Super New Salon Interior for Brooks and Brooks, London

Time to celebrate with top London hair destination, Brooks and Brooks; directors Jamie and Sally Brooks are thrilled to bits with a fresh-faced make-over which makes their salon more attractive than ever. Now boasting an appealing living room vibe – comfortable, warm, relaxing and with different areas for different occasions – the hugely successful salon is as cosy and inviting as it is seriously professional.

Jamie says,

We opened our salon ten years ago when the economy was much stronger and there were far fewer salons than now. A decade on, things have become much tougher and you can deal with this in one of two ways: sink or swim.

We researched what today’s clients expect from a salon, what attracts them, what encourages them to return. High quality, fashionable hairdressing tops the list, but family values, nostalgia and home comforts rank high too, as proven by the success of brands such as Cath Kidston and Nigella.

Sally explained,

We know we offer the best hairdressing there is to be had in London, so we have refitted our salon to represent the core of family values and comfort – a place that feels like home and full of creature comforts. It’s warm, welcoming, with comfy armchairs, standard lamps, fragrant candles, the smell of coffee, sugary biscuits, and nostalgic sweeties that remind you of childhood.

The new, home-like interior was created by SSG designer Dan McNulty; SSG is a multi-disciplinary design and production agency specialising in experiential events, retail and interiors. Dan’s brief was to create a new aesthetic direction for the salon, one that delivers a warm, luxurious, comfortable and relaxing interior, while retaining Brooks and Brooks’ polished and professional brand character.

Dan explains,

We chose a warm and rustic yet elegant colour palette of taupe, aubergine and rich cream for the new design, creating pockets of theatre with an eclectic mix of lighting and furniture, so dramatic focal points draw clients into the salon.

We utilised existing backwash stations and styling units, adding new footrests by Ceriotti to make the experience more comfortable. And we distinguished areas with Baroque-style focal points of bold graphics and freestanding furniture pieces – chests of drawers, comfy chairs, standard lamps – sourced via various retailers to create a more relaxed, residential feel.

Making good use of a windowless lower ground floor (previously neither a stylist nor client hot spot) was a challenge, cleverly overcome by transforming it into a beautifully lit, mirrored oasis of calm, a chic destination for clients to relax away from the bustle of the outside world and the perfect area for clients wanting privacy. And to increase visibility into the lower ground floor, the stairwells existing low wall was demolished and replaced with a more traditional, house-like open spindle balustrade.

Overseen by SSG’s in-house project management team, the renovation was undertaken in four phases to ensure the business remained open and the project was completed in ten weeks.

FACT FILE
Salon size: 2,700 sq ft 
Team size: 30 professionals 
Styling units: 27 
Backwashes: Nine
Salon brands and retail: Kérastase, L’Oreal, Kevin Murphy and Bumble & bumble 
Salon music: An eclectic mix of different music for different times of the day; Motown and 80s soft rock to modern happy pop.