How to choose a salon reception desk: size, layout and materials

The first piece of furniture a client sees when they walk into your salon is the reception desk. It is also a workstation that runs all day: bookings are entered, calls are answered, payments are taken, products are sold. That is why choosing a desk from a photo alone is the mistake we see most often. In this guide we have gathered the size, layout and material questions salon owners ask us most, with examples from our salon reception desk collection.

The four jobs of a reception desk

• First impression: clients read the style of your salon from the desk the moment they walk in. Colour, material and light do the talking here.
• Bookings: computer or tablet, phone, appointment book. Your receptionist spends most of the day at this surface.
• Payments: card terminal, receipt printer and a lockable drawer for cash and cards.
• Retail: a shampoo or serum at eye level during payment gets more questions than a product on a back shelf.

Knowing which job matters most in your salon makes the choice easier. At a hair salon the desk mainly handles payments and a short queue; a beauty salon reception desk in a skin clinic needs more privacy and room for paperwork.

Height: standing to greet, sitting to work

A good desk usually has two levels. The upper ledge or panel on the client side sits at a height where a standing person can rest an elbow and sign; this level is generally kept between 100 and 115 cm. The work surface on the staff side is for seated work and is generally around 72 to 76 cm, the same as an ordinary desk. The step between the two hides the screen, cables and paperwork from the client.

Our desks sit at different points in this range. Amy is 100.5 cm high with a privacy panel rising along the top. Pole is 105 cm and Perry 110 cm, while the reference sizes of our lacquered models are 110 to 115 cm high. Dove, at 90 cm with a stepped top, gives a lower and more open welcome.

Does your receptionist mostly stand? Then raising the work surface as well and putting a tall stool behind the desk is an option. Keeping one section of the desk lower for wheelchair users is also good practice, and in some countries local rules require it, so check with your architect.

Width and depth: how many people will work there?

Width is set by the number of people working at the desk at the same time, not by the size of the salon. For one person, 100 to 120 cm is generally enough. If two people will use screens at once, plan for 160 cm or more.

• Compact: Pole 98 x 66 cm, Dove 100 x 50 cm. Small salons, nail and lash studios, narrow entrances.
• Medium: Amy 120 x 53 cm, Perry 120 x 50 cm. One receptionist with a computer, card terminal and printer.
• Wide: the reference size shown for Pam is 180 x 60 x 115 cm, for Queen 160 x 60 x 115 cm. These models are drawn to your space in any case.

Depth is often overlooked. The screen, keyboard and card terminal all have to fit on one surface. On Perry, which is 50 cm deep, the keyboard tray takes the keyboard off the worktop and frees that space. Behind the desk, leave room for the chair to roll back and for staff to pass: generally at least 90 cm, and 100 cm or more for comfortable work. If there is a cabinet behind, add the space its doors need to open.

Layout: the entrance and the waiting area

The desk should be visible as soon as the door opens, but it should not block the doorway. Leave a few steps of space where a client can stop, put down an umbrella and take off a coat. The receptionist should be able to see the door while looking at the screen, which is why desks are usually placed facing the entrance or at an angle to it. Check at different times of day whether sun from the shop window falls on the screen.

The waiting area should be within sight of the desk. The receptionist can see the seated client, but the person waiting cannot see the screen of the client who is paying or overhear the conversation up close. For armchairs and sofas in the same colour language as your desk, see our waiting area collection. Finally, the desk should not narrow the route to the styling stations or the treatment rooms, and the short queue at payment time should not block the way through.

Cables, sockets and storage

The mistake we see most often is choosing the desk first and thinking about sockets later. Computer, screen, card terminal, printer, phone charger and router all run behind the desk at once. Put the sockets and the network point under the desk on the staff side so that no cable is visible from the client side. Perry comes with a cable outlet and generous shelved storage inside for exactly this.

Storage has two needs: locked and open. Cash, keys and gift cards go in a locked drawer; the appointment book, bags and business cards go on an open shelf. Across our models it looks like this:

• Amy: two lockable drawers, a lockable cabinet with two doors, open shelves on both sides
• Pole: two lockable drawers, a closed storage compartment, a three section open shelf and an upper ledge on the client side that works for displaying products
• Dove: two drawers with key locks, a four section open shelf
• Perry: lockable drawer with key, keyboard tray, shelved storage inside

Materials and colour: choose with your salon palette

Material decides both the look and the upkeep. The collection has three main surfaces:

• Lacquered MDF: Muse, Pretty and Queen. A smooth surface in one even colour; on Muse and Pretty the colour is chosen from the RAL chart. Wipe with a soft damp cloth and avoid abrasive cleaners.
• Natural wood veneer: Pole and Dove. A warm look, and the grain differs slightly from panel to panel.
• Melamine surface: Perry has a body of high density particleboard with a melamine surface that stands up well to daily wiping.

When choosing a colour, look at three things in the salon: the floor, the walls and the main furniture. The desk either repeats one of them or sets up a deliberate contrast. In a salon of light oak and white, Pole or Dove White sits calmly. In an industrial hair salon with concrete, black metal and dark tones, Perry with a concrete effect or black wood front suits the room; Perry combines a black or white body with concrete effect, natural wood, white wood or black wood front panels. For salons that love gold and glossy surfaces, Muse, Pam, Pretty and Queen come with gold details and LED lighting. The LED makes the desk stand out in the evening, but remember that it needs a socket in the plan too.

One note: a light front shows shoe and bag marks sooner. If you choose a white desk, add the front panel to your daily cleaning list.

Made to measure: what to prepare before you order

The catalogue sizes are a starting point. We make our desks in our own workshop in Istanbul to your size and colour, and the drawer and shelf layout can also change to suit your business. For an accurate quote, prepare:

1. The size of the area where the desk will stand, and the position of doors and windows
2. How many people will work at the desk at the same time
3. The equipment on the desk: computer, card terminal, printer, phone
4. Where the sockets and network point are
5. How much locked and open storage you need
6. A few photos of the floor, walls and existing furniture

Production takes 1 to 2 weeks, our desks carry a 2 year warranty and we ship worldwide.

Common mistakes

• Choosing the desk before measuring the salon, then finding it blocks the door swing or the walkway
• Thinking about sockets last and running cables across the client side
• Squeezing two staff members behind a desk built for one
• Looking only at the design and forgetting storage; too few drawers means a cluttered desk top

You can see every model in our reception desk collection. Send a few photos of your entrance and rough measurements on WhatsApp and we will work out the right model and size for your salon together.