Interior design is all around us, and inspiration for home updates doesn’t have to come strictly from Pinterest, Instagram or the pages of a magazine (though we think you’d find some here). We think the best home design results come when people draw ideas from everywhere, including unexpected places like a hair salon or boutique.

The 100-year-old space that is home to Salon du Sud and Salon du Sud Boutique is the kind of unexpected place we’re talking about. Owner Brittney Thrower’s goal when she brought her business into the space was to make clients feel at home. From the front porch entrance to the accent walls to the big windows that bring in tons of natural light, read on for how the details of Thrower’s retail space can be easily brought home.

Curb Appeal

One of the first things you notice when you’re facing the salon is the light blue porch. Thrower wanted to keep the original plantation style alive. “Back in the day, they would color the porch light blue to cool it down from the heat; I didn’t want to take the history away from the home,” she says. It’s also a great way to add a fun pop of color in a place you least expect. A dark green encircles the front door and window frames, for example. The darker color contrasts with the porch and creates dimension and depth while keeping it from looking too flat.

Grand Entrance

Every grand entrance needs a grand chandelier, and while this one was original to the house, it was very dusty, dull and even missing some bulbs and candle cases. “I went to Home Depot and bought a clear polish, and after cleaning it up really well with about three to four coats of the polish, it looked like a whole new chandelier,” she says.

On the wall and front of the reception desk, Thrower added open shelving to house for-sale products. “We added the light-stained wooden shelves with black hardware to hang them; this really pulled out the wood floors and gave the whole entrance a new feel,” says Thrower. If used in a home, the shelves could display everything from plants to books to heirlooms.

A Work of Art

One way to showcase your personality while also keeping the character of your space is to use old, antique window frames with the glass still attached, and paint something you love on them. “Using windows for art allows your wall color to be shown behind the art itself while keeping the room less busy,” says Thrower. And if you’re not much of an artist, it’s always a good idea to support a local one. “All the artwork in the salon is from Joseph Turpin with Turpin Art; he knew exactly the style I was going for and painted some very delicate flowers for us.”

Southern Accent

Another great way to add character to a space is through the use of an accent wall. If you’re going for a more rustic style for your space, a wood wall might do the trick. For the salon, Thrower kept a few of the wood walls from the original house because she wanted to keep the personality. “We left one wall in each room with its naturally distressed wood shiplap to act as an accent wall, and also kept it on top of the fireplaces. It gave the room some warmth,” says Thrower.

Another unexpected addition comes in the form of a garden wall. This trend is growing in popularity throughout restaurants and other businesses, bringing some life and vibrance to the space by bringing the outdoors in.

If you’re up for the challenge, you can create your own masterpiece to add to your accent wall. For example, Thrower noticed the amount of shampoo bottles they would go through at the salon and decided to create a fun art piece to hang up in the washroom. After cleaning out the empty bottles, she added some faux succulents, and voilà—a fun art piece that ties the space together. “You could do the same in your home with used mason jars or spray-painted plastic jars,” says Thrower.

For more inspiration, take a look at more photos of Salon Du Sud in the gallery below: