Creating the Trends in Hair & Beauty Furniture Design

For our first blog of 2023 we have asked two members of our our design team to discuss some of the trends and influences we are likely to see in 2023 and beyond. Paul Peak and Francesca Corteen are experienced Design Professionals in Product and Interior Design, and assist us in developing New Products and as well as designing schemes for Spas, Salons and Barbers that meet with the ever evolving market trends.

As every year, we again have a fantastic group of new products being launched in 2023 covering most of our categories including Chairs, Washunits, Barbers Chairs, Barbers Units, and two new Pedispas. My personal favourites are the Kingsman Barber’s chair along with Fantasy & Sienna pedispas which are fantastic additions to our ever expanding range.

Trends seem to be moving and changing faster than ever and probably due to the increased popularity of social media over the past few years. This influences both the services in the Salons and the products needed to perform them. We are a fairly niche industry when it comes to furniture, but we keep a close eye across the furniture industry as a whole to keep up to date with current styles, colours and themes and bring them over into the Hair and Beauty environment.

The key focus is to try and anticipate the next trends, bring in new features and ideas into our products and be one step ahead of the competition, which is why we launch new products on a yearly basis.

I would say the Beauty and Spa side of our business is seeing the biggest growth. Nail bars, Beauty Couches and Pedispas are all extremely popular at the moment as more Salons open on the High Streets offering customers a Mini-Spa experience. We see no sign of this slowing anytime soon. On top of this the addition of the new Barbers Products is anticipated to bring new life into a fairly saturated market.

The main focus for us in this regard is to offer the best quality products, at the most affordable pricing, with the REM 3 Year Guarantee. For all of our product categories we offer models at various price points to match every budget, all built here in-house within the REM factory under our control.

The key aspect to consider when buying cheap imported products is;

  • do they meet UK quality standards?
  • are the materials fire retardant?
  • are the materials from sustainable sources?
  • are taps WRAS approved?
  • are they electrically safe and CE marked?

These points must be talen into consideration when buying furniture for any UK Business. We are aware that everyone is price conscious in the present economic climate but it’s of vital importance to know the quality of the product you are purchasing. I was always of the opinion if you buy cheap, be prepared to buy twice.

The path to Net Zero is a long one, but steps are already being taken. While developing new products we source a vast majority of our components from local suppliers, reducing our Carbon Footprint as much as possible. Our investments in the most up to date machinery has reduced our waste and increased our efficiency, our timber is supplied from sustainable sources, and we are constantly striving to reduce product packaging and using recyclable materials were possible.

Being a UK manufacturer is a massive positive, we are in control of all aspects of our business. The huge amount of in-house manufacturing ensures aspects like shipping costs have very minimal impact on our products, and especially prices. We are also fully in control of the products ensuring the quality and specifications are kept to the highest level expected, and with our own fleet of delivery vehicles they are under our control all the way to the Salon door. With a Heritage spanning over 100 years it’s of vital importance that the REM reputation and trust we have with our customers is never compromised or sacrificed.

Wow, that’s a tough question to answer. After being a designer in the industry for over 18 years I have designed hundreds of new products which have featured in our catalogue, and thousands of bespoke items for customers around the world. I’ve not really been asked for anything too weird, but were once asked to Design a Reception Desk with a Fish Tank inside it. Unfortunately we had to decline the request as the weight of the water and maintenance requirements of a Fish Tank added too much uncertainty into the structure of the desk. We do get the odd request for furniture into Restaurants, Prisons and Dentists which is always an interesting insight into other industries.

Neutrals really like Beige, Cream and Taupe, with Green, Brown and Blue earthy tones. These work really well when mixed with natural materials such as Marble, Limestone and Light Woods.

Three big trends for 2023 that are already popping up now are Renaissance Architecture such as arches and curves with symmetry in both the Furniture Style and Décor. Minimalist calm spaces are asked for the in the Spa and Beauty areas with simple shapes, clean lines and hidden storage. Finally ‘Instagramable’ features, spaces dedicated for client photos and social media content. These are often in the form of a ‘statement background’, a wall full of greenery, neon’s, murals or textures. We once had an old red British Telephone Box designed into a Beauty area which often features on Instagram.

We were once asked to Design a Salon based on 80’s Pop. They had a variety of different coloured chairs, clashing patterns and bright colours. Not to everyone’s taste but it looked very cool and different once finished.

You heard it here first, that’s REM’s predictions for the year ahead. Thank you for reading and thank you to all our Customers, Suppliers, Staff and Supporters for helping to make REM the number one in the industry for UK-manufactured Salon, Spa and Barber Furniture