Our Booksy Ambassador, the one and only Alan Beak of Ruger Barber, has shared his 7 quick tips for barber shop design that can help elevate any interior, no matter how small your salon may be. The devil is really in the details - it’s crucial to understand how much things such as proper lighting or airflow affect how people perceive your business. If you want to learn the best tips and tricks from a specialist with 22 years of experience working in a barber shop, keep reading!
KAZ265HirRM
“When designing your barber shop, it’s important that you factor in a number of things - and the first thing is lighting”, says Alan Beak. Warm hues are more flattering, as they make the skin look more radiant and blemishes less noticeable, which affects the way clients perceive the effect of the service - and you definitely want the client to feel good about their appearance. However, yellow light makes it very difficult to cut hair. This is why Alan recommends always choosing slightly cooler white or daylight white. “Cutting hair in this kind of white makes work so much easier”.
The reception area is what your customers see first when arriving at your barber shop. It is also the place where they spent most of their time before starting their appointment. This is why it is so important to ensure it is welcoming and comfortable. Furthermore, Alan is recommending making sure that you are keeping it separate from the working space. “You want a clear area for cutting and a clear area for your waiting room. You also have to make sure there is a clear entrance and exit. If you have one door that is absolutely fine, though”.
A successful barber shop interior design should appeal to all the five senses - touch, smell, taste, hear and sight. Even if the client will not notice all the elements consciously, their mood will be boosted by the whole experience - and making the customer feel delighted at your premises means you are already halfway to success.
“When it comes to the barber shop design I always think the more minimal, the better”, says Alan. The minimalist approach is definitely classy and makes your business seem professional, but there is also one more factor - the ease of keeping everything in pristine condition! Many barbers that are just starting out get so excited about designing their interior and purchasing decor that they forget the sole nature of their job, namely - cutting hair. And hair is a nightmare to keep away from knick-knacks! “The less clutter there is, the less there is to clean. Hair can literally get everywhere and the fewer there are objects in the shop, then the fewer things you have to clean”.
This is something that greatly affects the comfort of not only your clients, but also your employees. You have to ensure that your barber shop is well-ventilated. Chemical vapours that come from using different kinds of products (especially lighteners and dyes), mixed with dust and hair debris, can be very irritating. Furthermore, did you know that fresh air makes people feel happier? The more oxygen you get, the more serotonin is produced by your organism - and serotonin is known as the happiness hormone. “Opening the window helps to ensure you have a healthy airflow, again, to make sure that all of these five senses are tantalised”.
Do you have a rather small-sized salon? They can be very cosy and charming, as long as you plan the layout correctly. There are also some tricks you can use. “Big mirrors will give you the illusion that your space is bigger”, says Alan. Glass surfaces catch the light like nothing else, making the impression of a much spacier interior.
“You want to make sure that the design is in keeping with what’s current, and you can do so by following lots of different pages and taking little snippets from all of these different barber shops and different interior design companies”. Indeed - there is nothing better than a healthy dose of inspiration. Make sure to check different styles and see their pros and cons. A heavily stylised, thematic interior design can become a point of difference for your business but keep in mind that a barber shop should first of all be functional! Fortunately, there are quite a few simple barber shop design ideas out there and we encourage you to check out our take on modern interior design ideas for small salons. As Alan says, “keep it as simple as possible”. There is a lot of beauty in simplicity!
Although interior design is very important for any health & beauty business, even the most stylish looking barber shop will not reach its maximum potential if you lose your time manually doing the tasks that can be automated. Booksy is here to help you - not only with scheduling appointments, but also with launching marketing campaigns, managing employee shifts, creating performance statistics and so much more. Start your free trial today and check it for yourself!
.png)
