This Melbourne Hair Salon Feels Like Your Coolest Friend’s Apartment

PUO Salon, a striking new hair studio by Aussie hairdresser Danny Puopolo, has opened in Melbourne’s heritage-listed Century Building on Swanston Street.

The custom-designed space is the work of Melbourne creative studio Thank You, Baby (TYBB) run by Tyler Hawkins of Ty Designs and floral artist Ross Jenkins, aka Bloom Boy. The duo are known for their signature camp style, seen in the design of last year’s Melbourne Fringe Festival hub, Australian Open installations and other set design projects.

At PUO, the brief was “to challenge [the] conventional salon experience”, Jenkins tells Broadsheet. “Danny really wanted it to feel like you were at his apartment. It kind of [blurs] the lines [between] a service space and that feeling you get when you’re at someone’s apartment or a boutique hotel.”

Bold shades of bubblegum pink and cherry red dominate the space – partly in response to the art deco building’s existing colour palette, Jenkins says. “There’s lots of red and burgundy inside the Century Building and inside the hallways.”

The salon is divided into three distinct zones: the kitchen, the lounge and the wet room – each designed with a different function and aesthetic choices.

The lounge, where colour consultations and styling sessions take place, could easily be mistaken for Puopolo’s living room. You’ll find lipstick-pink chairs from Future Classic, crimson coffee tables from Fenton & Fenton and a red boucle ottoman from Soda Objects. “We brought in furniture that’s usually used for residential spaces,” Jenkins says.

Statement chain-link lighting drapes over a communal burgundy table from Brisbane furniture label Oh Paddi. Plus, each hair station is complete with arched full-length mirrors, red wall sconces and a sculptural marble plinth from Fleur Studios.

The wet room – purposefully dark and devoid of natural lighting – takes care of hair washing, which is designed to be a “ritualistic” experience. “We really enclosed that zone,” Hawkins says. “It’s a juxtaposition to the main space. A sexier, moodier station to finish off your experience at the salon.” It features two reclining wash chairs, a custom pendant light, red tiled walls and a line-up of lush Oribe hair products.

Inspired by Puopolo’s nonna’s kitchen, the salon’s all-red kitchen acts as part colour-mixing lab, part laid-back area where guests can linger. “It’s the heart of the home, the heart of Danny’s salon,” Jenkins says. There’s a coffee machine, glassware from German brand Hein Studio and a pink leopard statue from House Of Leopard.

PUO Salon
Century Building, Suite 604/125 Swanston Street, Melbourne

Hours
Tue 10am–4pm
Wed to Fri 10am–7pm
Sat 9am–4pm

puosalon.com.au
@puosalon