- Interior
This designer focused on creating a comfortable environment, a beautiful oasis for self-care. Natural materials, raw textures, a soft colour palette and undulating shapes of the decorative elements immediately reminded us of a sandy beach. Using the wabi-sabi philosophy, the use of raw materials and simple lines, Shereen Ashraf managed to create a minimalist beauty salon. More so, one that exudes pure luxury.
The designer's love for design developed through projects and time. ‘With every project I completed and with the big steps I took, the passion and love for design began to emerge on the horizon,’ we hear. Now, for her, it is not just a 'love of design', it is a real addiction to achieve perfection in every project she takes on. For instance, someone once told her that you know your passion when you start your days early.Starting her day at 6:30 am, Shereen Ashraf immediately started her passion: designing.Her passion became her lifestyle.Design literally changed everything in the designer, so she developed knowledge and experience about design theory and applications to know herself better. Above all, to know why she is passionate about it. For her, self-discipline and management go hand in hand with passion so that she keeps perspective and keeps creating designs. ‘You won't necessarily love everything you do, but your passion will keep you motivated to do it,’ she advises young designers. Suddenly wanting to share this, she looked for a way of sharing her thinking through her creations. And with every feedback she received, she became more eager to share more and more projects and go public. 
Paying attention to every detail is rule number one for Ashraf, the second rule is to design everything as it was for yourself. Every time, she imagines herself as the client, what he/she likes and what not, and afterwards she starts designing as it was for her with attention to every little detail. Her sophisticated yet emotional interiors, all with her signature minimalist touch, immediately caught our eye. We would like to take you through one of her projects, a conceptual beauty salon.Shereen Ashraf's main task was to break away from the traditional perception of a conventional salon. We think she more than succeeded in doing so. We spoke to the designer to find out all about his design approach and how it inspired the different elements in this Oman salon.
Casual lighting evokes an atmosphere of relaxation
Modesty, intimacy, roughness, asymmetry and a look to the future are the key elements of this wabi-sabi-inspired beauty salon in Oman. Thus, designer Ashraf chose raw and unprocessed materials, simple shapes and minimal lines. The challenge in this project was that the client wanted a sense of luxury in the beauty salon. This was answered by choosing round dark glass shapes in the manicure area, as well as through the use of red metal sculptures to evoke that right atmosphere of luxury. The client immediately fell in love. 
The salon is designed as a hidden gem off Oman's busy streets. It embraces the wabi sabi approach to design and materiality. The modern and organic aesthetic of the interior provides a refreshing contrast to the heavier decorative elements. Her first step was to bring the spaces together using flowing, seamless lines. The concept of flowing spaces was complemented by many details that were then generated according to associative principles. Flowing means soft, relaxed, pleasing to the eyes and pleasant to the touch. Why not design the interior of a beauty salon to influence all five human senses? If not all five, taste can be set aside for a while and “cooperate" with the other four. Upon entering, every client is immediately given a warm welcome at the entry desk that immediately breaks all beauty industry stereotypes. The raw materials are enhanced by the visible details of formwork and the highly structured scene that greets customers. Together with the casual lighting, it evokes an atmosphere of relaxation. Here you wait your turn relaxed.
Want to read more about this impressive project? You can read about it in the October 2023 edition of Imagicasa Magazine.
Design and visualisation by Shereen Ashraf
Text by Elke Aerts