Regardless of what kind of salon you’re planning to host (topic-focused, musical, poetic or otherwise), the recipe for successful hosting is always the same. It’s pretty difficult to not have an excellent time when you create a healthy mix of interesting people, great vibes and comforting food all served up with love by a welcoming host. Here’s a quick list of the essential ingredients for a delicious salon so you can see at a quick glance that not only are you more than qualified to undertake the sacred act of hosting, it’s going to be a blast.

  • A relaxed and authentic host – Salon hosting is a terrible time to try to be perfect. Just be you, the relaxed, chill you. Never try to be someone you aren’t! If you can’t cook, fine, order in.
  • A warm and welcoming vibe – don’t try to be fancy!
  • An eclectic mix of guests of all ages and backgrounds. Be thoughtful about to whom you extend an invite. Nothing more boring than an evening of all attorneys or all doctors or all whatever profession UNLESS that is the aim of your salon.
  • A curious host who asks questions.

Most of the breakthrough discoveries and remarkable inventions throughout history, from flints for starting a fire to self-driving cars, have something in common: They are the result of curiosity. The impulse to seek new information and experiences and explore novel possibilities is a basic human attribute.

Francesca Gino, Harvard Business Review (2018)
  • Keep everything as LOW stress as possible. Life is worrying enough; gathering friends should add to your life, not make it more stressful. No need for formal invitations or fancy food and drink.
  • Conversation – salons are ALL about the conversation. You’re the host, so it’s on you to keep the conversation going and not let any loudmouths monopolize the gathering.
  • Music – who doesn’t love music? What a great way to give some airtime to local musicians that are in your orbit, who’ve been dying to perform but weren’t able to during the pandemic.
  • Lighting – warm, welcoming mood lighting is inviting and makes your home come alive. Overbearing, white fluorescent lighting makes you feel like you’re in a hospital, so please pick up a few soft, colored bulbs – they’ll go the distance when it comes to premium vibe-setting.
  • Have fun! A happy host is a magnetic host that puts everyone in the right frame of mind. You can make your salon as simple or as complex as you want. There are no rules and you are the host, so you do you!