Plushy, velvety brown pedicure chairs, a graphic mural and planting are among the details that designer Katie Gebhardt has included in this nail salon in San Diego, in order to eschew the aesthetic typically associated with beauty shops.
The Leo Nail Salon occupies a narrow storefront in the heart of the city's trendy North Park neighbourhood. Locally based Gebhardt of Solstice Interiors designed the shop for a client who wanted a style that would be different from its competitors.

"Jina, the owner of Leo, found herself looking up 'cute nail salons' in San Diego and was repeatedly left feeling unsatisfied with the experience," Gebhardt told Dezeen.
Among the main differences inside the salon are the pedicure stations, which offer a different take from the bulky chairs and built-in foot baths. Instead, Gebhard has designed a set of wood-framed armchairs chairs with velvety brown seats, accompanied by moveable wash basins.
These chairs ? which were produced by local furniture company Moniker Design ? are arranged in rows on a pair of pale wooden plinths that flank the sides of the shop. Globe-shaped, white lights are arranged in rows on the walls behind.

White floors and walls provide a neutral backdrop to the store, with a pink-hued mural decorating the rear wall. Janie Rochfort from local interiors studio Betty Larkin created the graphic from layers of circles and arch shapes in different hues.

"We stuck with a primarily neutral and organic palett...