Exposed beams, a distressed cinderblock wall, a hand-carved mosaic steer head: Jenn Magri's brand-new home for Chaos Studio Salon + Spa is a marvelous mélange of her rustic bohemian design sensibilities. Jenn, who received an art scholarship in college, was very intentional about her design choices.
"I wanted something whimsical in every room," she says. "But it's very hard to do that and still have a good flow in all the spaces. I'm real big on fluid flow in design."
What overall vibe was Jenn going for with her choices?
"A sisterhood," Jenn answers. "Chaos is all about the experience. That’s what sets us apart."
LOBBY: "'Black Betty,' the custom steer head by Skull Bliss, is one of the first things I bought for the new building. She's named after my dad's favorite karaoke song. Betty's the centerpiece when people walk in. She's all handcrafted. Somebody actually carved out both horns and put all those beautiful mosaic pieces on by hand. I stare at it daily."
LASH ROOM: "I had them demo all the drop-ceilings. That opened up this room so much more. Shiplap wood on the ceiling from Tkalcac Lumber sawmill, basket-weave chair rail, and swan wallpaper that looks like eyelashes. Furnishings are vintage, from stores around here. That gets lots of reactions from the vintage store owners when they come: ‘Oh, that’s from my place!’”
FLOOR: "At the last salon, we really wanted to do stamped concrete, but we couldn't. I had them put green accents into the grey color. We’ll never have to change it—it's super-durable, it doesn't stain, it's easy to clean, it's not slippery.
"The bolt in the flooring represents empowerment. A big part of what we do here is empower women to feel better about themselves."
COLOR BAR: The highlight of this area is a functional garage door, which retracts to let in sunshine and fresh air. "Every chance we get, we have it open," Jenn says. “Clients just love sitting there. It's everyone's favorite seat in the house."
POWDER ROOM: "Everybody who comes in uses the bathroom, so the powder room was super-important to me. The black wildflower wallpaper is from Spoonflower—it makes you never want to leave the place. And the paint under the chair rail is a really freaking cool dark green—'Jasper' from Sherwin-Williams.”
WASH HOUSE: "Spoonflower wallpaper is on the ceiling here, so when you're getting shampooed you see the sky and waves. Custom sliding doors from that same sawmill, with handles from Australia, completely section this area off. There's different music in here, the bubble light from Wayfair: it's quiet and tranquil. People love the head massage, so I wanted a sanctuary atmosphere.”
Chaos client Melissa Smiglewski, getting her hair washed, adds, "The music with the waves, I feel relaxed. I can almost see the waves moving. I love it!”
EXTERIOR: "We limewashed the stone. My dad thought I was nuts. So I said, ‘I’m gonna do it myself,’ and he was like, ‘God, no, I'll get the scaffold.’ At night, all lit up, it’s stunning."
Chaos's hairstyles are stunning too. Taleya Kelly has been a Chaos hair and lashes client for eight years. Her striking raspberry locks are Jenn’s handiwork.
"Jenn and I like to mix it up, do fun things," Taleya says. "I've had pretty much every color under the sun, and I've never left here unhappy."
Taleya's current red is a far cry from her summer color.
"For summer, my hair was almost black—a really dark, dark burgundy. When I showed her I wanted light strawberry blonde, we didn't know if we could get it this light. It took two appointments, and even the in-between color I loved, but today it turned about perfectly. This is exactly what I wanted."
"The way you feel here," Jenn says, "it’s unexplainable. You've got to come in and see for yourself. My manager does tons of tours daily, and we're getting 80 new clients a month. It’s unbelievable!"
To experience the new Chaos Studio Salon + Spa, visit chaosstudiosalon.com