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!

One of those days...

We are stuck in the house on another snow day and I feel a case of some serious cabin fever about to settle in.
A little dose of "why we love snow days" is in order. Lest we forget why we start wishing for these days in the first place.
First remedy, pile on the marshmellows.
Why just cover the top of your hot cocoa when you can cover the top of your cupcake too?

An extra special sugary snow day treat, is just what the doctor ordered for the girls.

As for this housebound mom, staying in my pjs all day will do just as nicely.

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!