meet ELISABETH LEARY/ salon owner and color director

View Elisabeth's Work

From coloring friends hair in her bathroom at 13 to training at Umi Salon in Boston, Elisabeth has always treated hairdressing as an art form. With experience ranging from local beauty shops to top salons in New York and Boston, she’s developed a keen eye for detail and a commitment to excellence. The creation of WHITEROOM was inspired by her desire to build a space that reflects her passion for craft, creativity, and professionalism. Always striving to improve, she’s driven by the excitement of bringing her vision to life, and thrives when working with clients who have a bold, unique sense of beauty—like St. Vincent or Kim Gordon.

Where are you from?

Cape Cod, Mass / Boston

Where are you living now?

New Jersey

Who, and what, has influenced you?

I started coloring my friends’ hair in my bathroom at age 13, and knew
this was what I wanted to do.

At age 15, I started beauty school and worked in the local beauty shop sweeping and booking appointments. I’ve worked at every kind of salon. I started out in the mall and I worked at the top salons in Boston. I learned a lot along the way about the industry - what works, what doesn’t and why.

My real training was in Boston at Umi Salon under a couple that curated the most refined, beautiful salon space I had ever been in. Through them, I learned about hair; but more importantly, I learned to treat what I did as a craft and to hold myself and my work to a higher standard of excellence and professionalism. They trained my eye, taught me about art, fashion and creativity.

They changed my perception of what hairdressing should be.

Where do you find inspiration?

Since the start of WHITEROOM, my inspiration comes from the experience of building the space, creating the brand, filling the room with amazing people and the excitement of having a vision and watching it become a reality. And always striving to make it better.

Who is your dream client?

St. Vincent! It’s always cool to work on someone whose perception of beauty is more creative, maybe even a little… off.

Kim Gordon. Blonde hair and bangs are my favorite. And a couple hours with the coolest, cool girl ever!