Cottage Exercise Room

Simple and welcoming are words that I  often hear used to describe what I love most about cottage style. So it was obvious I needed to use those two words to guide my design of the new exercise room. Foremost, I wanted it to be a space I looked forward to going into. It had to be inviting as well as motivating. Most importantly however, it had to be a room that would not only look good but that I would use!

Small May Be More
No need for lots of intimidating equipment here. Just enough space for one major piece of equipment and enough floor space to  stretch and do some yoga. This room is tiny, only five feet by nine but thats perfectly fine. Fitness expert, Jessica Smith in article at  Better Homes and Gardens  says, "Some of the most effective workouts come from simplicity- simple equipment and minimal space can help you create a regular, effective workout routine."

To keep workout routines for becoming monotonous, there are a few extra exercise tools I incorporated to use for variety- resistance cords, an exercise ball, weights.

Color
I chose colors that would create a comfortable yet invigorating atmosphere. The lime green and turquoise wake me up and make me want to get moving.

This canvas I painted with my color scheme and then decoupaged on images of simple stretch  and ball exercises for easy reference plus a light-hearted reminder.

Storage
The lime cabinet adds a punch of color but also neatly stores all the exercise videos and dvds, weights, yoga blocks and towels.

Inspiration
Being surrounded by inspirational images and words is critical in a space like this. A memo board hangs above the cabinet- a place where I can tack up motivating quotes and pictures and easily change them as often as I like.

Instead of an all out beach theme, the starfish and shells are the subtle reminders I need that bathing suit season is just around the corner. The yearly planner I purchased to track my progress also features palm trees and beach scenes.

The mirrors I etched  with the words- aspire, believe, energize and achieve.

Waking the Senses
Any well decorated room will please all the senses including your nose. Keeping the room smelling nice is key especially in a room where there will be lots of sweat. This reed diffuser decorated with shells accomplishs just that. The plants help give the room a fresh look and also help clean and purify the air.

With a simple, motivating space like this I am well on my way to a healthier me.


Linking to these great parties. Check out all the talent too!

building the exercise room

When I first came up with this crazy idea to carve out some space in the basement for exercising, I thought we could just hang some curtains to section off the space. It was Mr. Cabin who suggested we actually build a real room with real walls and a real door. I don't know why I am suprized with the way it came out. After all, this man did build me an entire cabin- he evidentally knows what he is doing! Yet his carpentry skills never cease to amaze.

He turned an icky section of the basement that looked like this-

...into this.

Because Mr. Cabin loathes spackling and sanding we decided not use traditional sheetrock. He suggested this beadboard paneling and because I love the cottage look of beadboard, I was all for it.

I wanted to leave the beams exposed in the ceiling but they were pretty disgusting and Mr. Cabin said it wouldn't look good so instead he used cedar planking.

I love the rustic combination of the cedar and the beadboard.

Mr. Cabin suprized me with these recessed lights and trim rings.

We used carpet tiles on the floor. The floor is very uneven so this was the easiest option.

Now that the building is done, it is my turn to decorate and turn it into an exercise room.

It has to be one heck of an inviting and invigorating space that I will use all the time. If I don't, Mr.Cabin has threathened to turn the room into his video game lounge!

Postponing Decking the Halls, to Build Up Walls

It has been a whirlwind few weeks starting with the girls' birthday party (mermaid party pics coming soon I promise) to Thanksgiving and the beginning of the holiday season. While most people are busy decking the halls, we've been building some walls. And though we might be the last ones on our block to put up our lights this year, we are getting a jump on all those new year resolutions to get fit because the walls we are building belong to a new exercise room for me!
I confess exercise has not been part of my daily routine and it should be. I want to start exercising again not so much to get back in shape but to gain some more energy. Other times in my life when I exercised regularly, I had more energy, stamina and focus.  My life with twin four year olds and a demanding full time job is exhausting- more energy is high on my wish list. So an exercise room is what I asked Santa (Mr.Cabin) for this year.

I know an entire room sounds a little extreme but let me explain a few things.
#1 - It's winter. Had it been spring or summer, I would just go outside and take a walk. But it's dark and cold by 4:30 every afternoon. Walking outside in the dark and the cold does not appeal to me.

#2- Why not just join a gym? I could of course but it all goes back to the cold and the dark. I would not want to leave my nice, warm and cozy cottage to drive to a gym. I just wouldn't go.

#3- I already have some equipment. A gazelle, which got put in the basement when pregnant me got put on bedrest- the poor machine has not seen the light of day since. Four long years. I used to have it set up in the living room but the twins and their toys have taken over and that is just not a good option anymore.

#4- You may be picturing an entire room as a large space. Nope- this room is going to be tiny. The reality is the only room we could spare was some space in basement. The basement right now is dark and dinghy- basically storage and laundry space. We were able to figure out a little space I could call my own- all 8 feet by 9 nine feet of it.

#5- If I am going to use the space it has to be pretty. Who wants to work out staring at the pile of dirty laundry? An inviting, pretty little space all my own will make working out less of a chore.

So this is what Mr.Cabin was doing this weekend instead of putting lights on our house. First he replaced the window.

He installed a slightly larger window but first he had to cut out all this excess concrete. I was so impressed he knew what he was doing!

The new window and trim.

Here is the space- can you see now why I don't want to work out in the basement as is? Yuck!

The beginning of the framing.

And since I don't want to leave you with all dinghy, dirty basement pictures- here are some pretty pictures.

This is an idea I came across while looking for inspiring exercise room photos.

from Cottage Living

I am contemplating using this cabinet from the kitchen in the same way- TV/DVD player on top, exercise dvd's and supplies inside. I just repainted it when we repainted the kitchen except the color isn't quite right for the kitchen. I going to repaint it again but now I think the color might be perfect for the exercise room.

The rest of my inspiration so far- bright, happy, invigorating and pretty. What more could a workout room ask for?

Of course, Mr. Cabin has not seen the above yet. It drives him nuts when I start decorating while he is still working. I can't help it- I'm excited about my Christmas gift!