Today’s salon and spa design goes beyond a gorgeous backdrop for a great service, and it offers clients more than a temporary respite from a busy day. Now, salons and spas are leveraging their inherent one-on-one, human interface factor to gift clients with some invaluable connectivity in an increasingly digital world.

How does that play out in the way owners are designing their spaces? They’re actually building in architectural features that engage, comfort, tease, educate, delight and inspire.

Today, bar concepts of every kind, including blowdry, make-up and color, are beckoning clients to gather and be part of the process. Built-in photo booths and iPads at stations invite guests to take pictures of their finished looks and print them as a keepsake or share them via social media. Colorful portraits at styling stations disappear with the flick of switch, surprising clients when they reveal the mirrors behind. And, versatile salons with mobile stations and sliding storefronts can convert into an indoor/outdoor experience on fair-weather days.

Explore each of our 20 SALONS OF THE YEAR by clicking on each salon’s name below:

GRAND-PRIZE WINNER:

6 Salon in Birmingham, Michigan, owned by Tomy Lulgjuraj, Johnny Nikollaj, George Nikollaj

FIRST RUNNER-UP:

Shep Studio in Provo, Utah, owned by Shep and Tracy Wolsey

SECOND RUNNER-UP:

HC Studio in Brookline, Massachusetts, owned by Susan Healy

THIRD RUNNER-UP:

Cloud 10 Blow Dry Bar & Hair Salon in Delray Beach, Florida, owned by Jodi Dery

SALONS OF DISTINCTION:

212 Salon and Day Spa, in Upper Montclair, New Jersey, owned by Donna and Gaetano Lo Sauro

AirBar in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, owned by Jenny and Alexis Becker

Danny Jelaca Salon in Miami Beach, Florida, owned by Danny Jelaca

Dieci Uomo in Livingston, New Jersey, owned by Paul and Marie Gaglioti

Epic - a Michael Allen Salon in York, Pennsylvania, owned by Dawn Smith and Michael Allen Morgan

European Beauty Concepts in Williamsburg, Virginia, owned by Annette Ritzmann and Bar Palmer

Gary Manuel Studio in Seattle, Washington, owned by Gary Howse and Manuel Benevich

J Michaels Salon in Des Moines, Iowa, owned by Michelle and Jay Ryan

J Roland Salon in San Francisco, California, owned by Joseph Roland

Keter Salon in Berkeley, California, owned by Diana Gordon

Mane Attraction in Phoenix, Arizona, owned by Kendall Ong and Beate Assmuth-Ong

Misbehaven Spa & Salon in Walla Walla, Washington, owned by Jeanese LeFore

Poppy Salon in Waite Park, Minnesota, owned by Jackie Hyndman, Nicolle Kruger and Alex Hyndman

Salon Aguayo in Pasadena, California, owned by Joseph Aguayo

SOTO - Salon On The Ohio in Cincinnati, Ohio, owned by Gregory Schroeder and Anastasia Kim Blair

Tricho Salon & Spa in Ann Arbor, Michigan, owned by Michael Stein and Lynn McMullin