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| Design Matters |
 DESIGNING WITH THE SENSESby Angela Testa Interior Designer |
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| Creating and building a spa is a huge undertaking, not to mention a large investment. The ultimate goal of this venture is to develop a successful and profitable business. Success isn't necessarily relevant to the size of the spa, or its intricacy of design. These aspects are usually appropriate to the diversity of services that will be offered, and the type of clientele you would like to attract. Before investing your time and money, think of the things, other than great service, that will make your spa the "spa of choice" in your area. You want your investment to be profitable. You want your spa to be the one that offers a most pleasurable experience to every single one of your customers. Satisfied customers are the ones who come back time and time again, and are a major factor in developing a lucrative business venture. How can you design your spa to entice your customers into coming back again and again? If you design your spa with the senses in mind, you will have a greater chance of achieving repeat business. Being aware of things that are pleasing is the first step to designing with the senses. Making sure that your client has a pleasurable experience, one that will make him or her a loyal customer, requires incorporating sentient pleasures into the basic design. Tune into your customer's senses. You need to become cognizant of the need to incorporate sensual elements into your design. These factors will heighten your client's awareness of the environment you've created, and allow them to respond, both consciously and subconsciously, to things that are pleasing. As we walk this journey known to us as "life,” we often take for granted the gifts that God has bestowed on us as a means of experiencing and appreciating our every day activities. Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching are all direct links to our inner feelings of beauty, serenity, comfort and pleasure and wellness. Why not use all of the five senses, our gifts, as a "resource center" to design your spa? Why not make sure that all five of the senses are used to enhance the function of your spa's design? Lets get started! Sight The first room of the spa, the reception or entry area, should be the most pleasing to the customer's eye. The area should have ample room to move around, rather than have a crammed appearance. The furniture, floor covering and wall covering should be color coordinated and exemplify good taste. The lighting should be soft and subtle. All of this can be done with a limited budget, if required. Your client's senses get feedback the second he or she enters your spa. At that moment, your client gets his or her first visual impression of your spa. The first impression always has the greatest and longest lasting effect on the customer. Beauty, neatness and cleanliness contribute to the overall appearance. Carefully select and neatly display some reading material for your client's entertainment. This would be a good opportunity to promote your signature treatments. Sound Designing with the sense of sound requires compromise and ingenuity. We must recognize the need for the facility to be functional, and yet create a soothing aural transition from the din of the outside world. A reception area has multi-purposes. First of all, it's a location where customers are greeted. But also, it's a place where administrative duties are being performed. Phones ring, appointments are made, and voices are heard. Keep in mind that your client has just come in from the outdoors where the sound of traffic is prominent. It would be a good idea to create a smooth transition where the ear is concerned. The nature of the sounds we want to create doesn't necessarily have to possess soft and serene like qualities. We can save that for some of the treatment rooms. Perhaps the sound of nature, in the form of water cascading down into a miniature fountain would be an appropriate introductory sound for a pleasurable spa experience. It would be loud enough to offset the background sounds of the phones ringing and people talking, and yet the sound of a waterfall is rather soothing and pleasurable. Music should be incorporated into the design of the spa for all of the rooms. Music is used to set a mood. Each treatment room in the spa should provide a different category of music so that each room becomes an adventure, one where the music sets the tone. The volume should medium in tone. All this will be a definite and most welcomed contrast to the cacophony in the world your customer has just left behind when he or she entered your spa, and closed the door behind them. Smell Lets further satisfy the senses with the smell of strong fragrances such as rose petals or a fresh bouquet of flowers on the reception desk. The pleasant aroma would be immediately acknowledged as your customer walks to the counter to announce their arrival. A display of fresh potpourri in a nearby setting, or perhaps nearby scented candle would offer array of pleasing scents. Be very careful to keep this area, as well as all other areas, free of unpleasant smells. An example would be the receptionist's uneaten lunch consisting of half of a hot dog with onions or sauerkraut, left in the trash receptacle under his or her desk. Unpleasant odors will diminish and detract from the perfect experience. Aromatherapy prepares the customer for future enjoyment at your facility and should be used in all the treatment rooms as a tool to maximize the spa experience. Touch Touch is the sense that has a direct relationship to physical comfort. Always provide sufficient heat and air conditioning, as it affects everything you touch. For example, your clients may touch the floor with their bare feet. If the room is cool, the floor will be cool as well. Do everything you can to prevent your client from getting chilled by touch. When designing for comfort, it's important to select fabrics for upholstery that are soft and lush. Avoid using synthetic fabrics such as rayon, polyester, and nylon because they contain plastic-like fibers, which are hard and stiff. Stick to natural fibers such as cotton, linen, wool, or silk. Velvet, chintz, satin, and flannel are cotton derivatives. Fabrics with no-element would also be appropriate selections. They include felt, vinyl, suede, leather and ultra-suede. Make sure that the furniture has sufficient padding. Double and triple wrapped foam for massage and treatment tables should be a must. Overstuffed couches or chairs for the waiting area would be an excellent choice. Taste Imagine that your client is now standing in a beautiful waiting area. The trickling sound of a waterfall and the delightful smell of fresh potpourri are nearby. Slightly upbeat, but relaxing music can be heard in the background. Your client checks in, and has a fifteen-minute wait before appointment time. The client looks for a comfortable place to sit, and chooses the overstuffed, soft and lush velvet chair. He, or she, slowly sinks into the relaxed mode while noticing the reading material displayed at an arms length. So far, we have done a good job of providing basic tools for arousing the senses. But we need to go one step further so that we don't leave anything out. We need to entice the taste buds. We need to take advantage of all opportunities to win the clients approval. Remember, the first impression is the longest lasting and most impressionable. It would be a good idea to include into the design, an area where your client can help themselves to herbal teas, coffee, cocoa etc. You may want to offer complimentary biscuits or other treats as well. Budget the cost into the price of the treatments. Remember that your customer is coming to your spa to be pampered. The display of treats should be set up in close proximity to the seating area so the customer knows whom they are for, without having to ask. Through this exercise you have accomplished envisioning designing with the senses. Your customer is situated in a visually pleasing environment, smelling great aromas, listening to soothing background sounds, sinking into soft comfort, and consuming warm and friendly treats that appeal to the taste buds. Each and every one of their senses is simultaneously experiencing pleasant activity. None have been left out of the formula. The pavement has been set for the services to begin. Your client is already comfortable with the environment. You can now bring them to higher level of comfort and dazzle them with your talents for treatment. Be in tune to what they are experiencing naturally. Their reactors, meaning their senses, will tell the whole story about their adventure at your spa. Should you have any comments or questions, please communicate them through my email address: ydesignmatters@aol.com. |
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