A Major Home Gym Milestone — The Walls & Trim Are Finished!
I crossed a major hurdle with the home gym progress last night. As of last night, all of the trim is painted, all of the stripes on the walls have been touched up, and the outlet plates have been installed and painted. This was beginning to feel like the never ending painting project, so I’m very relieved and excited to finally have this done!
I originally painted these striped walls in June 2021, and then the room sat unfinished as I turned my attention to the master bathroom remodel. But if you want to see how I did the stripes, you can check out the DIY process here.
When I started working on this room again, after finishing the bathroom remodel, things looked like this…
About half of the trim around the ceiling had been installed, so I still needed to install the rest, wood fill, sand, caulk and paint. All of the door and window trim had been installed and wood filled, but it still needed to be sanded, caulked, and painted. And then the walls needed a ton of touchups.
Here’s a bit of irony. I initially wanted to install crown molding in this room, but after installing one piece, I realized that I didn’t like how it looked in this room. But not installing crown molding put me in a bit of a bind because when I painted the stripes on the walls, I did so with the mindset that they’d be capped off with crown molding at the top, so I didn’t bother with painting the stripes perfectly along the ceiling.
So in order to avoid having to touchup every single stripe in the room along the ceiling, I decided to install this small trim around the ceiling…
Well, my plan completely backfired on me. When I tried to paint that small trim white to match the ceiling, I couldn’t get the paint line perfect enough for my liking where it met the wall. (In general, I’m doing a lot better with my perfectionism, and may even call myself a “recovering perfectionist,” but there are some areas, like paint lines, where I’ll never get past my perfectionism.)
I didn’t want to use painters tape on the walls because, as I learned when I originally did the walls, that can become a nightmare with the tape peeling off parts of the stripes, including the tiny white stripes between the colors. So I ended up not even trying to be perfect about painting the trim white, and then I had to go back and touchup the top of every single stripe in the room. So all I ended up doing with that little trim was adding work that I didn’t need to do. 😀
Isn’t hindsight a great thing? Oh well. We live and learn, right? At least it’s all finished now, and I can move on to other things.
Being in this room is like living inside of a pack of Fruit Stripe gum, and I absolutely love it! 😀
The large teal stripe is where I’m going to build a Swedish ladder (aka, stall bars).
And please note how meticulously I incorporated the outlet covers into the wall design. 😀
When I want to paint outlet covers, I always purchase the kind that covers the entire outlet and is labeled “paintable”. They have a texture to them that allows the paint to adhere very easily, and the paint doesn’t scratch off of them like it will if you paint the shiny plastic type. I’ve had one of these on the outlet on the end of the peninsula in my kitchen since it was last painted in 2017, and that outlet is used frequently, and it still looks great. Here’s a closer view of one of the outlets.
I could seriously stand in this room and stare at all of this glorious color all day long. I was telling someone just yesterday that I had assumed that as I got older, my love of color might start to wane a bit, and I’d just naturally start to gravitate towards calmer, more neutral interiors. But I feel like the very opposite is happening.
As I’ve gotten older, my love of color has only grown more intense, and I find myself continually looking for ways to add more and more color to my home. I’m very blessed to have a husband who doesn’t mind my love of color.
The one rule he always gave me was “no pink walls”, but even that has become more of a running joke than an actual rule. I know for a fact that if I really wanted to paint a room pink, he’d have no problem with it as long as it’s not hot pink. That’s his line in the sand. 😀
Even as recently as last night, I was still planning on painting the two doors in this room black. But now that I see the finished walls and trim in the daylight, I’m leaning towards white. I feel like black might be too jarring for these walls. I’ll be using plenty of black in the rest of the room (starting with the entire floor), but I now think the doors should be white.
Now that the walls are done, I think that things are going to start coming together quickly in this room.
I still have a few paint touchups to do on the ceiling, but that should be very quick. And then I need to paint the doors. That should finish up the painting in the main part of the room (I’m ignoring the closet area for now).
I have all of the foam gym flooring that I’m going to use, so it can go down as soon as I get the room cleared out (again) and clean the floor. The window shades were delivered on Saturday, and I’ve had the curtains, curtain rods, and curtain rings for a long time now. Both of the lights that I want to try out for the “entryway” of this room have arrived, so I need to unbox the second one and decide for sure which one I want to use. And the dresser that I bought for the closet area has been delivered.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I feel pretty confident that this room will be done by the end of this month! I will be ecstatic to finally have this room done, and to have a functional home gym!!
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.
Kristi, do you think your future self would be happier if you finished the floors under the rubber gym floor? I’m curious as ten years from now…. if you decided to change it, would it be easier on you?
I don’t think so. I’ve gone back and forth over that issue, but since the floor would need more than just refinishing, but actual repair, I don’t think that’s something that I’d want to tackle on my own even now. Whether it’s done now or later, that is something I’d hire out at this point. And if it were to be done now, that would impede our access to the bathroom. So for now, I’d rather just get this room usable as a home gym, and maybe after our addition is built and finished and we have a separate access into the bathroom from the master bedroom, we can revisit the flooring in this room.
This is an exciting post – starting to really look finished…I think the room is glorious, and a fun place to be in…might help make the workouts more fun too! I LOVE how the outlets disappear, and now everything is looking so sharp and finished. Do you ever paint the trim before installing? Then you wouldn’t have to cut in so close the the colors? Maybe that won’t work because you still need to caulk…Hmm. Loving it all.
I don’t ever paint trim before installing it simply because after it’s installed, I caulk everything (including where the trim meets the walls), and then I like to paint the caulk. so I’ve never felt like painting beforehand really saves me any time or effort.
Love this room! The colors and the stripes are lovely! I would love to work out in this room!
The colorful stripes in this room are everything! It must be very uplifting to be IN the room. The white trim is just right and it is probably the right choice to go with white doors to continue the sparks of white around the room. As you suggest, black might be too heavy, but having smaller areas of black on some gym equipment and the light will be enough to ground the colors. The details of your painted outlet covers is beyond and those paintable full coverage outlet covers is not something I realized covered even the plug receptacles; this is a game-changer for sure. Thank you again for sharing your process and products and all the steps along the way. It is inspiring!
Is there a “how to” on painting the stripes with such precision? I simply love this room, it is not only colorful and beautiful but you just cannot be in a bad mood when in this room!
I think your love of color has inspired you to create a work of genius. I think your gym walls are spectacular. I don’t think any pro could have done this as perfect as you have done. I can already see it finished with the doors being white, and the floor being black. I can’t wait to see it though. I love it.
I still say the entrance door to this room is screaming “Paint me coral”.
It’s SO stunning and gorgeous!!
I have black doors and absolutely love them, but I agree that room needs white doors.
Oh my! It is looking so lovely! So glad you’re leaning towards white doors. I think that will blend in and allow the colors the main stage. Congrats on all the progress!
I was thinking the door color would look good in the light green in one of the stripes like the middle green on the entry wall where you have three shades of green in a row. the middle one.
Haha my own ocd would have wanted every outlet to be right in the middle of a stripe but sometimes its just too much work to have those things exact. Once the equipment is in there the eye will never be drawn to them anyway.
You are an absolutely decorating Genius!!!! That room seems so energetic and colorful and positive!! Stunning!!
I am so glad you decided not to go with black doors. With your white trim it will keep things light and happy. Good decision.
I agree on white for doors. I think black might ruin the Juicy Fruit vibe that I’m loving. Is it weird if I say that room makes my mouth water….?🤔
Love it! It looks so good and I love that you carried the white stripe across the outlet. Excited for the rest of it!!
This is such a happy room; it just makes me smile looking at those stripes each time. I am happy about the white doors, too.
Thanks for brightening my day and cheers for almost being at the finish line.
Your work is beyond fantastic! That’s it. All I can say. Wait and awesome.
Wow! Milestone is right. Those details put the room over the top…or at least over major hurdles. I never knew about the paintable outlet covers. Only you! And I cannot imagine the job you had touching up the stripes. Looking SO good!
You’re going full steam ahead!! I’m so impressed!
The room is so beautiful! I love all the little details. Thank you for the tip about the electrical plate covers as I have that issue in a room I just painted. I guess I will be heading to the hardware store tonight!
I’m happy you’re painting the doors white. I’m pretty much a white trim/door kind of gal. Also wondering …will the foam flooring be ok on top of the wood floors? If a section of foam gets ripped years from now and you have to replace it, do you think it’ll stick to the wood floor and come up in pieces?
It’s looking great, Kristi!
The foam floor doesn’t actually adhere to the wood floor. It’s just a floating floor. I don’t anticipate any problem if I have to swap out a foam tile here and there.
What a fun room! It will be such a joy to workout in here!
Kristi – I’m wondering how long you waited before applying painter’s tape when it gave you problems. I was told by a professional that it takes at least four days for paint to cure before painter’s tape won’t lift it back off. I like the trim at the top of the wall, though. What magic did you do to keep the paint off the wall when you painted that trim?
I waited three days. I don’t think another day would have mattered. I think I used a horrible primer.
I love your description of being in the room is like living inside a pack of Fruit Stripe gum like fruit stripe gum! It will be a happy place to work out.
I loved how much the stripes carried through to your outlets, that I magnified the pictures to see every one. And in the very last picture, it looks like the outlet under the window is missing paint on the right side? With all the detail work, it’s so easy to miss.
The stripes in this room are everything. And the little hall entrance!! So inviting! Beautiful.
It could also be just the angle of the picture with the light/shadows not showing correctly. I had to enlarge to see it as well.
Well done!! Looking great!
Love your striped room! My gym is in the basement, which is concrete block walls. I am planning to paint it soon and ironically am thinking about pink!!
Love this! What a beautiful but tedious job! 💕😊
Such a cheerful room! No gray walls here! The colors would make anyone want to work out, lol. Glad you’re making progress and are able to anticipate this room being completed soon.
It looks so inviting you want to go into that room. All the work was worth it
That room fills me with immense joy every time I see it. It is a work of art…especially with all the wee white dividing lines that really make it snap. I agree with white doors because this room is a light-filled delight. Thank you for sharing!
I wish I had all the colors in my sewing room! They are beautiful.