dive into these types of renovations more in-depth, let’s get you started on the right path by taking inventory of your salon and identifying a couple of areas that could use some work.

Understanding Your Salon Better

So, let’s think about your salon and business as a whole. There are going to be some areas that jump out at you right away that need to be improved, but there may also be other aspects of your business that may not come to mind right away. We have outlined some questions to ask yourself when planning your renovations to help you hone in on the work you’ll need to do. Once you have answered these questions, your responses should be able to shed light on what your next steps should be.

• Does your current floor plan allow you to maximize your space and does it function well for your stylists and guests?
• Are you able to move your floor plan around?
• What are some areas that jump out at you right away that need to be improved?
• Have your stylists voiced any concerns about equipment or modernizing certain aspects of the business?
• Are you pleased with the salon’s aesthetic or do you think fresh paint and new interior design elements are needed?
• What is your budget for renovations?
• Is there a period of time that would be most convenient to renovate your salon? How long could certain areas be out of commission?
• Have you solicited feedback from guests, clients and stylists about your services and salon recently?

Renovating Your Space

Sometimes, all a salon needs is a little rearranging of the salon floor plans. It would be a great idea to solicit feedback from your stylists and estheticians regarding the salon’s layout since they are the ones who have to maneuver it every day. Making your salon feel more open is a great way to give the space an instant boost so a little rearranging may be all you need. However, if you are in the market to replace old or outdated furnishings with newer and more innovative salon equipment, you will want to take your floor plan into consideration when adding new pieces into your salon.

Styling Chairs

Investing in New Salon Stations and Chairs

What do your salon stations say about you? This is where your guests and stylists spend the most time, which is why investing in new salon styling stations pays off. Upgrade to a more modern styled station with new salon chairs. Styling chairs are often the first thing to start looking worn out, and people don’t want to sit in worn-out chairs. Be sure to upgrade your chairs every three to five years in a busy salon.

You may want to visualize what you would like your salon to look and feel like so that you can find stations that represent the vibe you want to create. Picking out a station that is both stylish and functional is key. Solicit feedback from your stylists to gain perspective on what features and functions in a station work best for them when operating day to day.  If you renovate anything this year, salon stations should be top priority since they are used so often.

Clean Up Shampooing and Processing Areas

Now, more than ever, everyone is worried about cleanliness and hygiene because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It may be a good time to retrofit and replace older equipment in processing and shampooing areas so that your guests feel comfortable and safe while they spend an hour processing. You can ask your guests for feedback and about how you could make the space better for them.

Enhance Your Retail Displays

Do you have the latest and greatest products on the shelf? If so, you’ll want to make sure that your retail displays match the level of quality products you sell. Positioning these products is key to the way they sell. Choose retail displays or renovate your retail area to make sure these products jump off the shelf and make an impact on guests. Clean and organized shelves prompt guests and clients to purchase products. Maybe you don’t need to replace your retail displays as cleaning them up and organizing them could stand to make a huge difference.

Give Your Waiting Area a Relaxing Reset

Guests can wait anywhere from a couple of minutes to almost an hour — depending on the stylist — to get into the chair, which means your waiting area should be one of the most comfortable spots in your salon. Renovating your waiting area should be on the top of your priority list as it often serves as the first impression for your guests.

You could update the area with comfortable, chic or luxe couches — depending on what fits your aesthetic — and decorate with pillows, books and updated magazines. If you’re not looking to overhaul your waiting area, but want to enhance it, you can add features like an iPad for guests to use while they wait, a coffee area and a refreshments refrigerator.

You want your guests to feel pampered, and the waiting area is where they enter phase one of relaxation. You can also enhance the waiting area in a way that stands to positively impact your business by placing picture frames with your social media accounts, salon hashtags and Wi-Fi passwords on the waiting area tables. This will ensure your guests interact with your social media channels and it gives them something fun to look at while they wait.

Whether you’re going big with your renovations or looking to do simple things that can greatly enhance the vibe of your salon, we hope you found these tips helpful!