The corner: Maryam Ali

Maryam Ali, CEO of BloDry Bar, walks us through her salon and shares the inspiration behind the interiors

Maryam Ali, CEO of BloDry Bar, walks us through her salon and shares not only the inspiration behind the interiors but also why this salon is unique

Based in Cantt, Lahore we make our way to BloDry Bar, a trendy express salon offering everything from hair services to manicures to their famous, instant brightening seaweed facials. Our host Maryam Ali ushers us into her sleek space.

“I have been a resident of Cantt all my life, and the lack of a good, reputable, professional salon in Cantt was my biggest problem growing up. That, along with my lifelong passion for all things hair, was naturally the reason I choose Cantt as my flagship location,” Ali states.



Inspired by salons in New York the compact space is set up by Ali’s mother Nickie and interior designer Hamza Tarar. We observe the gleaming white floors on which the black, in-house make-up stations stand out. The stations maintain well-organised sterile tools, while white-framed mirrors serve as a division between the stations. White abstract grills enhance the grey tiled wallpaper, making the main wall the ‘hero’ of the salon. We discover that Hamza Tarar had proposed this unique idea. A white, lace-patterned counter resides in a corner ornamented with magazines and a vase filled with long, green stems, adding a relaxed vibe to the area.



“New York-style salons have been the main inspiration behind the design aesthetic of BloDry Bar. Whenever I visited a salon there, the minimalistic, efficient and clean feeling I got, always inspired me, hence that’s the ambiance I aimed for,” shares Ali.

As we take a seat on one of the comfortable, black armchairs, all set to get Essie’s ‘Bachelorette Bash’ painted on our nails, we notice how floating black cabinets have been added onto the off-white and silver leafing walls. These cabinets are full of products such as Fit Fibre, Zhoosh eyelashes and L’Oreal hair colour to name a few.



“Though I wanted a very clean feel, I realised that BloDry Bar had begun looking very sterile and hospital-like, so I gave the area a complete makeover. This included adding subtle yet trendy wallpaper and complementing, assorted, black floating cabinets,” our hosts explains.

We find ourselves admiring the art pieces adorning the salon wall, some of which are custom-made by Sana Dar and some are 3D art pieces from Nikita by Alina Rizvi. The art pieces not only add the right pop of colour to the salon, but also bring life to the walls.



The corner stays true to the revolutionary philosophy of an express, high fashion salon. It focuses on time-efficient, hygienic services in a clean and organised space, which evokes tranquillity and peace of mind. BloDry Bar matches with Lahore’s fast paced way of life and fulfils the demands of a modern working women, with ample style.