Rarely do you hear a cocktail bar and salon in the same sentence, unless you're in Kyiv that is. With its concrete surfaces and lustrous gold accents, locally based Balbek Bureau has designed a cutting edge interior, steering clear of the traditional gendered decor generally found in most beauty salons.
Set within two floors of an early 20th-century building, each space has been designed to flow beautifully into one another. Rough concrete teamed with deliciously curved walls covered in gold panels create a soft and calming atmosphere, despite the use of harsh materials and it's industrial aesthetic.
One of the main visual accents of the salon is located in the reception area and creates and instant wow effect. Weighing several hundred kilograms, the feature required 4 months of intensive work in order to successfully achieve the 'always been there' aesthetic. Balbek Bureau explains that the cast-in-situ concrete broken arch at the salon's entrance "serves as a metaphor for broken stereotypes in the beauty industry".
From its inviting waiting area complete with a faux wood burner, to the pedicure zone with its free-standing washbasin that was assembled from two Soviet-era baby bathtubs, Say No Mo is a beauty salon unlike any other; and if it wasn't fascinating enough, the interior has been designed to transform to host cocktail parties. Cocktail and a pedicure? Yes please.
Images: Yevhenii Avramenko