Backwash? Ew!

The things they don't teach you in law school! I've had my hair cut hundreds of times and never once did I stop to consider what the chair I was sitting in to have my hair washed was called. Turns out it's called a backwash. Who knew? I thought backwash was the little chewed up pieces of food my kids used to leave in my glass after they just had to have a drink of whatever it was I happened to be enjoying.

Kate spent months finding the right backwash units. We worked with our designers to create a calm and tranquil room where our guests would be able to relax and enjoy a scalp massage, away from the bustle and noise of the hair salon. We picked out a system that met our vision and included it in our plans. Then we hit the first of several backwash snags - the sinks we wanted, which were going to be integrated into custom-built cabinetry, were three times the price we had been quoted. That wasn't in the budget. Plan two was beautiful stand alone units that were in stock and ready to be shipped from a distributor in the United States. Until the distributor wanted us to hand over copies every piece of identification and personal information he could dream of, simply because the products were going to cross the border. Hello, identify theft? Plan three, similar units sourced in Montreal from a supplier who spoke so little English his emails were a welcome source of amusement during the weeks we were communicating with him.

Last week the backwash units arrived and we opened one up to have a look. They are gorgeous, sleek black leather and chrome. I can't wait to see them installed. Which brings me to yesterday. The plumber needed me to make a call on the positioning of the units within the hair washing room. He needed to know if the chairs should be evenly spaced in the room, if we required space between the units so the hair stylists could walk around the chairs and how much leg room we needed. The pipes were being laid in the floor as we spoke, so there was no time to talk to someone who had dealt with backwash chairs before - I was it. I was suddenly the backwash specialist. So, I did what you have to do in law all the time, I looked at the problem, made a snap decision and then told them what I wanted convincingly so they wouldn't think I didn't have a clue what I was talking about!

If you had asked me two years ago to solve a backwash dilemma, I would have told you to just pour out your drink and get a new one.