Home Gym Window Treatments & Flooring Progress

Our home gym is really starting to take shape! I know many people questioned my use of curtains in a home gym, and it’s definitely not a standard addition to a home gym (I’ve looked at plenty of home gym pictures on Houzz, and agree that it’s very out of the ordinary), but y’all know me well enough to know that if I can add fabric to windows, I’m going to do it. 😀 It doesn’t matter to me if it’s a home gym. Windows (in my home) need fabric if at all possible.

So yesterday, I finally unpackaged the curtains that I bought a year ago for this room. These are the sheer curtains that I bought in the color Off White, and I’m really impressed with the quality. They come with pinch pleats and adjustable drapery hooks, so there’s no need for clip rings.

They look a little messy right now because they’ve literally been scrunched up in small packaging for over a year, so they’re very wrinkled. And as you can see, the length is too long, so I’ll need to hem them. But once they’re hemmed, steamed, and tidied up quite a bit, I think they’ll look great!

I still haven’t had a chance to put the Walmart dresser together. You can see the pieces stacked up by my rebounder. But I did make more progress on the foam flooring.

The more I put this flooring down, the more I’m starting to have second thoughts about it. You can clearly see in the photo below where the two slightly different mats meet. The first three rows (i.e., the first three packages that I opened) are darker (a truer black) and shinier. The rest has an ever so slightly blue undertone and more of a matte finish.

I originally thought that I’d be able to push past that, but I’m struggling with it now. In addition to the color/sheen differences, I’ve found that there’s no way that this flooring will stand up to Cooper’s claws. I have to bring him through this room and through the bathroom to get to his yard, and Cooper doesn’t go anywhere at a normal walking pace. He gets from point A to point B by running, jumping, and twirling the whole way. So the very first time he “walked” through this room, he poked a hole in one of the mats with his claws.

I know you’re going to say, “Just keep his nails cut short!” That sounds easy enough, except that he’s a 100-pound dog who won’t let me touch his feet. He’s never let me or anyone else touch his feet.

I had to take him to the vet about a year ago because of a pain issue he was having in his back/tail area. While we were there, I asked the vet to clip his nails for me. Well, she tried, and one of the other people tried, and neither of them could do it, either. She finally determined that he needed X-rays, and in order to do that, they had to give him a sedative, so they were able to clip his nails while he was sedated. But I don’t feel nearly as guilty about my inability to clip his nails now that I know that even the vet and the vet tech couldn’t do it.

So he’s on his own with the claws. But in the meantime, he’s poking holes in the foam floor. And I only have this much left to put down — a little bit in the main part of the room, the closet area, and then entry area.

So I’m not really sure what to do. This flooring wasn’t expensive at all. I think I paid just over $200 for enough tiles for the whole room. So at least if I change my mind and get something else, it’s not a huge loss. I’m sure I can find someone locally who could find a use for them.

But at this moment, I’m thinking I might order some Flor carpet tile samples. They would be much more durable, and would look great. I wouldn’t have to deal with different colors and sheens.

I’m going to order some Flor samples today, and hopefully they’ll get here quickly. In the meantime, I’ll just keep the foam tiles where they are, and I’ll move on to the other projects in the room. I still have to put down hardwood flooring in the closet area, and then I can put the dresser together, hem the curtains, get the entry light installed, etc. There’s still plenty to do while I decide on flooring.