Award-winning Dorset beauty salon on the challenges & benefits of renovating period properties

By Rebecca Hitchon | 31 May 2025 | Feature, Salon & Spas

Recently relocating to the town of Beaminster, The Painted Nail is a salon and academy comprising two period properties.

“I felt it was time to relocate the business, as we had outgrown our previous space,” says owner, Toni Rodway. “After searching for a new property for months, I fell in love with a grade 2 listed building. We took on two period properties: a previous skittle alley for the original hotel and the former stables for the coach horses.

“I completely underestimated how difficult it would be to renovate the buildings. Sweat, blood and literal tears have gone into transforming the space, but it has turned out beautifully,” Toni continues. “It includes luxury pedicure and staged nail spaces, a tanning area, four beauty rooms in the other side of the building and a hairdressing space. We plan to host summer events, using the outdoor space we’ve acquired.”

Another standout feature is the salon’s Scratch magazine wall. “The space has vaulted period ceilings and I thought ‘what better way to showcase the magazine that I have read for over twenty years?‘,” reveals Toni. “We’ve collated many great covers to create a real talking point in the salon.”

Toni, who boasts 23 years’ industry experience, details how beneficial the move has been for the business: “Beaminster is a gorgeous town in the Dorset countryside, full of great businesses, and The Painted Nail sits in a beautiful courtyard in the heart of it. We have been trading and growing for six years, thanks to our fantastic, loyal clients, and now, we can bring our bespoke experience to more people.”

The nail pro’s passion for the industry led her to educating three years ago, and she became a Glitterbels educator earlier this year. “Glitterbels offers high-quality education to students and I am passionate about raising industry standards, so hope to add more teaching days to my schedule,” Toni tells Scratch. “The brand also provides a fantastic range of products to accommodate all clients and trends. The results they create ensure we have very happy clients!”

The Painted Nail team.

Some of these clients have been visiting Toni for 20 years, and can choose from treatments from Dermalogica facials to luxury pedicures, holistic massages and aesthetics, carried out by The Painted Nail’s team of nine. “This amazing team strives to provide clients with a welcoming experience and high-quality treatments, and goes above and beyond each day,” Toni details. “I am also incredibly proud of my daughter, who is a talented nail tech, beauty therapist and Dermalogica facial specialist, so I’m helping to build her future too.”