Originally, this built-in basement bar was an unexpected selling point when we made an offer on our current house. But, through years of disuse, it collected more dust than it did empty bottles. We used it maybe twice a year and eventually came to the realization that the space could be put to much better use.
My husband and I, who are big into fitness and working out at home, so that sealed the deal. We would turn this space into a small home gym!
The Before
The bar itself was beautiful and expertly crafted. Unfortunately, it was too big for the space and felt like you had to shimmy to get behind or around the bar.
Tear out began with the bar itself, which had so many staples and nails it gave us more trouble than we expected during the demo. We were able to re-purpose some of the shelves in our garage, but beyond that, everything—from the bar, to the lighting, to the flooring—was pulled out and trashed.
With a blank slate to work with, we didn’t have much to do regarding the renovations themselves to create a gym. A lot of what makes a gym a gym is the equipment. So, beyond painting the walls, installing the mirror panels and punching bag, rolling out the floor mat, and re-writing the lighting, it was a pretty easy project.
The After
A lot of our equipment was acquired from Play It Again Sports or purchased on Black Friday because—omg—you can get weights for a steal! (Highly recommend.) Aldi has also started selling home fitness equipment, which is where we got our stationary bike, exercise mats, steps, and foam rollers. A lot of the equipment is collapsable (squat rack, bench, bike, etc…) so we can move it out of the way when it’s not used.
The space may not be huge, but we make use of every square foot!
It’s a great space that we use every day and allows me to test run the programs I develop for my personal training clients. If we had the opportunity to keep both the bar and the new gym, we may have, but we have no regrets in the transformation and have taken to dubbing this space The Fire Pit (my husband’s a fire fighter), and (of course) I designed a logo for it:
