Design Matters: Owners Share Their Salon Remodel Journeys – Stylist Spotlight


Choosing the right furniture partner for your salon remodel will transform your experience.

When you’re in the beauty business, the design of your salon speaks volumes. It can help align your vision with your brand and culture, energize your team and attract your ideal client. Often, your salon style is the first impression your guests have of your salon, and it can detract from or elevate the overall client experience. Guests want their salon to reflect the high-end style they’re paying to receive, and stylists want to work in a space they can be proud of.

However, the idea of remodeling or refreshing your salon can be intimidating. How much will it cost? How do you know what design theme to choose? How do I navigate all the choices online? Who can help you create a cohesive look that reflects your team and clients?

Minerva does all of the above, providing salon owners with a robust online inventory of many styles of furniture and equipment, and a salon furnishings showroom that’s second to none.

To give you inspiration for your next salon remodel or refresh, SALON TODAY followed the salon journeys of three owners with three different style aesthetics.

Modern Salon & Spa = Modern Interior Design Style with Neutrals 



Modern Salon and Spa, Charlotte, North Carolina

Arsalan Hafezi knows a thing or two about opening a salon. Over 35 years, the owner of three Modern Salon and Spa locations in Charlotte, North Carolina has opened and remodeled a half dozen salon businesses. His consistent design goal: To create a haven that brings beauty, relaxation, and well-being into perfect balance.

The neutral palette and high-end finishes create a luxurious retreat for guests at Modern Salon & Spa. Tall white stations with side drawers keep excess tools and products out of sight. Combined with the natural wood floors, sleek beige styling chairs and an abundance of natural daylight, the atmosphere beckons guests to relax for their moment of wellness.

As a successful business owner, Hafezi likes to plan his future design renovations in advance, allowing him to control his corporate budget and keep his company on a consistent growth path. 

“I like to refresh my salons every five years and remodel every 10 years,” he says. “Also, I’m currently in the process of opening two more salons (in addition to the three existing locations) in the next two years.”

New salons mean new styling stations, chairs, shampoo bowls, dryers and more. While it may seem overwhelming, Hafezi works with interior designers and architects to help guide him through the process. About five years ago, Hafezi brought another partner to his design team—Minerva Beauty.

“I built a relationship with Minerva when we were building a new location,” he says. “I went to Georgia to visit their showroom and warehouse and got to see the furniture in person as well as meet the people behind the products.”

Minerva’s showroom is the largest equipment showroom in North America and features a wide variety of pieces, allowing owners to see, touch and experience the furnishings before making a major purchase.

After his initial visit to Minerva, Hafezi now orders his furniture online, due to the wider selection, and his confidence in the products that fit his salons’ modern interior and neutral color palette.

“Minerva offers high-quality products,” he says. “For one of our salons, we bought some really expensive stations from Italy that fell apart after a year or two—we ended up replacing them with Minerva stations and have been pleased with the result.” 

Hafezi says the efficiency of Minerva’s shipping is another huge benefit.

“Everything I’ve chosen comes within a week if it’s in stock,” he says.

Foushee = Mid-Century Modern Interior Design Style



Foushee SalonSpa, Littleton, Colorado

In Littleton, Colorado, just outside of Denver, Kara Forshay opened her doors in 1997 with the goal of creating an oasis of comfort for her clients and an educational space that constantly nurtured the growth of the Foushee Family of stylists.

As a proud L’Anza Healing Center, the Foushee SalonSpa design also needed to convey the extraordinary healing power of Mother Nature. Wood finishes on the black stations and caramel-colored styling chairs bring in the earth elements while the arched mirrors and floral metal artwork throughout ushers in a mid-century modern design.

When it came time to remodel, Forshay also visited the Minerva warehouse when she remodeled her salon with a mid-century modern design.

“I really wanted comfortable shampoo chairs, and there was nowhere near me to go experience them for myself,” she says. “So, I went to Minerva’s showroom in Georgia and saw some of the shampoo chairs I had been looking at online. They were really high quality, and they looked even better in person.”

Forshay continues, “I can’t tell you how many compliments we’ve gotten–our clients are always talking about how comfortable they are.”

Forshay says the experience of visiting the showroom was worth the trip, and Minerva gave her $500 to help with the travel expenses.

“I went in with an idea of what I thought I wanted but ended up falling in love with something completely different, and the team at Minerva made the entire process so easy,” she says. “I felt so comfortable and confident in my choices after going.”

Forshay also was thrilled with Minerva’s pricing.

“The prices were more reasonable than we expected, and the styles were on par with current interior trends,” she says. “And they had a great selection for the earthy tones we wanted. They had woods, camel, olive, different shades of leather—some of the other brands just had black and gray.” 

OMG = Modern Mediterranean Interior Design Style



OMG Artistry, Salon Suite, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Olivia Thompson (Smalley) is a trend-savvy, artistic and daring social media influence and the owner of OMG Artistry, a salon suite in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

When it came time to set the design tone for her business, she says, “I wanted an elevated, mature vibe I could lean into with Earth elements.”

Thompson chose white furniture and chairs in a rich, camel shade that complemented her modern Mediterranean design.

“The selection at Minerva Beauty was incredible,” she says. “They covered a vast variety of salon themes, were high quality, and a lot of collections were interchangeable as well.”

After previously purchasing cheap furniture from Amazon that didn’t last, Thompson puts a high value on quality. “The Amazon stuff did not hold up. The stains didn’t come out, and I had to replace them often. My Minerva furniture still looks like new—the chairs have no scratches, the station drawer continues to fully function, and everything cleans easily.”

Minerva’s attentive customer service reps, transparent shipping pricing and user-friendly website make online shopping and shipping a breeze.

Thompson says, “I ordered everything via the Minerva website, which is so helpful with videos, photos and dimensions.”

She continues, “My husband and I easily put the furniture together when it arrived and if I had questions, I was able to get someone on the phone immediately. Nothing was damaged when the order arrived, and the quality was impeccable.”

All-Star Customer Service

All three owners appreciate Minerva’s outstanding customer service.  

“The level of attention to customer service is like no other,” Hafezi says. “They help me select equipment, make recommendations and have many styles to choose from.”

Forshay agrees and says her Minerva rep was able to help her navigate a tricky situation.

“As we got closer to finishing our project, we realized our custom shampoo bowls were not going to arrive by our opening date,” she says. “My rep called me with enough time for us to change up our décor in the wash house to accommodate a different color of shampoo bowl, and she gave me a discount.”

Forshay continues, “I really appreciated the fact that my Minerva sales rep let me know six weeks ahead of time that the furniture wasn’t going to meet our schedule. It gave me enough time to pivot to a new scheme.”

In addition to the excellent customer service, Thompson also acknowledges the effort Minerva puts into their social media accounts.

“They do such a great job on their Instagram,” she says. “Their page is so beautifully curated and tagged, and their Pinterest board provides the next level of inspiration. They inspire the outcome of what a salon or studio can look like.”

Ready for your own salon’s refresh or remodel? With Minerva Beauty’s 15,000+ products, you’ll be certain to find salon furnishings to fit your interior design style.

Whether you’re looking for a mid-century modern aesthetic or have been craving the modern Mediterranean look, you’ll find the styling chairs, stations, and shampoo systems that you’ve been looking for. Visit Minerva’s online showroom here to start building a beautiful future.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, Click here.



Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *