You’ve decided to design and build a custom home! Before you contact a designer like Acipe Design, or think about breaking ground, there are some things to get off the To Do List right away. Like dreaming up your perfect layout and everything in it. Multiple bedrooms and bathrooms, a gourmet kitchen, a walk-in pantry big enough to hold all your dry good and small appliances, and the list may go on. But those are just some of the basics to consider. Custom can mean whatever you want, and what your budget can handle.
Next, think about your lifestyle outside of your house. What do you think of? Do you think of dragging yourself to the gym for a daily or five-times-a-week workout? Do you wish you didn’t have to pack up all your gear and drive to the gym, only to drive home tired and sweaty? Consider adding a home gym space to your plans.
Whether you’re planning for your home gym before construction or looking to convert an existing space, we can help!
Table of Contents
Choose a Location
Whether you’re including your home gym during the planning phase of your custom home, or you’re repurposing a room in your existing home, location of your home gym is key. Try to choose an area where there’s plenty of natural light, but you won’t get baked in the sun during your workout. If you need quiet to focus on a more calming workout like yoga or pilates, consider placing the gym away from “public” areas like the living room, kitchen, or bathroom.
You may choose an area with easy access to an outdoor deck or patio so you can take some of your routine outside and soak up some Vitamin D at the same time. If your outdoor oasis includes a pool or hot tub, you can cool off and soothe sore muscles without walking through the entire house to get there.
Measure Your Space
If you’re including a home gym in your custom home build, you can likely skip this step. It will be on your blueprints and you can take the dimensions from there. If you’re planning to convert a room or space, measure the room – and write down the measurements – so you can plan accordingly.
The size and type of gym equipment you purchase will depend on if you have a space big enough to hold it all. You may dream of a treadmill, elliptical machine, a full set of free weights, a bench press – making your home gym look like the one you currently workout in – but if there’s not enough space, you’ll have to decide which is most important for you.
Ensure Ample Power is Available
In our article about How to Plan for Future Expansion in Custom Home Design, we discussed the need to ensure your plumbing and electrical systems can handle the increased load of your bigger dreams. Home gyms need power for like treadmills, machines with features like heart rate monitors, and maybe even a big screen TV for learning a new workout or watching the news while getting your steps in.
Paint
You can go for plain white, or you can spice it up! Take a look at our article on The Role of Color in Interior Design and consider the mood you want for your gym. Yellow and orange are popular colors for their representation of energy, healing, and productivity – definitely things you want to feel while working out.
If your home gym will have more than one zone, consider a different color for each zone to help evoke the feelings you need during that portion of your workout.
Lighting
Lighting is an important part of any room in your home, but especially your gym. Access to natural lighting is best, so look to include large windows, glass doors, or even skylights or sun tunnels.
If access to natural light is limited, choose lighting fixtures and bulbs that produce a bright, sunlight-type glow to keep energy up for the best workout session possible.
Flooring
The beautiful hardwood flooring running through the rest of your home don’t need to stop at the threshold of your home gym. That being said, those hardwood floors aren’t necessarily designed to take the beating a gym needs to handle.
Run your beautiful flooring, but make sure to protect it for something durable that can handle gym traffic and activity. Consider installing one or more of these for comfort, protection, and durability in your home gym:
– Artificial grass
– Foam tiles
– Rubber mats
– Rubber rolls
– Rubber tiles
– Rubber flooring
Storage
This will depend on what kind of equipment you want in your gym. You want your big machines like an elliptical or treadmill, but what about balance balls, yoga mats, resistance bands, and other smaller equipment that may get lost or misplaced during the course of your workout. Some storage solutions to consider:
–Wardrobe-style cabinet w/shelves
– Storage cubes
– Built-in shelving
– Wall hooks
– Moveable open shelving unit
The staff at Acipe Design can help you choose the best storage solutions for your needs!
Mirrors
Depending on your space, you can choose a full-length mirror placed strategically in a corner, or go for wall-hung mirrors. Not only will they help reflect light to make the room feel bigger, you can use them as a focal point when going through your routine.
Gym Equipment
Once you have the room ready, it’s time to fill it with your preferred workout equipment. The list is up to you and your needs – think of the equipment you use most during your workouts at the local gym.
– Treadmill
– Elliptical
– Free weights (w/rack)
– Bench
– Yoga mats
– Balance balls
– Resistance equipment
– and more – it’s up to you!
Fuel Up & Cool Down
Eating healthy and drinking plenty of water are the best ways to supplement and balance your workout with other healthy practices. Give yourself easy access to energy bars, fresh fruits or veggies, protein powder mixes, or whatever else you use to fuel up or refill to keep your workout going smoothly.
Additionally, don’t forget to hydrate before, during, and after your routine. Having plenty of water at the ready is a great way to keep your energy up and keep from overheating while going through each routine. You can keep a little fridge stocked with water and snacks, or add a water cooler to the corner of the room so you’re not running to the kitchen to refill should you run out.
Final Thoughts
Just like the rest of your custom home, your home gym is a highly personal space that should be tailored to your needs and wants. The staff at Acipe Design will sit down with you and listen to those desires and help you create the home gym of your dreams.
Contact us today!