To expand its horizons, the Natural Beauty salon sought to transform its retail premises into an official beauty salon. Mainly serving female customers and selling premium skincare products, the high-class salon also conducts skin test and skincare treatment; therefore, the new, revised space required a superior level of privacy.

Tasked with the extensive transformation, STUDIO DOTCOF’s first priority was the challenge of creating a quiet, private and relaxed environment inside a busy street frontage space. As a result, the firm created a series of cave-like spaces in various sizes and materials – corresponding to the required levels of privacy for each area. Elsewhere, the generous ceiling height of the building offered STUDIO DOTCOF an opportunity to expand the existing mezzanine area, and a consulting room was added adjacent to the reception area, for skin testing use – per Natural Beauty’s requirements. Furthermore, the mezzanine, sited above the consulting room, has evolved into a communal lounge platform.

Meet and greet

Natural Beauty’s reception area greets its customers with an organic theme. Described by STUDIO DOTCOF as a “mountain cave”, this space is tall and full of different openings and natural light. To accentuate the natural theme further, the firm also designed and applied vertical wood battens to the reception area to emphasise the tall spatial characteristic. Customers walking into this tall space – by passing through a lower bulkhead from the street – will feel a spiritual uplift.

Taking in the view

Deeper in the building, customers are guided through a darker wood corridor, known by STUDIO DOTCOF as a “water tunnel cave”, enclosed in creamy white travertine stones.

This is the area where customers wait before and after entering the rooms for luxury skincare regimes. Here, the floor slabs are designed as platforms that appear to be floating on water. STUDIO DOTCOF has opted for a pure tone of colour for the flooring, while the light is controlled to diffuse from different positions. The vision for STUDIO DOTCOF here was an image of floating islands on the water, with purified colours and diffused lighting to offer customers a sense of serenity and eradicate the noise and fatigue from the outside world.

First-class luxury

The treatment rooms themselves are enclosed with real wood panels – warm and cosy. These rooms are the smallest in size and also designed to the cave-like theme that runs throughout. Concealed cabinets have been integrated into the walls to store the skincare products and equipment, offering a clean and clinical aesthetic.

Real, natural materials, such as stone and wood, have been used for each area. Through the organisation of space and organic materials, STUDIO DOTCOF has delivered a tranquil experience for customers of the Natural Beauty salon.