Simple PLEASURES

Embracing the ice-cool, arty culture of Brighton, Avery Salon is a fresh take on the minimalistic aesthetic

The design is primitive and earthy, using raw materials and nature rat her than a specific colour theme

KEY FACTS

Name: Avery Salon

Address: 6 Prince Albert Street, Brighton, BN1 1HE

Owner: Katie Avery

Size: 1500 square feet

How long have you been in the premises: Since April 2021

How many staff: Four stylists and an apprentice

With the end goal of creating a brand that is ‘honest, conscious and kind’, Katie Avery embarked on a solo journey to design and open her own salon. “It wasn’t a choice in some sense, it was something I always had to achieve,” she explains. Katie and her team breathe life into these values by avoiding technical jargon in the way they speak to their clients, making conscious decisions where their environmental impact is concerned and treating everyone with compassion.

Initially the salon space was a dark and dingy shell, but thanks to its idyllic location – the vivacious Brighton Lanes – Katie knew she couldn’t pass it up. After a collection of mood boards and paintings, a slow 10 weeks battling lockdown and Brexit complications, with the support of friends and family, finally Avery Salon was unveiled.

Katie was decisive about her vision and knew her focus was on the texture and overall feeling of the salon. “The design is primitive and earthy, using raw materials and nature rather than a specific colour theme,” she remarks. The walls are a musky, light pink, painted with crushed limestone and water – and have become a major talking point amongst clients. Much like the toilet covered in black paint: “I wouldn’t be so daring to paint my toilet at home black, so I thought: Why not do it here?” Katie adds.

“I would describe the salon’s image as cool, calm, human and botanical,” Katie says. The flooring is made from engineered oak, which gives the space a warm and homefrom-home feeling. In addition, a healthy selection of plants sit atop the furniture. The original bay windows really open the space up and provide a lot of natural light – lending itself to the natural aesthetic and ensuring her clients’ colour looks the same in the salon as it does outside.

The salon hosts a mixed bag of furniture and textures, including rattan storage units, cushioned cotton armchairs in the reception area and an upcycled school pigeon-hole cabinet for their colour storage. There are seven styling stations with black leather Takara Belmont styling chairs, floating shelves and mirrors. Just like the Moda Salon backwashes, any chrome on the styling chairs has been painted a matte black: “It was important to me that this flowed throughout the salon. I wanted the chairs to look a part of the aesthetic,” Katie explains.

Avery Salon is a calm and minimalistic space on the surface, but take a closer look at Katie’s texture play and passion for principle, and you can see why she has earned her place in the lively, arty Brighton Lanes.