10 SMALL BUSINESSES

10 DESIGNERS

10 MAKEOVERS

10 DAYS

MAIN ST MAKEOVER

The Head Room Salon 106 E. Grand River Ave.

My name is Katena. I'm a decorator for IKEA.

I've been assigned to redecorate Head Room Salon for the IKEA makeover.

My name is Kendra Cosme. I own the Head Room Salon in Old Town.

We have six stylist chairs and one nail tech. We have seven great employees.

We're like a big family.

The Head Room Salon is where fashion goes on.

It's where girls have a lot of fun from early morning till late every day.

I wanted the whole space to reflect that a little more.

When you make somebody feel good, there's nothing better than that. Ever.

When they walk out with a huge smile on their face it keeps me coming back and love my job.

Being able to be involved and have a personal touch on everything is definitely what keeps me owning a small business and keeping it small.

PLANNING THE MAKEOVER November 2007

- Hello.

- How are you?

Good. Kendra, this is Katena.

The salon needed a nicer, more comfortable seating area.

And more organization of the products they sell, etc.

It was about updating it, making it fresher, younger, more whimsical.

- You did this six years ago?

- Yes.

- Time changes.

- And it's time.

First we had to choose a color palette to work with.

Happier, fresher and more summery. Almost fruit colors.

The color scheme for the paint was based on one chair.

We saw that fabric and ran with it.

Now you have somber, muted greens and yellows.

I want a little bit of zing if you dare.

Red is her favorite color, so we gave her that splash of red.

Red back there. All the other walls will be sky-blue except for the round bathroom part.

We decided to use orange only in the architectural details.

Like the column and the curvature of the wall near the manicure station.

This will be an orange cylinder. The break room was the biggest need.

Back here is our scary, dungeon break room. Are you ready?

The main issue there was storage and more function for them actually to work.

Now we come down to the nitty-gritty.

- This is your break room, right?

- Yes.

- How many lockers do you need?

- Seven.

We have a kitchen range called Akurum.

- It'd make better use of the height.

- Good.

Using the same cabinetry, we'd make a kitchenette on the other side.

- Good.

- It will be the same look.

But this is for your stuff, and this is for lunches and stuff like that.

That sounds like a great idea. Definitely.

- That's all I had.

- I'm very impressed. Very impressed.

I would describe Mats as very creative and passionate about design.

I have to run to the next business. Katena is here to discuss everything and for you to digest this.

He gives you freedom to choose as long as you stick to the story that he's created. With me it was bold colors and fashion.

High-end, but bold and bright. Sticking to Kendra's personality.

I pretty much liked all his ideas. We just need a whole new facelift.

So I'm excited. Definitely.

THE MAKEOVER January 2008

It was great working with Kendra. Before I got out here she already had everything painted and ready to go.

She was always on top of things.

The first makeover area was the waiting room area.

The chairs weren't comfortable, so we decided to give them armchairs.

They had a little bit of flavor because of the bold colors and stripes.

Five more to go.

This is the fun part. It all comes together, and the colors coordinate.

I like them. They're going to fit in real nice.

Better than the ones we had before.

I'm doing good.

The front is done except for the new storage unit for the products.

The problem with the retail area was that everything was scattered all over the front of the store.

We felt it needed to be more contained so the client would get a better overview of what she was selling.

We decided to use one big storage unit and display her products by the product name and function.

It's easier to see now because before it was all over the room.

Now it's in one area. It makes it easier for the customer.

At the hairdrying station she had stools to rest your feet on.

They just weren't that cute. There's nothing wrong with leopard print but in keeping with the bright and bold theme, we did a slipcover.

Each one has a different stripe, but the same color scheme.

- It coordinates with everything else.

- Yeah, but still individualistic.

Luckily you're good with a sewing machine.

Then there was their pedicure chair that was oversized.

And pretty ... you know ...

It felt like an eyesore, and I said, "That has to go."

- Let's get this chair out of here.

- Alright.

It's heavy.

It's falling apart.

You broke it.

Here you go.

Once we got something more up-to-date and fashionable it turned out much better. There was more space.

And it matched the color scheme. Yea!

Their break room really needed some help.

The back area was a big challenge because they needed a place that had many functions at the same time in that small space.

We're getting the break room cabinets done.

So I utilized the wall space.

We're going to have really tall units here and fill up the entire wall.

I fit more cabinets in by building up and having smaller units but bigger in depth.

We added a countertop so they could mix their dye.

New built-in shelves.

What we did here was cool. We had left-over countertop.

So we got some legs and screwed them on.

- Clever.

- Saved a lot of money.

- And no waste.

- No waste.

- We're going to paint this red.

- How nice.

It's coming along great.

Before

After

The front of the salon was missing something. The wall was empty.

So we decided to do some artwork. The only thing we could think of were the daisy panels we have, so we had them Fed-Exed.

- Did you get the fabric?

- Yes. I'm the hero of the day. Thanks.

I like the fabric. It's going to work well with the color scheme.

I love it when a plan comes together.

Our carpenter made a frame, and we pulled the fabric tight around it.

That's the final little touch.

And people love it. People walk by and come in just to look at that.

- I think that's pretty cool.

- I love those. Happy flowers.

- Love me? Love me not?

- Love you.

When you have a daisy, don't you do that?

He loves me, he loves me not. He loves me not.

Back areas are always forgotten because the customers don't see them.

But it's really important to care also for those areas.

I'm so happy with these results.

To see how a store can transform in two weeks is amazing.

Just from colors and new furniture and how it affects other people is really satisfying. Today she was just hugging me.

She really loves it.

Katena took my initial direction and went into much deeper detail all over.

She went all the way.

Before

After

- It looks great, Katena.

- Thank you.

It was a once in a lifetime experience, and I was happy to be part of it.

IKEA BUSINESS A better life at work