Sana Chouhan Salon: A Name That Goes Beyond Just The Gloss
Aviral Design Studio
Aviral Mahajan & Hemani Badyal
NH1-A, Channi Highway, Jammu
Sometimes beauty needs to situate itself in stillness and away from all the glitz and gloss in order to shine beyond the set expectations. Sometimes it becomes necessary for the understated to take over the over-the-top glaze. Easier said than done especially if it comes to the world of beauty — as most salons fuel themselves with a virtuous show of extravagance and rightly so. DU, however, found a gem – a salon with an inexplicable, understated luxury in Jammu. Read on to know the story behind.
UnFiltered Design Brief
The client envisioned a salon that departed from the conventional archetype of flashy, high-gloss interiors typically associated with beauty spaces. The brief sought a calm, immersive environment—one that prioritized sensory comfort, understated luxury, and emotional well-being over visual excess. The design intent was to create a space that feels timeless, tranquil, and tactile, offering clients a retreat-like experience rather than a high-energy commercial setting.
UnFiltered Design Philosophy
The overarching design philosophy was rooted in the creation of an immersive milieu that engages the senses of vision and tactility with renewed sensitivity. Anchored in the ethos of Zen, the space is conceived as a sculptural landscape rather than a conventional interior. The planning eschews rigid linearity, instead allowing the blueprint to meander organically, forming soft transitions and intimate nooks. A medley of sweeping arches, contoured ceilings, and carefully orchestrated solid–void relationships defines the spatial language. The interiors adopt a grotto-like minimalism—calm yet expressive—where form, material, and light collaborate to create an elevated sensory experience. The palette remains deliberately restrained, enabling the architecture itself to become the primary aesthetic driver rather than surface embellishment.
UnFiltered Design Features
- A sculptural spatial language defined by flowing arches and curvilinear forms
- Styling stations conceived as freestanding sculptural elements, acting as visual anchors within the muted interior palette
- An immersive lighting strategy that enhances depth, texture, and spatial layering without overt brightness
- Integration of art and handcrafted elements as an extension of the architecture rather than applied décor
- A consistent material and colour language that unifies diverse functional zones into a cohesive whole
UnFiltered Design Challenges & Solutions
One of the primary challenges was the limited ceiling height, compounded by the fixed positioning of air-conditioning ducts and beams. Retaining maximum perceived height while achieving the desired sculptural ceiling profile required precise coordination. The contours were strategically planned to wrap around the beam framework, allowing the ceiling to retain volume while reinforcing the grotto-inspired aesthetic.
Additionally, adherence to Vastu principles significantly influenced spatial planning. The positioning of beauty rooms and their associated services demanded careful routing of plumbing and services without disrupting the organic design language. This was resolved through meticulous coordination between planning, services, and form-making, ensuring functionality was seamlessly embedded within the architectural expression.
UnFiltered Material Choices
- Vista Concrete Finish in muted warm neutrals such as ecru and sand lending the space a tactile, earthen quality
- Custom-fabricated HDMR board arches paired with contoured ceilings, enabling fluid curvilinear geometry
- Warm indirect lighting integrated within ceiling coves and architectural recesses
- Custom-designed styling stations, inspired by Kelly Wearstler’s Tephra Totem Sculptures, finished in a deep burgundy tone from ICA to introduce contrast and sculptural presence
- Natural fabrics and soft upholstery for seating to enhance comfort and tactility
Minimal metal and wood accents, used sparingly to maintain visual softness
