Another Home For Our Home Gym?
This week, I’m focused on getting my studio finished. I made progress over the weekend, but it’s still not finished. I didn’t expect it to be. I haven’t even started on reupholstering the desk chair, and I still have a ton of organizing and cleaning to do. So I won’t be blogging about my studio this week, but just know that I’m hard at work behind the scenes trying to get it finished. And I’ll let y’all know as soon as I have anything interesting (or finished) to share.
In the meantime, I got a comment on a post last week that I haven’t been able to get out of my mind. The comment was about my plan to turn our current (guest) bedroom into a closet/workout area combo. The commenter said,
“May I make a suggestion? Before you totally, 100% commit to the idea of using part of what will become your bedroom closet as a workout space, consider other possible workout space solutions. Your workout space needs to be able to be separately ventilated–for reasons of accumulated humidity and Matt’s comfort while working out, and also because over time your clothes are just going to absorb and retain that boys’ high school gym locker room odor! Everything will begin to smell like cheap gin and dirty sweat socks, and it quickly becomes permanent. I urge you to rethink this idea if you don’t want everything you own to smell like the inside of a teenage boy’s gym shoe. There’s got to be another space you can either convert or add onto cheaply without going into debt for a workout area.”
Of course, she wasn’t the first person to suggest that. Several people urged me not to combine a closet and workout area for that very same reason, but I just couldn’t find anywhere else to put a workout area. So I kind of abandoned the idea, and just resolved myself to the fact that I’d have to have a closet/gym combo.
But the idea of having that entire room dedicated to closet and storage space sure did appeal to me. I could envision a beautiful closet/dressing room type of thing, with IKEA Pax wardrobes not only lining one wall, but lining both walls. And then I could have more storage in the middle. Something like this, not in style (I’m using IKEA Pax), but in the way it’s arranged with storage on both side walls and also in the middle of the room…
Photo by American Tradition Builders, Inc. – Browse closet ideas
But we have to have a home gym or workout area of some sort. That’s not even a negotiable item for us. Matt needs to use his Theracycle every day if possible, and while I don’t need any exercise equipment, it sure is nice to have. I have more incentive to work out if I have a few different options. So I want to hold onto it if I can.
So once again, I looked over our floor plan to see if I could come up with a solution. There are two options that I can see.
Option 1:
The first option is to combine the closet and laundry room into one room. I know, I know! I can already hear some of you screaming at me. “Kristi, I suggested that!!” 😀 I hear you. I know so many of you suggested that, and I didn’t love the idea at the time, but I’m coming around to it.
First of all, it would make things so much easier. That room has a pier and beam foundation, so getting the plumbing over to that room for the washer, dryer, and hot water heater, would be quick and easy. Turning the pantry into the laundry room would be much harder and much more expensive because it has a slab foundation.
Another thing in the “pro” column for this idea is that it could be done sooner than later. I mean, as soon as our new bedroom is done and we’re moved into there, and as soon as I start turning the guest bedroom into a closet, I could also get my washer, dryer, and hot water heater moved into that room. No more waiting to have a laundry room.
With this plan, that frees up the pantry to be our workout area. The drawback is that the room is only 7′ x 12′. That’s not a lot of room, and there’s no way to expand it. That size is set in stone. But it’s enough room for my new smaller treadmill, Matt’s Theracycle, my rebounder, our set of freeweights, and a couple of kettlebells. Another con is that it will be right there by the kitchen. That seems awkward.
Option 2:
The second option I came up with was to build a completely separate little building in our back yard. It could be close to the bedroom end of the house, right around here somewhere…
I went to the website of the company that is building my workshop just to see what I could come up with. If we keep it under 200 square feet, I don’t need a permit from the city. So I came up with this cute little dormer shed that is 12′ x 16′ that would cost about $9500.
That’s 192 square feet, so we could build that without the city being involved in the process. And it’s cute! We certainly have plenty of room for it on our one-acre lot. The downside is that Matt would have to go outside to access it. That’s fine most days here in central Texas, but I do wonder about rainy days or really cold days.
So those are my thoughts so far. As I work on the studio this week, I’m going to continue pondering these ideas. I really do like the idea of my closet not having to share a space with workout equipment and sweaty people. I know that’s not ideal. I might have to live with it for at least a short time, but now that I’ve considered other options, I’m feeling more convinced that I’d like to find another home for our exercise equipment.
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
I think you should do the combined closet/laundry room either way. It’s easier to install and you will be thankful to have it all in one place, even if right now you don’t find it inconvenient to have the clothes across the house from the washer and dryer. Then you could always at least put Matt’s Theracycle in the now-pantry so it is easy for him to access no matter the weather, and maybe your treadmill or most-used equipment too. Then still get the outdoor building and gym it out exactly how you want it, because why the heck not???
And maybe a desk for a gaming area too? The pantry could be converted to Matt’s room and yours could be in the building outside? I would love to workout with the view of the gardens!
This is what came to my mind also.
A perfect solution!!!!!
That’s a great idea to put the games there too!
You may not have to get a permit for another outbuilding, but are you sure it’s allowed? In my town, there’s a limit on the number of outbuildings on a lot. But in any case, as hard as it is for me to be motivated to exercise, one more obstacle (having to go outside if the weather’s bad) would probably be the kiss of death for my exercise program!
The city limits the number of accessory dwelling units to one per lot. But neither of these would be an accessory dwelling unit. According to our city ordinance:
Accessory Dwelling Unit means a separate additional living unit, providing separate complete independent living facilities for one or more persons, including permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation, attached or detached from a primary residential unit, on a legally platted single-family lot.
That would be like a tiny home on our lot. We don’t have one of those, and as of right now, we don’t plan on having one. But as far as non-dwelling accessory buildings, like storage buildings, workshops, sheds, etc., I don’t know of a limit. There may be one, but it’s definitely not limited to one. There are plenty of homes that have two or three accessory buildings (sheds, pool houses, workshops, etc.) on the same lot in our city.
Update: I called the permit office and asked if there is a limit to the number of accessory buildings a homeowner can have on their property. The man I spoke with (who happened to be the same plans examiner who issued the permit for my workshop) said that there’s not a limit on the number of buildings, but there is a limit to the percentage of the back yard that can be taken up by accessory buildings. So I can’t cover more than 30% of my back yard with accessory buildings, and there are setback requirements, i.e., the building has to be set back at least 10 feet back from the main dwelling, 10 feet away from the back of the lot, and 5 feet from the lot lines on each side. I think I could have several buildings and still come in under that 30% mark in our large back yard. 🙂
200sq ft on exit from master bath where door is to back.
200 sq foot gym addition
Perfect! Or leave the workout/closet but put a wall between. Laundry and closet combo sounds like mildew. I would never make it to the workout building. I would start out but something would distract me.
Do both if you can afford it. It doesn’t hurt to have two gyms and you can put Matt’s equipment closer and it can be more flexible.
Why could one end of workshop not be for exercise?
I need and want all of that space for a workshop. The last thing I’d want to do is put workout equipment (treadmill, Theracycle, rebounder) in an environment where so much dust and mess will be created on a regular basis.
As a person with a chronic illness, I will say that any barrier to exercise is a disincentive for me. I don’t know if that’s true for you all, but my next house will have everything connected–nothing in garages or sheds.
1000% yesssss to closet + laundry room combo. I didn’t even know about the easier, faster, cheaper aspect of it. goodness I hope you do that. I love your inspiration photos too. Honestly if you do this I’m a little jealous. 🙂 In the best kind of way.
Regarding the home gym off of the kitchen, I hear you that it’s a little unusual, but I don’t think it’s super weird. Honestly it would be really convenient for me since I will mix up electrolytes and EAAs to drive during my workout in my kitchen, then go directly to our home gym.
Regarding the size, it’s got to be bigger space than the closet would have allowed, yes? or at least equal size. The cabinets wouldn’t be in there anymore, which will give you a lot more floor space than it has right now.
I was going to suggest keeping the pantry door where it is instead of flipping to the kitchen, but then I went and looked at your new floorplan – I get why you want to close up that wall for that sitting room configuration. So I think you just embrace the quirk as a bonus that it’s quick to get water before, during, after the workout.
Katie is on to something here. If the door remains on the wall it is on now but moved to the right of your new proposed tv area, it could be hidden behind a shelf unit or tall cabinet doors that open to the room. And you can have the same look on the left of the rv area for symmetry, but the space on the left does not open to a room but provides storage. or if you don’t want to use any square footage for this it can be a fake look on the left side with the right side a functional opening door / molding. Exciting!!
Love the laundry in the closet. And if the pantry must go then using it for the gym area off the new living space! Whatever you decide will be best for you and Matt!
Good morning Kristi. I had another thought that may give you a little more to ponder. Have you thought about keeping your plan for the pantry/ wash room and for the gym in the current guest room and perhaps add a smaller space for your closet off of the end of the bedroom. I recall you mentioned using the exterior door from your master bath for your doggies so I would not want you to lose that. Best wishes and I know whatever you do will be the best choice for both you and Matt
Is there any way to cut room in half making 2 rooms dedicated to gym and also to a separate closet? Any way to bump out a wall to give a few more square feet I’d the room is too small to make 2 rooms?
I think the shed would be awesome. I can envision it now with your impeccable design. WOW!
However, is there any room for Matts thera cycle in your studio? That way it could be convenient for him on an everyday basis. Or is there any space for just his cycle? Then the other stuff could go into the out building.
Won’t an outdoor building create a humidity issue for Matt?
We would have to put a mini split air conditioner in there for him.
I love the idea of a separate building, but worry about inclement weather. As Mark’s disease progresses, it may be harder for him to access it. Perhaps you could offer an alternate way to exercise on those days. Do you both exercise daily? If not, a few days off may not be a problem. Is there a possibility of a covered walkway?
He’s okay taking a couple of days off, but not much more than that. I don’t know that a covered walkway would be feasible.
As someone who also suffers from MS, I am more concerned about Matt having to go outside into the Texas heat and humidity every day than I am the cold or rain. It seems like it would exhaust him before he ever got started.
Luandry+closet, pantry turned into Matt’s room (gym+gaming?), and a cute little cottage for your workout space–it sounds perfect!
I really appreciate your willingness to re-think things. It’s so easy to get entrenched in an idea, especially with others pushing on you, but you always keep your eye on the function and need. Very inspiring.
Option 1 has always made the most since to me. It is so convenient to have laundry near or in the closet where the clothes are stored.
Also, with the doors to your pantry facing your breakfast room you could use that tv while you work out and possibly even step out into the breakfast room to use some of the weights while you watch. Put the tv on a swivel are so it can be pulled out to face the room.
I love that you brainstorm with readers!
I’ll echo the do the laundry opinion. I’d suggest set up the old pantry to be shared but after you learn about setting up sheds with power, water, and electricity (with the workshop). Add the shed where that old shed is. It could be a flex space for your needs like exercise or more. Convert the pantry to be Matt’s game room with fancy storage for gaming things and an adjustable desk. You could even set it up so you could play the games in the family room but hide the cords along the shared wall.
I wish you could find a way to build the addition you had planned with a primary bedroom, laundry room and living room. You wouldn’t have to give up the separate gym, guest room or the larger space to host your church group. A separate building for the gym may not work for Matt. I guess I’d look into the difference in cost of adding on the kitchen and the separate gym vs the addition of primary bedroom, laundry and living room. It may be well worth the extra cost.
The gym in the pantry sounds like it would have enough room for what you need. I don’t think it would be awkward being next to the kitchen. And won’t it have a door anyway? People would just assume it was still a pantry.
If you decide against the pantry, consider a small addition behind the master bath so that you can use the door that you bought for that wall. Going straight from the gym to the shower would be very convenient. I would consider this before the outbuilding.
The cost of an extra outdoor building is just not only the cost of the building itself, it also includes the cost of finishing the inside of the building including electrical, heating and cooling, flooring, etc. My parents built a home that the master bath had a door that connected to the laundry room. If I ever build a home, I will have the same. It was so convenient!
How about Matt’s necessary bicycle in the laundry room and your optional workout equipment in the separate building.
This is probably stupid, but what if you closed in your carport and made that the gym? Then make another carport between that carport/gym to the workshop? Or add on a 10 x 10 room off your master bathroom back door? It would take up a little bit of your porch, but the rest of the remaining porch looks big enough.
Any chance you could position a home gym from the master bathroom door so there would be immediate access to the bathroom and also so it could share the house HVAC?
Hmmm. . What about the closet /laundry room combo for less money, a man cave including Matt’s exercise equipment, a tv and gaming setup in the former pantry and with the money saved you buy the shed for Kristi’s workout wonderland?
European here, so please take this into account as I am sitting here wondering, “why on Earth does a closet need to waste an entire room in a house?” I can get behind the using a separate room as a laundry room. But using a room for closets seems wasteful, and it seems to me that either you have open hanging spaces and your clothes accumulate dust over time, OR you have closets with doors, and the whole situation becomes cumbersome (I can imagine putting on an outfit, deciding to change a blouse, going in, going out… seems annoying). I know you designed the walk-in closet when you were building a large extension, but now that you are not, shouldn’t it be the first on the chopping line, rather than the gym? So, you could perhaps have a third option where you fill a wall with closets, and use the room as a gym?
This is what I was thinking (though not European 🙂 ). I’m not sure why there isn’t room in the future master bedroom for a wall of IKEA closet units, since there is a closet in the room currently.
Putting a wall of IKEA Pax wardrobes in there would take us right back to (almost) having the same size bedroom that we’re in right now, and since this is our forever home, there’s no way I’d be okay having a bedroom that small. Even just an extra couple of feet in both directions will make a huge difference in the comfort of our bedroom. I guess until you have to live with wheelchairs and Hoyer lifts, it’s really hard to imagine moving those things around (with a 6’2″ 215-pound man in them) a small bedroom.
That totally makes sense! I’m not sure if you’ve done a furniture mockup of the future bedroom (I’ll have to go look), but I think that would make it clearer why the need for a separate closet space. In that case I’d say make the pantry the gym for now and build a separate gym later if that doesn’t end up being sufficient.
One thought I had, seeing that others have suggested building an addition for the gym on the other side of the master bathroom, why not think about building something there that will mirror the new kitchen in size? You could even build a roof to connect the two and create a huge covered porch in back.
Absolutely agree with Phoebe…shouldn’t the closet be the first on the chopping line, rather than the gym?
In my mind, it’s the other way around. I need a closet. I’ve been without an adequate closet for over ten years now, and if this is our forever home, I don’t want to continue on with inadequate closet space. But a gym isn’t a necessity, just as long as we can find a convenient space for Matt’s Theracycle. That’s the only piece of equipment that is a necessity. All the others are just nice to have.
I see it the exact opposite way. This is our forever home. I haven’t had adequate closet space in over 10 years, and there’s no way I want to keep making do with inadequate closet space for the rest of my life when we have plenty of space in that room. As far as the home gym, the only piece of equipment in there that’s absolutely necessary is Matt’s Theracycle. As long as I can find a space for that, the rest is just nice to have, but it’s not necessary. There’s nowhere else to put a wall of closets that won’t be in the way.
A small addition off the master bathroom. Accessed from the now exterior door. New exterior door in the new gym for the dog.
With Matt’s need for cool dry air, I don’t think an outside building would work well for a gym, unless you also put in an a/c. I suppose a window unit might work?
Split the difference. Build the separate building for your exercise equip and put Matt’s in the pantry.
What if you attached this little shed to the door from the master bath? That would allow Matt easy access, and you can easily connect to your HVAC. When you finish with a workout, you can shower away the perspiration right away, throw on a robe and off to the closet to dress! This gives you a dedicated workout room connected to the house that is totally private from guests and inclement weather.
What about a covered or protected walkway to the exercise shed?
I agree with everyone who has said you will likely regret combining a closet and workout room. In terms of having your washer/dryer in your closet, I had this in a prior home. The convenience is absolutely amazing! But the one draw back is the added dust/debris in your closet from the dryer. Especially if you ever clean your dog beds in that washer/dryer. I love your last option of separating the gym in it’s own little ADU.
I’m guessing suggesting that you give up some of the cavernous space in the studio is out of the question??
It’s not cavernous with my desk and two very large work tables. 🙂 And yes, that’s out of the question.
I suggest adding a sunroom off of your master bath, in the location that your previous master bedroom was going to be. It will need HVAC and electric, but won’t be a huge expense. The sunroom will be accessible from your master bathroom and your deck. Having your workout room in a sunroom in that location will be both refreshing and stimulating, by tying you to nature. And having your workout room in this location provides you quick access to your bathroom for a post-workout shower.
Kristi…Wowsers, your genius has turned on and I’m just betting you’re gonna come out smelling like a rose. Plan onward Kristi….you got it going.
Using the pantry area off the kitchen is a great idea! No additional cost ie shed, electricity and ac. No need for Matt to go outside if cold, rainy or hot. You can supervise if needed easily also.
Having the washer and dryer in your huge closet is a bonus. Easy to put away clean clothes.
Can’t wait to see the end result!
I’m on the “build a small gym off of the master bath” team. I think having a bathroom available for Matt’s needs should be on the top of a list somewhere. My late brother had MS and spent a LOT of time in the loo. Easy access was a priority, especially if he is weaker after working out.
Putting a game room in the pantry would be a treat for Matt, and I bet he’d appreciate the opportunity. (Mom to 3 sons, so I get it!)
I’m still trying to picture a combination laundry/master closet. It’s not a ‘thing’ in my corner of our country (that I know of)…but I have seen it on a few HGTV shows.
Hi,
Could you use your old bathroom and add on the 200 square feet or would it be way too expensive? Just brainstorming.
I vote for keeping your laundry room in the location of your current pantry. I like to keep all my laundry and cleaning supplies in one location, including scissors to snip a thread, a small brass brush for velcro, lint roller for fur, etc. Having your laundry room next to the kitchen will be convenient for you to sort, switch loads, and fold throughout the day. A laundry room in your clothes closet doesn’t seem convenient at all, because there will be no laundry sink for you to soak, scrub, or pretreat stains or oil. And think of the dust!
Possibly crazy idea, which I haven’t seen mentioned — if it’s possible to give up your half bath in the studio, you could knock out the wall between it and the pantry and make it a larger room, and then it can be accessed through the former studio bathroom, so it’s not a weird gym entrance near the kitchen. No addition needed, and not taking away any of the lovely studio space.
All my other thoughts have been mentioned, so I thought I’d throw that out there.
My concern with the separate building is the temperature control. You would have to go out and turn on the a/c or heat ahead of time, so that it would be comfortable for Matt to use the room.
If you are taking a vote, I say option #1. It just seems more reasonable considering Matt’s needs and potential inclement weather conditions.
Grand thoughts. You do not want stinky clothes. Can you put a covered
walkway out to the little shed? Or maybe a screened in walkway. Even heat the little shed. Then the exercise room is solved.
Keep on thinking!!