Stylish Home Gym Ideas for Small Spaces

This post is sponsored by Cost Plus World Market, which you know is one of my favorite places to shop! Thank you for supporting the brands that make this blog possible! This post also contains affiliate links.

Before having kids, we used one of the bedrooms in our house as a home gym. It wasn't very stylish, but it was certainly spacious. Fast forward a few years, and that exercise room became a kid's bedroom and we pared down our workout equipment and shoved it {quite literally} into the corner of the guest room. It's taken me nearly four years to finally make this space a priority, but I can finally say that what our new mini-home gym lacks in size, it more than makes up for in style and function!

I don't usually get too personal on the blog, but to explain why today's project is so important to me, I need to give you a bit of a back story. Last May, Scott and I decided we wanted to get serious about losing weight, so we signed up for a program with a very strict meal plan and we've been really dedicated to it. Eight and a half months later, I've lost 60 pounds and I've just reached my goal weight! Yahoo!

I'm feeling great, enjoying shopping for a whole new wardrobe, and excited that I'm get to slowly reintroduce all the foods that I wasn't allowed on the weight loss plan. But in order to eat my favorite foods and maintain my healthy new weight, I know that I need to get more exercise. I'll never be that girl who's training for a marathon {or even running a 5k for that matter}... but if it means I can eat a donut now and then, then I'm willing to put in the time and effort to burn those calories!

I'm not a big fan of going to the gym. I much prefer the flexibility of working out at home whenever I can fit it into my schedule, so I knew it was finally time to turn the pile of exercise equipment in the corner of the guest room into an organized and stylish home gym that I actually want to use.

I really love the decor in our guest room! It was inspired by our honeymoon in Santorini, and I find the space so calm and relaxing...

...except for this corner of the room. This corner was definitely not the relaxing island vibe we were going for!

A while back, I had the idea to just hide away the workout equipment by putting a folding screen in front of it. While the screen did mostly accomplish the hiding task, I had to admit that hiding the problem was not fixing it. Behind the screen was the same mess that I had before. And now I was even less likely to use the elliptical machine, or any of my other workout equipment, because the screen was heavy and cumbersome to move. I'd created an out of sight, out of mind situation, not just for my guests, but for me as well.

I decided it was time to retire the folding room divider, and transform this corner of the guest room into an organized, mini-home gym with a style that fit the decor of the room. I started browsing some of the shelving options at my local Cost Plus World Market in Denver, and before long I'd put together a complete plan!

SHOP THIS EXERCISE ROOM DECOR:

Ok, are you ready to see how the plan came together?!

I can't tell you how happy this space makes me! I'm still in that "pinch me" phase where I can't quite get over how much function I was able to pack into this little workout corner, and how seamlessly it now blends in with the rest of the decor in the room!

Let me give you a closer look at the details, and how I'm using each element of the space. 

I'd always envisioned putting a couple of shelves on the wall behind the elliptical machine, but all the options I'd looked at before felt a little too simple or utilitarian. I knew I needed something with a bit more interest in order to give this corner a finished and sophisticated look, and these triangle shelves {three hung together} are all that I could have asked for and more! 

I'm so smitten with the gorgeous set of blue and white porcelain bowls that I picked up. They fit perfectly in the triangles and they are just the right size for containing all the small things I need, like my earbuds and fit bit. These bowls are also a great place for me to put my earrings and wedding ring while I'm working out.

In the other triangles I have my wrist/ankle weights, some rolled up white hand towels, fitness balls, and a blue lotus and cherry blossom scented candle in a cute blue and white jar.

Below the shelves, I hung a set of marble wall hooks. I just love how the chevron pattern of the wood mimics the triangles of the shelves. The combination of the mango wood and the brass and marble knobs gives this piece has a really high-end style that helps to balance out the less stylish items hanging from it, including my weighted jump rope and resistance bands.  

I love using wall space to organize, so I also hung two galvanized baskets. One basket holds my travel magazines, because imagining wearing a swimsuit on a gorgeous beach vacation might just motivate me to keep moving on the elliptical... almost as much as the promise of being able to eat donuts again. Oh, better yet... donuts on the beach! Win/Win!  

The upper basket holds a set of cute world map file folders that I'm using to sort all of the various workout tips and routines I've torn out of magazines and printed from Pinterest. I labeled folders for arms, legs, abs, buns, cardio, etc., as well as one folder for all the instruction manuals for my various equipment.

By choosing stylish storage pieces, and striking a balance between functional and pretty pieces to fill the shelves, this wall of fitness equipment ends up feeling much more spa-like than locker room.

Below the wall storage, I added a bamboo shoe rack for my gym shoes and a few hand weights. Tucked into the corner is, perhaps, my favorite creative storage solution of the whole space... a pretty, white metal hamper that holds my weighted body bars, yoga mat, and various other workout equipment.  

The punched pattern in the metal hamper gives it soft and feminine look, but don't be fooled - this thing is heavy duty. It's really heavy and sturdy {way heavier than it looks}! This makes it perfect for storing my weighted body bars {no worries that they'll tip the laundry hamper over}, but if you were using it for laundry there is a cotton liner that unhooks and lifts out of the hamper for easy carrying.

My old red yoga ball wasn't holding air very well, so I replaced it with a blue one to better match the room {because, why not?!}, I can simply tuck the yoga ball to the side of the elliptical when it's not in use.

While I'm on the elliptical, I can use my phone to listen to audio books and pod casts, watch tv, or just admire the island view with the gallery wall of Santorini photos on the opposite wall.

Looking at the before and after photos side by side, I can't believe I waited so long to finally transform this space! I couldn't be happier with this how this small space home gym came together. It's proof that you don't need more than a corner or nook to create a fitness space - you just have to use the vertical space to its full organizing potential and come up with some creative storage hacks!

Don't let lack of space hold you back! Whether it's a home gym, an office, or a craft/sewing room you desire, carve out a corner for yourself! Start by browsing these small space storage solutions and this small space furniture collection for inspiration, and then get to work to turn that little piece of real estate into an organized and stylish spot you love!