How to design the best home gym, with advice from interiors experts
Let’s face it, the average high-street gym is a place likely to make design fans sweat due to distress rather than exertion. They tend to be either overly bright and garish or there are simply too many people you have to share the space with.
That is largely why, since the pandemic, when the world was forced to exercise at home, the rise in demand for designer private gyms has spiked. It’s a trend that interior designers across the world have witnessed, with New York-based firm Charles & Co’s founder Vicky Charles noting how ‘a mainstream shift toward health and wellness, advancements in customisable home-gym technology, and the added property value a dedicated fitness space can bring to a home,’ have all played a part.
‘Clients see the home as a complete lifestyle environment now,’ adds Anthony Kooperman, director of interior-design studio Albion Nord, ‘especially as hybrid work routines make spending more time at home the norm.’ Notably, the new gyms these experts are seeing in residential projects all share one thing: a rejection of the conventional industrial aesthetic.
‘People are looking to create sophisticated fitness spaces that seamlessly integrate with their carefully curated homes,’ explains Sam Kimball, CEO of Sportova, a design agency focused solely on creating people’s dream workout spaces. He’s seeing clients gravitate towards authentic materials, with real wood and leather being signatures of his approach.
‘A private gym offers unparalleled convenience – it’s always available, never crowded, and requires no commute,’ he says, ‘but the real luxury lies in the customisation.’ For Vicky Charles, that means creating a ‘residential aesthetic’ with artwork and decorative lighting, as well as a scheme that suits the gym’s context within the home. ‘An earthy, neutral palette might be ideal for a yoga space to evoke calm and balance; a darker, moody look works well for meditation or a focused ambience; and brighter tones can energise a cardio or high-energy area,’ she explains. ‘It’s about creating an environment that inspires movement rather than just housing equipment,’ adds Kimball.
For interior designer Bryan O’Sullivan, comfort is vital when it comes to the dream workout. He has been asked to add fridges, coffee machines and water stations, but he also advocates including a small seating area – ‘a comfortable armchair with a floor lamp and a little side table’. Making the space somewhere in which you want to spend time is a priority, and a key factor in that is lighting. Sweaty and red-faced, we’re unlikely to look our best in the gym, and bad lighting can make things worse. ‘It’s more flattering for everyone if the lighting is a little lower,’ says O’Sullivan, who suggests making everything dimmable and using localised lighting in areas where it’s needed. It is, he says, ‘just a little more forgiving’.
Of course, beyond making the gym an inviting space, there are also practical concerns. Flooring is one of the most important. ‘People will be dropping weights, so you want something that won’t crack,’ explains O’Sullivan, who for his most recent project on a private yacht utilised teak (a choice inspired by the nautical setting), adding bespoke leather gym mats that are hand-stitched together. Vicky Charles suggests using rubber or cork, due to their durability and ease of cleaning, but also for their shock-absorbing qualities – the sound of a dumbbell being dropped can really reverberate around a home! She also advocates scuff-resistant wall finishes such as clay, to ensure the space is low-maintenance.
As the demand for home gyms has rocketed, so has designers’ ingenuity when it comes to finding space for them. Designer Kelly Hoppen, herself a fitness enthusiast, is increasingly seeing clients requesting ‘downtime gyms’ – smaller dedicated spaces for floor work, like stretching, yoga and pilates. She has created a unique solution in her own Cotswolds home, where her entrance hallway also functions as a workout space, with Technogym gear curated ‘in an artistic way’ – think sculptures and design classics like the ‘Etcetera’ chair by Jan Ekselius side by side with a workout bench.
New technology from the likes of Technogym and Peloton that comes with online classes (which themselves pose styling issues, as clients worry about what can be seen behind them on screen) means you need fewer pieces of kit than ever before, and the equipment itself is becoming less and less imposing. Albion Nord’s Kooperman points to the interactive ‘mirror-style’ fitness devices by brands such as Forme Studio, Tempo Studio and Vue that blend seamlessly into the home.
O’Sullivan, who has slotted a smart exercise bike into an alcove in the bedroom of his New York apartment, notes that guest bedrooms are a popular choice to double as gyms if you’re innovative about storage. One of his recent projects included a room encased in wooden panelling, complete with a pull-out bed and a hidden door behind which workout equipment could be stashed. Vicky Charles says that basements and attics are also prime spots for home gyms.
What are the very first things you should think about if you are considering a home gym, though? Remember, your fitness goals are key, but just as important is the atmosphere you want to create. As O’Sullivan says: ‘Wanting to be in the gym is half the battle.’
