When U.K.-based Toni & Guy Intl. brought its first U.S. flagship salon to the West Coast, it opened under a new name – Essensuals London. Still, the high-end hair salon and once-a-week hair dressing academy didn’t want to lose its British identity on Melrose Avenue. So the brand created a salon that offers a little bit of cheekiness within a clean, white and timeless environment.
“This is a salon that’s very into hair and fashion,” says Susanne Andrey, president of Infuse Ideas Inc., the Marina del Ray, Calif.-based firm that designed the 2500-square-foot Essensuals London. “This might be the first location in L.A., but the roots of this company have been around for 40 years”
Keeping in mind the service offering, such as hair coloring and styling, extensions and conditioning treatments, Andrey chose a black, white and champagne color palette for the two-level space. “If we had red walls, all the clients’ hair that was blonde, would look pink,” she says.
With plans to open future salons to other U.S. cities, the design incorporates signature elements that can be easily replicated, including matte white wall panels sculpted to look like tresses of hair and stylist stations custom fabricated out of steel and powdercoated with a champagne-colored metallic finish. Durability was also an issue, so the shampoo and color mixing counter tops are made of Lagos Blue Caesarstone. “It needed to be super durable because when you’re throwing blow dryers around, it’s a rough-and-tumble kind of environment,” Andrey says.
To make guests feel like they’re in a spa, mercury pebble lighting fixtures hang from the ceilings in the retail and shampoo area. Halogen and LED lamps illuminate inset shelving that displays six different product lines. And skylights are used to bring natural light to the second floor, where coloring services are performed.
Highlighting the company’s British roots are high-backed tufted seating in the reception area to resemble booths found in an English pub. There’s also a Union Jack symbol embedded in the two-tone floor made from epoxy. “When you walk in the front door, the lines that make up the Union Jack flag lead you over to the styling area, to the seating area or to the very back of the salon for shampooing,” Andrey says.
Customers need look no further than the bathrooms for a touch of cheeky humor where floor-to-ceiling images of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles cover a wall inside the women’s and men’s rooms. “When you go into the bathroom, you’re sitting on the throne while the queen is sitting on hers,” says Andrey.