Kam hair and body spa, lossiemouth: interiors inspiration

KAM Hair and Body Spa in Lossiemouth, Morayshire, celebrated their tenth anniversary in style; with a major expansion and salon revamp. Karen Thompson opened her first salon at the tender age of 18; an early sign that she was destined for big things in the hairdressing industry. Her current salon, KAM Hair and Body Spa, opened ten years ago in the pretty seaside town of Lossiemouth in Morayshire and has thrived since day one; so much so, that a decade in it was time to expand. "We needed to make more space," says Karen, "and the salon was also due an update. It seemed to me that there was no better time to relaunch our revamped space than during our milestone anniversary year. The purpose of the expansion was to create more space and have a separate shampoo and treatment zone. This wasn't just for the clients' benefit, but also for the team. "The salon was nice before hand," says Karen, "but it was time to take things up a level." [hji-gallery-legacy] An extension was added, which enabled the team to knock down the old staff room and take it into the salon. Part of the extension was then knocked through to create the shampoo zone; this meant inserting a steel beam and taking down some existing double doors - which also entailed fitting a new fire alarm system. The revamp took place through the winter months, so the builders ended up battling the elements. There were difficulties laying the foundations thanks to snowstorms, which left the ground frozen solid. They persevered and the work was completed on time, but it's certainly something to consider, Karen says. "I was also pregnant at the time," she laughs, "which probably wasn't the best timing!" In Brief Name: KAM Hair and Body Spa Address: 76A Queen Street, Lossiemouth, Morayshire Owner: Karen Thomson Size: 156 sq m Staff: 20 Styling stations: 14 Design: Self and REM Suppliers: REm, Synergy Salon Supplies, JNK Kitchens Top Tips Plan, plan, plan. After I was planned the extension and was given a layout, I went to look at new premises too - just in case I was making the wrong decision. Use local traders. Using people that we knew was important as we had a relationship with them already and trusted them. We also wanted to support the local economy. Choosing a local contractor ended up being the best thing we did; they headed up the building work and took charge of all the different trades.