Planning and designing a new salon can be a very exciting experience, but it can also lead to a lot of headaches and wasted money. Having a plan is essential to a positive outcome. Hear from people who have been through it before and use these helpful tips below to create your high-functioning dream salon.

1.  Invest in Essentials
When outfitting your new salon, it can be difficult to prioritize your funds, and very easy to get carried away, spending money left and right. It's a great idea to begin with a list of your most important items and work from there. Spend money on the things clients will see and experience most, like salon chairs, the waiting area, the front desk, bathrooms and dressing rooms.

Another area to splurge is on salon equipment. Clients really take notice when you're using the newest technology in your salon. Look for used salon equipment online to save where you can.

Once you figure out where to splurge, then you can move onto where to save. Buying things like cutting capes and gloves in bulk can often save you money, and utilizing DIY decor websites can help you save and give your space a one-of-a-kind feel.

2.  Design Your Space Like You'll Actually be Doing Hair in it
I've worked in and seen a few salons that were obviously decorated to cater to the owners taste, but wasn't necessarily conducive to doing great hair. Just because you love low, sexy mood lighting and warm colored walls, doesn't mean your salon will be best suited to this decor.

When your client sits in the chair, you want them to look the best they can. Lighting that causes shadows on the face and makes it difficult to see the true hair color outcomes just won't do.

Often you'll see ceiling mounted lighting in salons which can create shadows on the face and under the eyes. Eliminate this issue by lighting your salon in all directions with backlit mirrors and vertical wall-mounted lights.

3.  Be Realistic About Your Space
Stylists need room to move around. There's nothing worse than working in a space where you're bumping and pushing up against your co-workers and their clients. If you have a salon of 20 stylists, one shampoo bowl isn't going to cut it.

A good rule-of-thumb is to plan on around 150 square feet of work space per stylist, and 1 shampoo bowl for every 3 stylists. Once you map out enough room for everyone to work, then you can move onto filling the space with equipment and decor. If you start with equipment and decor first, you run the risk of running out of room for your staff, which will be a waste of your time and precious funds.

4.  Less is More
A salon can get very loud and hectic on a busy day. People running around, color bowls piling up, and magazines strewn about can give a salon a cluttered feeling when it gets busy. Negate this by starting with a clean and modern space. Avoid clutter and too many decorations, remember that you are designing a space for people to work and move around in.

Purchase your essential equipment and furniture first and then move on to how the space should be decorated. You'll be surprised how cluttered a space can look with just the basics. Once you have all of that in place, you can begin to design the decor.