After months of planning, sourcing, and renovating, our home gym is finally complete- and I couldn’t be more excited to share the full tour with you! This is one of the final spaces in our basement to tackle, and now that it’s finished, I’m using it daily. Whether you’re planning a wellness corner, a full workout room, or are just looking for fun design ideas, I hope this room reveal sparks some inspiration. Let’s dive into the full reveal… click through for the tour, before photos, my design plan, sources, and my thoughts on how this space functions in our home.
If you missed any of this renovation and are interested in seeing the process, I’ll link my previous posts for you below! We knew this room would be a quick, easy, and budget-friendly space to remodel… here’s to hoping it gives us extra motivation to get in better shape this year. Click through these posts to see how it progressed:
- Home Gym Renovation: Before Images & Demo
- Home Gym Renovation Update: Drywall, Flooring, & Paint
- Home Gym Renovation Update: Wallpaper and Cabinetry
Ready to tour the totally finished space? Scroll on for the details and a closer look. I must say, I’ve been enjoying working out here every week.
Before & After: Basement Bedroom Turned Gym
What started as a basic, boring, and unfinished corner bedroom in our basement is now a modern, motivating space that feels better aligned with the rest of our home and aesthetic. My goal? I wanted to make this room feel like a natural extension of our interior style- while prioritizing functionality. We really wanted a designated place to workout. Here’s where it started, and how it looks today:
Before
- Boring gray carpet (with previous water damage)
- Cheap, hollow core, dated doors and hardware
- A non functioning closet
- Corner shelves
- An unsightly egress window
After
- Updated flooring (rated for a basement)
- Updated door and hardware
- Custom, built-in storage cabinets and floating shelves
- Thoughtful layout based on our fitness routines
- Updated window treatments
Designing a Home Gym That Actually Gets Used
I’m a firm believer there is no right way to design a designated home gym… it’s more about figuring out what best meets your workout needs and fits your space. I wanted ours to be beautiful, functional, and while small… give us adequate space to cross our fitness routine off the daily to-do list. Here are a few interior decisions that made my job designing this room much easier…
Selecting Equipment We Actually Use
These days, I’m not really doing cardio at home. I’ll walk or bike in our neighborhood, and I go to tennis once a week. I also enjoy pilates (my neighbor teaches and has a studio), so on the days I workout at home- I’m primarily using weights, practicing simple floor exercises, and stretching. Since our space is so small, this was our game plan or basic equipment list…
- Kettlebells
- Bench Press (Emmett’s non negotiable… we’ve had this set for 5+ years)
- Free Weights
- Yoga Mat (for my floor exercises)
- Yoga Blocks
- Resistance Bands
We actually decided to remove our Peloton because it took up too much space and we weren’t using it frequently. Emmett primarily relies on the bench press and weight set, while I’m doing free weights and floor exercises. Having extra space just made more sense for us, rather than cramming the bike back into the floor plan. This setup supports both of our fitness routines and keeps the room feeling open, instead of cluttered. Once we took a look at our goals and equipment list, it made floor planning and the design process pretty straightforward.
My Design Process (Embracing a Space in the Basement)
When moving into our home, we knew we would never use this small, sad space as a basement bedroom. It’s tucked into a dark corner and we already have a basement bedroom on the lower level of our home that is far more convenient, so this space felt like the right fit for unsightly gym equipment. For many years, it sat untouched with the aforementioned equipment, collecting dust. It wasn’t a very functional or motivating space to workout.
This room also posed some serious design challenges… it’s cramped, had little storage, part of the room has a short drop ceiling, and it lacks natural light (despite having an egress window). I decided to lean into the challenges.
I intended to change everything, but in an attainable, budget-friendly sort of way. These are the areas I focused on…
Built-In Storage
The existing closet doors didn’t work with the track and carpet. The location was also difficult to access, so we swapped the closet altogether for built-in storage. I came up with a sketch that would house all of our gear (including the yoga ball), and Emmett brought my vision to fruition. This room really benefitted from the rich walnut wood, adding some much needed warmth to the space.
The deep cabinet hides accessories and unsightly fitness gear, while the open shelving is ideal for baskets, towels, and extras. I splurged for a beautiful hand clipped nero marble mosaic tile for the backsplash, but decided to save on the countertop. It’s all about mixing high and low to achieve a stunning, yet within budget vignette.
We landed on solid surface for the counter. Check out this post for everything you need to know about solid surface countertops. It’s an easy and affordable choice if you’re on a tight budget.
Paint
Given the dark nature of this basement space, I decided to embrace a bold, black paint color (these are the top black paint colors designers always use). I selected a couple different finishes to capture the light and create depth… semi gloss on the trim and millwork, and flat on the walls. Check out my designer guide for choosing the best paint sheen or finish.
Window Treatments
The window in this room was pretty sad. I wanted to make the egress window feel larger and more intentional with a woven roman shade, layered with drapery panels. I also wanted to disguise the unsightly window well, by adding faux reeded glass window film.
Can you believe those beautiful pleated curtain panels are from Amazon? Granted, they did take a little work, but you can see my process here: the best budget curtains that look custom. I also shared an in-depth tutorial on how to train readymade curtains. I promise, it’s worth the time!
Flooring
We replaced the existing carpet with hardwood flooring to match the rest of our lower level. I shared our exact process and links here: how to install hardwood flooring in a basement. It’s important to choose a product that is rated for basements. I don’t love the way most rubber gym floors look or smell, so my solution was matching hardwoods with mats, if needed. Aesthetically speaking, it’s a better look.
Wallpaper
The wallpaper obviously steals the show in this room! I wanted to find something interesting, cool, fit for a gym, with a pattern that was dark and moody. This one checked all my boxes and I’m thrilled with how it turned out.
Anyone remember my design discussion on nude art? I instantly loved this print and it felt very me! Here’s to hoping gawking at those busts and chiseled abs will give me an extra boost of motivation to exercise, ha.
Millwork
We ended up leaving the existing crown moulding, casing, and baseboards, but the door certainly needed to be updated. We replaced the door and the hardware to match the others throughout our home. If you’re curious about that process, these posts should be helpful:
- How to Order & Replace An Interior Door (with my recommendations)
- How to Measure, Select, and Install Interior Door Hardware
Lighting
Aside from replacing and moving around some recessed can lights, the only fixture we added to this space was a small sconce. Is anyone else a fan of dim lighting when exercising? Probably because I’m usually hitting the gym in the early morning or later hours, but I never like it to feel overwhelmingly bright. Everything is on a dimmer and we added this fixture primarily for aesthetic purposes… to tie in the walnut cabinetry.
Shop the Look: Home Gym Sources
When sourcing for this room, I stuck to clean lines and modern finishes for a serene, yet industrious feel. I also tried to incorporate natural textures- like the linen curtains, nero marble tile, and wood flooring.
Click directly on each item below to be redirected.
I’ve tried to link every major item in our home gym- from fitness equipment to decorative accessories. My favorite? The freestanding weight set is a standout. Simple as it is, this tiered set feels more like sculptural art that was made for this space. It’s the perfect combination of form meets function, and it certainly has my designer stamp of approval. I opted for the neutral color, knowing it would give a crisp high contrast look against the dark wallpaper.
FAQ
That was a lucky vintage Facebook Marketplace find, that I gilded… I added gold and silver leafing to the frame. Photos don’t do it justice!
It’s ever-changing, but right now I workout Monday through Friday… I go to tennis once per week, pilates once a week, and the remaining three days… I workout at home. I’m primarily using weights and doing simple exercises. I’ve been using the Grow with Anna app for home workouts, and just follow along with her simple routine. It’s usually 30 minutes or less. I also enjoy walking and biking.
I keep the unsightly smaller items behind closed cabinetry and in woven baskets. For the larger items and equipment, you just have to embrace the utilitarian aesthetic. Luckily, there is some pretty fitness equipment to be discovered (like my weight set), but I try to keep things grouped together and embrace their functionality. We also keep a minimal equipment list to help maintain the tidy look.
I love pilates, but sadly- we don’t have enough space in this room for both the bench press and a reformer. We also lack ceiling height in half the room, making it a challenge for anything other than our bench press or a seated piece of equipment (maybe we’d swap it for a rowing machine?). I’ll also admit, committing to a weekly pilates class at my neighbor’s studio has been really good for accountability and socialization (since I work from home).
Tricorn Black by Sherwin-Williams… it’s always my go-to for a deep, rich look.
Thanks for following along with this renovation! Creating a home gym that feels stylish, calming, and functional was a challenge I surprisingly enjoyed… and now that it’s complete, I’m even more motivated to use it. From early morning sessions to stretching after a long workday, this space fits seamlessly into our home.
As always, let me know if you have any questions or want links to anything I didn’t mention. I hope this inspires your own renovation or fitness space- no matter how big or small! I can’t wait to hear your thoughts in the comments below. This ended up being a budget friendly room I’m really proud of, and have enjoyed using far more than expected.
The post Our Basement Home Gym Reveal appeared first on Room For Tuesday.
