After the final tutorial, I had the chance to visit a relative in Berlin, Germany. My relative owns a massage parlor in the city. During this trip, my mother traveled from Thailand to meet us here as well. I should mention that my mother and I were involved in the process of opening this massage parlor from the very beginning. My mother has a furniture and interior design business in Thailand, so she has extensive experience in this field. She has been running the company since I was 10 years old, and before that, she worked in furniture sales. After I graduated with my bachelor’s degree, I helped with the family business for a while before working as an employee at an e-commerce company, but I continued to work part-time with the family business.
At the initial stage of opening this massage parlor, I was responsible for buying the decor items as requested by her and sending them from Thailand to Germany. These items included uniforms for the masseuses, pillows, sheets, massage oils, and balms used for massage. This time around, it happened to coincide with her desire to renovate her shop. However, the condition for the renovation was that she could not close the shop as it would lead to a loss of income, and she couldn’t use any equipment that would produce noise or odor that might disturb the customers. So, the three of us went to a supply store together. Another requirement was that the materials used had to help prevent stains from the massage oils, as the current brown-painted walls would get stained every time a masseuse or customer got up, and the oil marks could not be cleaned, leaving blotchy stains.
Initially, I planned to replace the light bulbs with brighter ones, but that would have made the room too bright, which could make customers feel uncomfortable (most massage rooms do not have windows because customers want privacy, and dim lighting helps create a calm and relaxing atmosphere).
After selecting the materials at the store, we decided to use oil-coated wood, but only up to half the height of the wall to cover the oil stains. We chose white wood to make the room look more spacious and bright, but not too bright. We decided to keep the original wall color to avoid repainting, which could cause unpleasant odors for customers. We decided to renovate only one of the three rooms first to see the results and make any necessary adjustments without investing too much.
Feedback: The shop owner liked the renovation very much because it didn’t require a significant investment, the materials were easy to find, and the renovation was quick, minimizing the loss of income. The solution effectively addressed the problem of old stains and prevented new oil stains. Whenever a new stain appeared, it could easily be cleaned with a damp cloth, leaving no residue. Regarding aesthetics, the shop looked better and less plain. The massage room was brighter but not so bright as to make customers feel unsettled.