How to Set Up Your Massage Room

Setting plays a large part in providing services and products to people. From the nicely furnished offices of large corporations, to the sanitized tables and booths of fast food businesses—setting is the ultimate defining factor in creating that ideal first impression. This is certainly no different for massage therapists. It is very important that your clients feel comfortable in the environment you’ll be using to give them a relaxing and rejuvenating massage.

Whether you work at a massage business or you run your own from home, there’s a lot you can do to customize your own space to work best for both you and your client. However, to keep things simple, here are five easy tips on how to set up your massage room:

1. Maximize your working space

The number one priority of your massage room should be to use your space to its full potential. No, this doesn’t mean filling up every corner with everything you need—quite the opposite, in fact. By “full potential,” we mean using it in its most efficient form. The best way this can happen is when your room is clean, organized, and free of clutter.

Here are just a few things you can do to achieve this step:

• Filter out unneeded items — To lessen the amount of clutter, keep only what you need to perform your duties in a single session.
• Organize your supplies and equipment — Keep all supplies and equipment neatly stored and handy, but also discreet. See #4 for more details.
• Keep a wide space for you to walk around the room — Position your massage table, desk, shelves, and other large objects in a position that allows you to freely walk around.

2. Keep the room free from distractions

Nothing ruins a relaxing massage better than distractions. Even small ones like background noise can be bothersome to your clients, which is why it’s important you work in a space that eliminates those distractions. Keep your room free from these two common distractions:

• Noise — Activity from outside the room, or ambient background noises like traffic, chatter, or even appliances. Use relaxing music to drain out what you can, but overall try to use a room that doesn’t come with these noises.
• Unwanted light — Light from the room next door, or light from a window. Use door padding or a large thick blanket to take care of this distraction.

3. Perfect your massage table

Your client’s first impression of your massage room is very likely to be your massage table, making this a high priority tip. Your massage table setup with vary depending on your table, your room, your resources, and other such factors, but generally you’ll want to keep these two qualities in mind:

• Comfort — Is the massage table comfortable to lay on for long periods of time? To help this quality, use extra padding from a thin foam mattress, or extra layers of sheets or towels. The space near the face is also crucial—make sure you have a comfortable face cradle or pillow for your table.
• Design — Is the table pleasing to look at with the rest of the room? To help this quality, use sheets with an attractive pattern of your choice, and that also uses the same colors used in your room.

4. Keep your supplies and equipment handy, but discreet

It will be most helpful to you to have your supplies and equipment stored in a space that’s easily accessible, but also neatly stored. This will help to avoid interrupting a session with your client, as well as increase room efficiency. One suggestion for this tip is to keep a simple table and cabinet next to the massage table, though you can also experiment with other storage methods.

5. Use simple and elegant decorations

Even a simple design like tapestry walls, a plant, and a set of candles can do so much for a massage room. Decorations add luxury to a small space, but it can also add clutter if not done right. You may need to brainstorm different decoration combinations to discover what you feel does best for your massage room, but try to stick to something that keeps simplicity and elegance.

Here are just a few simple decorations you can add to your massage room:

• Plants or flowers (fake or real, whichever you feel you can handle the best)
• Candles (unscented or electric)
• Lamps
• Paintings or other framed pictures
• Decorative plates
• Mirrors (likely just one for the wall)
• Wall tapestries

We hope these tips have been helpful. But outside of this brief and simple list, there’s still much more you can do to customize your massage room. Let loose with your creativity and expertise to create a space that maximizes efficiency for your work, as well as greatly enhances your client’s massage experience. And as always, don’t forget to protect your massage business with a massage liability insurance policy.

Do you have a suggestion for this list? Anything you can’t live without in your massage room? Let us know on our Facebook page!