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By
Kristin Hohenadel
Kristin Hohenadel
Kristin Hohenadel has written on design for publications including the New York Times, Interior Design, Slate, Fast Company, and the international editions of Elle Decor.
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Updated on 01/29/24
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Having a home gym is a cost-effective way to maintain your workout routine without having to leave the house. Depending on the size of your home, your budget, and your preferred ways to work up a sweat, there are myriad home gym ideas to help you create a dedicated at-home workout space in a corner of the basem*nt, attic, garage, spare bedroom, or a standalone space on your property like a shed or a barn.
Designing a home gym with a style that suits your home can make you feel motivated to exercise and use your new space. You can tailor the room to fit your interiors and your workout preferences, with everything from yoga mats to exercise machines, weightlifting equipment, resistance bands, and more at the ready.
Whether you're a yogi or a gym rat, these stylish home-based workout rooms in a range of sizes and layouts will keep you in shape and in style.
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Repurpose the Sunroom
The Novogratz turned this Berkshires sunroom into a small home exercise room with a hanging punching bag, whimsical lighting, space for a yoga mat, and a bright, leafy view.
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Paint the Walls Gray
This simple home gym set-up from Marea Clark Interiors includes soothing gray wall paint, low-slung pale wood open shelving, and a black-and-white photograph to give you something to look at while you sweat it out.
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Add Wallpaper
This home office workout space from Amy Leferink of Interior Impressions has a flowery green-and-white wallpaper accent wall that makes it feel as decorated as any other room in the house, and adds a focal point that detracts from the unsightly treadmill.
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Create a Zen Space
This repurposed tool shed yoga studio from Leanne Ford Interiors is a whitewashed, atmospheric designer yogi's dream, equipped with neutral-toned accessories that create a cohesive aesthetic and lend the space a tranquil zen feel.
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Hang Motivational Decor
Blogger Kelly Rinzema of The Lily Pad Cottage gave her small workout room a makeover with leftover paint, a stained wood paneled accent wall, and simple open shelving to house equipment. A framed motivational mantra on the wall keeps it light.
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Use the Space You Have
This NYC apartment home office workout space from interior designer Alvin Wayne keeps it simple with an exercise bike parked in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, conveniently located so that you can get your workout in no matter how busy your workday is.
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Add Open Equipment Storage
Kelly Rinzema of The Lily Pad Cottage used simple storage solutions concentrated along one wall to keep her equipment organized, accessible, and in plain sight. She added wall hooks to hang towels, hoodies, and jump ropes; wall racks to store and display yoga mats; simple metal shelving for storing weights; and a row of storage baskets to neatly stow exercise bands.
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Convert a Spare Room
This simple set-up from Living with Lolo turns a modest sized spare room into a home gym, with large equipment pushed up against each wall to leave plenty of floor space, and a few decorative accents like a piece of wall art and a small wooden bench with a plant to make it feel like part of the home.
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Add a Rock Climbing Wall
This kid-friendly climbing wall from Emily Henderson Design gives children a fun place to get off their screens and build their skills that is part of the decor and doesn't have to be cleaned up after use.
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Carve Out a Corner Space
If you don't have a spare room, float an exercise bike in the corner of the living room and be sure to decorate around it to help make it feel integrated with your decor, like this Spanish bungalow in Long Beach, CA from Blanco Bungalow.
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Use Cool Blues and Greens
This home gym from Living with Lolo is decorated in soothing shades of blue and green and includes decorative accents like a midcentury modern bench and closed basket storage for small pieces of equipment.
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Use Natural Materials
This London home workout room from NW3 Interiors rivals any gym. The space has a timeless, built-to-last quality that maximizes natural light, features exposed brick and herringbone patterned wood floors, and is equipped with gear made from noble materials like leather and wood that add warmth and contrast with the black metal throughout.
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Build a Standlone Room
This freestanding workout studio located next to the main house on a large Wyoming property from WRJ Design and CLB Architects has a wall of windows offering wide open views of the Grand Teton and surrounding landscape. The architects call the structure "a modern reimagining of a traditional hay barn" that includes the top floor workout studio as well as guest quarters and a garage.
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Add a Barn Door Entrance
This primary bedroom en suite gym from Michelle Berwick Design is located steps from the bed and can be hidden behind a rustic barn door when not in use.
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Maximize Natural Light
This spacious and airy home gym from Crisp Architects has a pale neutral palette, well defined zones, and a wall of white-paned windows that provide a feel-good view of the greenery outside.
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Paint the Ceiling Dark
A dark black painted ceiling emphasizes the basem*nt location and defines the workout area in this home gym from Jessica Lagrange Interiors.
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Build a Basem*nt Gym
Blinding white paint, built-in ceiling lights, plenty of glass, and an edited selection of equipment give this basem*nt home gym from Michelle Berwick Design a bright and upbeat feel.
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Build a Custom Space
San Francisco-based Geddes Ulinskas Architects created an at-home basem*nt space tailored to a client's love of golf. "The owner wanted a very striking space that would provide a unique experience for practicing golf and gathering with friends," Ulinskas says. "The space for the installation of this golf simulator was in an enclosed basem*nt space, but we wanted the owner to have the feeling of being outside."
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Add a Striking Ceiling
To elevate the design of this home basem*nt golf room, San Francisco-based Geddes Ulinskas Architects created a custom ceiling. "The ceiling was designed to evoke the feeling of rolling clouds overhead," Ulinskas says. "The folding, curving forms of the ceiling conceal structural beams and ductwork that hang low in the space while arching upward into the highest spaces of the structure. Although the ceiling forms have a space-age look, they were constructed with traditional plaster techniques used by generations of plaster artisans."
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Build a Squash Court
This home-based squash court from Crisp Architects has an open feel thanks to glass walls that allow a view of the curving black metal staircase and gallery seating on the floor above for spectators.
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Add Sliding Doors
This home gym from Amy Leferink of Interior Impressions is closed off by opaque glass paned and metal sliding doors that allow light to flow into the space while providing privacy, and can be slid closed to keep gym equipment out of sight.
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Hang Humorous Wall Art
One of the advantages of decorating your own home gym is that you can make it as personal as you want. Kelly Rinzema of The Lily Pad Cottage hung a row of black-and-white framed prints of dogs lifting weights that made her laugh and keeps her motivated during workout sessions in her home gym. If a gallery of dog-themed art makes it more fun for you and the whole family to work out, you do you.
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Accent With Wood
Large swaths of warm wood on walls and flooring warms up this gray-and-white home gym from Heather Hilliard Design.
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Make It Kid-Friendly
Adding an indoor basketball hoop to a playroom, finished basem*nt, or large family room can encourage kids to get off their screens and burn off some energy on rainy days. Emily Henderson Design chose a hoop made of wood and black net mounted on a white shiplap wall and added a black wire basket to hold extra balls to keep the decor looking sharp.
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Hang Large Wall Mirrors
To make her small workout room feel larger than it is, Kelly Rinzema of The Lily Pad Cottage hung two large identical framed mirrors on the wall opposite the windows that reflects the room, doubles the view, and bounces the light around, all while making it easy to check form. Instead of choosing to install a large single piece of glass, these mirrors were sourced online at half the cost and look more at home in a residential setting.
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Accessorize With Color
This home gym from Crisp Architects has a neutral palette that can be energized with small color accents on accessories such as exercise mats and balls.
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Add Glass Walls
Adding a few decor details can give your home gym design a lift, like the glass walls and tiled risers on the stairs leading to this contemporary basem*nt gym from Michelle Berwick Design.
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Double Space With Mirrors
This home gym from Crisp Architects is packed with equipment, but a large mirror on the walls offers a place to check form while also doubling the perception of space and increasing sightlines.
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Add a Sauna
If your favorite part of going to the gym is taking a sauna afterward, consider installing a home sauna to complement your home gym, like this one from Kendall Wilkinson Design. If you prefer to take the opposite approach to your recovery, consider a cold plunge tub.
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Keep the Windows Bare
The equipment in this home gym from Crisp Architects faces the unadorned windows, kept open to bring in natural light and offer views.
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Add Bold Primary Colors
This combination basketball court and pool room from Kendall Wilkinson Design has interesting bones, eye-catching windows, industrial details, and striking primary color accents and wall art that add personality to the spacious leisure quarters.
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Use Vinyl Flooring
In this no-nonsense, fully loaded home gym from M. Lavender Interiors, a palette of grays and taupes and hard-wearing wood-effect vinyl flooring keep the focus on the equipment for a serious fitness fanatic.
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Turn the Attic Into a Gym
This converted attic home gym from Brad Ramsey Interiors keeps the focus on the workout and the view with pale neutral colors on the walls, ceilings, and flooring that reflect all that natural light from the picture window.
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Add Wall Texture
Textured wallpaper adds some dimension to this bare bones, neutral-toned home gym from Amy Leferink of Interior Impressions.
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Add a Sunken Putting Green
This at-home putting green from Kate Marker Interiors is sunken into the family room, allowing armchair golfers to comment from the couch.
What should you put in a home gym?
A home gym should include equipment that suits your specific workout preferences. That could include anything from a stationary bike to a treadmill to a Pilates machine. Include basics such as exercise mats, dumbbells, resistance bands, jump ropes, step boxes, yoga balls, and a large mirror to check your form.
How should you design my home gym?
Create zones in your home gym for practicing different workout routines, being sure to install large equipment in a dedicated space that won’t block flow around the room. Add open storage for smaller workout equipment and accessories to keep them organized and accessible. Leave as much open floor space as possible so that you can roll out an exercise mat and engage in pre- and post-workout stretching routines without bumping into anything.
Is a home gym worth it?
According to HomeAdvisor, the average cost to build a home gym is about $2,000, and typically ranges between $300 and $15,000 depending on whether you are setting up a space to put a yoga mat and store your hand weights or build a weight room for intensive training. While you will have to pay more upfront to build a home gym, you should save money over time compared to the average yearly cost of between $200 to $3,000 to join a commercial gym.
A home gym is a luxury that may add value to your property if potential buyers are looking for a home with a dedicated workout space.
35 Stylish Home Gym Ideas That Will Get Your Blood Pumping