Decorating a small salon space requires a bit more thought. With a little planning (& some creative shopping!) Shaila Paredes, of @BrowsByShaila shows how she transformed her Sola studio into a welcoming space for her clients and an environment that totally reflects her brand. Tip #1: Keep it light. Small salon spaces present a unique decorating challenge because they can quickly become closed off and claustrophobic. One way to fight the tight space feeling? Keep everything looking light and bright. Shaila went with bright white walls and opted for a space with light gray flooring to keep her suite feeling airy. This color combo also serves to set her clients’ minds at ease about a common salon concern: cleanliness. “I wanted to keep things primarily white because it makes everything look very clean. I feel that’s very important for when a client comes in—they want to see and be in a space that is very clean.” Tip #2: Design a flow. Moving around in a small salon space can be another challenge, when it comes to decor. The combination of bulky equipment and furniture makes it imperative to consider placement and flow. “It’s funny because when I first got my Sola space, I was like, ‘Oh decorating this is going to be easy,’ because it was a smaller, but it took some thinking to figure out where I was going to place furniture and everything.” Shaila shows off her decorating chops in this area by creating two defined spaces in her open-concept floorplan. Her station keeps a low profile against the wall with her chair close by—allowing her enough room to move around her client while working. Color plays an important role here as well. By keeping her furniture white and clear, it takes away any bulky, heavy feelings that can come with large furniture pieces. Tip #3: Create a focal point. Keeping everything monochromatic can seem a little clinical, but too many pops of color can leave a space feeling cluttered and overwhelming. The solution? Create a main focal point. Shaila combined this idea with another great small space decor idea: designing up. “I’ve always really been into black and white stripes, and when it came to decorating my space, I knew that I wanted to do everything in white, with an accent wall featuring those black and white stripes.” Shaila’s vertically striped wall creates a graphic focal point, infuses a bold style and makes her space feel larger. Win. win. win. Tip #4: Take cues from your personal style. The decision to create a focal point in her small salon space that was an extension of her personal style is one of the things that makes Shaila’s salon suite unique. She takes this idea even further by incorporating an aspect of of her signature look into her salon decor. “I have always worn red lipstick, and a lot of people and clients know and remember me by that. So since red is my favorite color, and because I have this thing for red roses, and because clients know I always wear red lipstick, I knew I had to include this pop of red in my space.” This pop of red scattered throughout her space creates visual interest and makes her suite identifiable as hers, to her clients. An important feature to consider when designing a salon suite, since there are so many independant salons occupying the same space. Tip #5: Stay organized and clutter free It may seem like a no brainer, but cutting down on clutter is the fastest way to make a