Barbers exist as long as there are beards - forever. 7 thousand years ago, they wielded sharpened stones or pointed river shells. And in ancient Egypt, the first shaving tools made of metal appeared. The profession of a barber at that time was very honorable - they not only shaved, but also healed. They healed as best they could. This tradition continued in the Middle Ages, when the scope of services of barbers expanded: they bled, pulled out teeth, and set fractures.
For the first time barbers appeared, of course, in London. Their guild was founded in 1308. They marked their barbershops with blue cylinders, and their surgeons with red ones. The services of barbers were more expensive and two centuries later both guilds merged. Since that time, a red-white-blue-striped top hat has been placed at the entrance to the barbershop. Adherents of another version believe that red means blood, blue means veins, and white means purity in which the procedures took place. We are skeptical about this option - there were rather muddy ideas about sanitary standards in those days. Modern barbers no longer provide medical services, but the tradition of designating barbershops as such has remained.
The fashion for wigs has deprived barbers of their former popularity for a long time. The 19th century brought them back to fame - the world's first hairdressing school opened in America. Along with her, barbershops appeared only for men's haircuts.
Barbershops are a kind of men's clubs. There they played billiards, read newspapers, drank whiskey and talked. European men adopted this tradition, which was forgotten when the safety razor was introduced. The barber profession was in danger of extinction during the heyday of the hippie movement. The story has a great sense of humor - the emergence of a movement with a similar name revived the barbers. We owe it to hipsters that in every city and every city block we come across the familiar red, white and blue top hat. A large number of retro barbershops in the center of Kyiv, on Obolon, Poznyaki and Troyeschina makes their owners more scrupulous in their approach to interior design. Architects and designers of our design studio Belik worked on one of the modern barbershops.
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A stylish barbershop is located in Kyiv, on Reitarska Street, in a historic building. Its space was enlarged, forming a two-story block with a staircase between the levels. On the ground floor, the owner planned to make a barbershop. And what did he want to place on the other? Learn more about this!
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The development of a design project for a barbershop in Kyiv took a little time - the customer already had experience in building his own hotel in Odessa, he is familiar with the rules of ergonomics and came to the first meeting with ready-made interior references that he liked. Our designers spent more time and effort on the project documentation and layout of the premises - the owner wanted to place as many objects on it as possible. For example, the reception desk has not only an informative function, but also a service one - an assistant will help the guest to sign up, answer questions, offer tea or coffee. Behind the counter there is a sink, a refrigerator, as well as all the necessary equipment to quickly treat a visitor.
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What is a barbershop? In addition to the fact that haircuts are done there, the barbershop is marked by a certain aesthetics - a combination of brutality, masculinity and classics. We introduced all the details of the classic interior into the interior, giving them a modern sound - the deer heads on the walls are made of wood, the chandeliers of the traditional ornate classic shape are also made of this material.
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In the barbershop, we have planned a lounge area where guests can relax, chat and establish personal, and often business relationships. It happened in classic American salons and it will happen in this barbershop. You will come to the barbershop on Podil, to the barbershop on Shulyavka, or to the barbershop we created on Reytarskaya - you will plunge into the atmosphere of the men's club, marked by a stylish interior.
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The style of the space emerged quickly. I had to work hard on the project documentation. For example, in order to maintain height, we did not hide communications under the false ceiling. We painted the concrete black and laid utility lines over it. The solution is simple at first glance. However, for its successful implementation, we had to create drawings in which we showed how to beautifully arrange the wiring so that it creates the impression of a web, whose pattern emphasizes the brutality of the ceiling.
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A haircut in this barbershop will turn into a real aesthetic experience. Partially, we exposed the historical brickwork to emphasize the traditions that the masters and owner of this barbershop adhere to. We matched the color of the masonry with parquet boards and ceiling slats.
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The whole space was created according to the classical canons - in the lounge area, guests are warmed by a fireplace, and a TV takes the place of a picture on the wall. To dilute the ascetic color scheme, we chose an accent ultramarine that brings freshness to the interior of the barbershop.
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We suggested making glass dividers for the stairs. They will protect guests, keep the “air” in the interior, and the reflections of the lamps on their surface will create an additional wow effect.
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For flooring, we chose a parquet board, which we combined with Spanish tiles. At the ends of the steps and in the areas where the masters work, their combination creates an unexpected effect.
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By the way, about the workplaces of hairdressers - we persuaded the owner of the salon to put four instead of five chairs for the comfort of guests and masters, and the chair for washing the head was placed in a room that is usually irrationally neglected - under the flight of stairs.
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Well, you've been waiting! The upper floor is the male kingdom, and the lower floor is given to women. An interesting marketing ploy - in order to attract more men to the barbershop, you need to interest women in it. And this boutique is also a hobby of the wife of the owner of the salon. She decided to open a store of exclusive clothes, shoes, handbags and accessories. We decided to turn a clothing boutique into an analogue of a men's club on the floor below and placed a lounge space in it, where girls will communicate, relax, try on shoes, sitting comfortably in easy chairs.
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The space has an elongated shape. To avoid "corridor" analogies, we "broke" the ceiling, partially making it mirrored, and on the walls at different levels we placed shelves and blocks for displaying clothes. The space turned out to be cozy and homely - a real home for real ladies.
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One of the requirements of the owner of the salon was to create a space for the kitchen, where the staff could warm up food and relax. The first thing you pay attention to when entering this interior is the refrigerator of the American cult company Smeg - this is how we emphasized the historical roots of the origin of all barbershops.
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The color of lemon, which we have chosen for the refrigerator, gives the interior freshness and serves as a harmonious partner for the menthol color - the facades and shelves of the corner kitchen area are painted in this color.
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In a small bathroom, we placed all the necessary equipment, hiding communications in pilasters with a rough, tactile surface.
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Lighting plays a decorative and functional role. We hid the LED strips in the beveled wall panels, creating an impressive light play.
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To make the space visually wider, one of the walls was partially covered with a mirror surface. We are sure that the attention of the guests will be attracted not so much by their reflection with a fashionable haircut and a neatly trimmed beard, but by graffiti depicting an owl, a symbol of wisdom and knowledge.
Owls were especially revered in Ancient Egypt, from which we began a fascinating story about a new interior design project for a barbershop in the center of Kyiv. In ancient times, the owl was also a symbol of prosperity and wealth. One of the attributes of their achievement is a stylish appearance - guests come to this barbershop for it. Behind him and for fresh visual emotions.
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The protagonist of the old cult film "Old Man Hottabych", having got into this barbershop and seeing his overgrown beard in the mirror, would undoubtedly decide to tidy himself up. Modern "hottabychs" do not bring themselves to such desolation - they often visit their masters and strive to choose salons with comfortable and stylish interiors. For such aesthetes, we created the interior of the barbershop on Reitarskaya.
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The owner of the premises invited our designers to work when the construction and preparatory phase was completed - he went deep into the basement and got a space with a ceiling height of about 6 meters, which was divided by a floor slab, creating a two-story salon.
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