Planting ROOTS

Luke Benson shares his journey to creating a sustainable salon in his hometown

KEY FACTS
Name: Luke Benson Hair
Address: 186 High Street, Berkhamsted, HP4 3AP
Owner: Luke Benson
Size: 1,000 sq ft
How long have you been in the premises: 7 weeks
How many staff: 13

Luke Benson has forged a successful career as a session stylist, following his win as London Hairdresser of the Year at HJ's British Hairdressing Awards 2016, sponsored by Schwarzkopf Professional. However, despite his love for session work, Luke has decided to expand his business by setting up a bricks and mortar salon, to coincide with his evolving family-orientated lifestyle. Having initially considered a London location, he ultimately decided to launch his inaugural salon in his hometown, Berkhamsted.

The salon places an emphasis on sustainability, and as such, Luke has partnered with a number of ecoconscious brands, from scissors to styling. Sustainability also played a key role in the design and build process, with Luke explaining that they worked with as much of the original space and features as they could. One example of this is the industrial-looking, black ceiling, he tells us: “It was so strikingly unique and added a lot to the atmosphere of the space – right away I knew I wanted to incorporate it into the design.”

The design that Luke speaks of draws heavily from lifestyle spaces, such as hotels and boutique shops, while also placing client comfort at the forefront. To help bring his vision to life he enlisted Consilio Interiors, a company local to Berkhamsted, which helped to emphasise the community feel he was striving for. “The owner is a friend of mine,” Luke adds, “and we work so well together.”

Something else that works well is the bespoke reception desk (it’s made from Silestone's new HybriQ Romantic Ash, a form of stone). “The huge piece of stone is very impactful when clients arrive,” Luke explains. As for how the rest of the space is divided, there is both a waiting and retail area alongside the reception desk, whilst a secondary waiting space, designed to look more like a bar, can be found towards the back of the salon.

More custom furniture is located throughout the salon, including the eight styling stations, all paired with chairs from Pietranera. This is also where the three backwash chairs were sourced, which can be fully reclined to add to the relaxing, luxurious experience. These were thoughtfully placed directly in front of the colour bar, so that toners can be mixed while hair is washed.

“SUSTAINABILITY ALSO PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN THE DESIGN AND BUILD PROCESS, AS WE WORKED WITH AS MUCH OF THE ORIGINAL SPACE AS WE COULD.”

To balance the darkness of the walls – painted grey to harmonise with the striking black concrete ceiling – lighting was carefully installed to ensure hair colours show true. This aesthetic choice also sets the stage for the lighting to perfectly highlight hair’s true tone, which is achieved through the custom sections with built-in lights; in addition to being practical, they also add a touch of glamour. As for the floor, the illusion of polished concrete is created by the placement of Italian stone styles paired with a slim grout of the same colour – a more sustainable option. While the majority of the salon carries this colour palette, the toilet veers off-piste with bubble-gum pink walls and flooring.

Discussing the best thing he did in the build and design process, Luke shares: “Focusing on sustainability helped create purpose and led us to some interesting and unique design choices that are now the highlights of the space.”

LUKE’S TOP TIPS

1 Don’t settle
Be prepared to voice your opinion if something isn’t exactly right.

2 Look at your competition
Make sure your finished result will be better, while also attracting the clients that you want.

3 Get involved
Keep checking on the project in person – you’ll notice things every time you go in and will be able to ensure work is completed to your standards.