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Create your free business website! www.ascpskincare.com 13 DECORATIONS Limit your wall hangings and other decorations to a few prominent pieces that add character without cluttering the room. Tapestries add warmth to a space while reducing noise. If you display your qualifications or business policies, frame them decoratively. Bring one or more of the natural elements—air, earth, fire, and water—into your room. Fans and diffusers are calming and keep the air fresh and fragrant. Plants, along with wood or stone decorative elements, will bring nature indoors (bamboo, ferns, succulents, and umbrella trees all thrive with minimal attention). Hot towels, hot stones, and flameless candles provide the fire element in a safe way. An aquarium, fountain, or shades of blue in your décor can add a soothing water element. We float a single gardenia in a bowl in each of our treatment rooms at Soulstice Spa and clients rave about them. Picture Perfect After you set up your space, enter with fresh eyes, playing the role of a client. What is your first impression? Is there a sense of welcome? Is there an obvious place to hang your clothes and store your belongings? Is there a tangle of electrical cords showing (or, worse, getting in your way)? Can you move fluidly around the room? Are the linens clean, crisp, and fresh? What do you see when you are on the bed or chair? Walk through the experience of being your client, from start to finish. Once your treatment room is picture perfect, it is time to do just that: take pictures! You should have high-quality images to share on your website, online review sites, and marketing materials. A picture tells a thousand words, and, in time, it will reach a thousand clients, so hire a professional to take photographs that will present your practice in an ideal light. Like other aspects of your skin care practice, your room design will grow and evolve in the years to come. Whether you're starting from scratch or redesigning your current space, it should be your home away from home and a reflection of you, so create a memorable place that you— and your clients—will love to return to again and again. Kayse Gehret is the owner of Soulstice Spa in Sonoma Wine Country and maintains a private massage practice in San Francisco where her clients include celebrities, professional athletes, and rock stars. She also offers her own vegan product line and is the author of Body/Work: Careers in Massage Therapy (2010). Contact her at kayse@soulsticespa.com.