H&G meets H&F: what color should I paint our workout room?

[Susie]

I put a lot of work into cleaning & organizing the "finished" (ish) half of our basement in the last year, to use as a workout space.  The bikes, trainers, and TV are a good start, the carpet remnants are good for doing abs, etc.  I want to get a stability ball, and maybe a few dumbbells, but I feel like it's on its way.  Eventually I want my own treadmill, and a shallow table for the dvd player, cable box, etc.

The walls are really pretty scuffed up, so I'd like to paint them.  After that, I want to put up a few more race pics for motivation  The ones that are up are a swimming pic from college (by the window) and a couple from my beach patrol days.  I need to put up some tri pics, plus whatever Calvin wants, if anything.


Black's Law Dictionary = excellent riser.  And probably the best use of that book I've seen in a while.



With all the open storage, it'll never be "pretty," but I'm aiming just to make it a place that I like to be.  The linoleum has little pink flowers and little greenish-aqua leaves - very 1980s - but I'm prepared to ignore that until I can change it.  

Initially I was thinking of a light aqua for the walls, but I have a lot of light blue/green/aqua in my house and sometimes when your only tool is a hammer… 

Anyway.  WWYD?  Bonus points if anyone wants to PIP their home workout spaces/rooms for inspiration!

[emjacobs]

I like the idea of aqua, but I agree you have a lot of blue/green already. What about (don't shoot me) purple? Or orange?

Also what do you think of floor to ceiling curtains to cover the existing shelves? That way the stuff wouldn't be seen but it's still there.

[sadlebred]

Bright colors hurt my eyes. Grey is the new beige. How about a grey with an accent stripe at the top or in the middle? Grey with an accent wall?

www.houzz.com/ideabooks/454963/list/Choosing-Paint--How-To-Pick-the-Right-Gray

[thom]

I already think it's pretty impressive! Fun to see your workout space. I like lighter colors because they make a space seem more light & open. I'd go for a warm cream (almost yellow) or just a warm beige. Maybe 1 accent wall in your favorite color?

Hope it turns out how you want!

[mrs.jacinthe]

Could you go down the paint chip card from whatever's closest to your trainer color? SW Clean Green or Spirited Green, maybe? (This is basing my guess on training color off SW Straightforward Green)

[jamalynn]

We did a Benjamin Moore color called Flowering Herb. It matches with the hallway. It's a nice calm color.

[labbie]

I don't have a good picture of it to post, but we did Behr's Burnished Clay in our basement workout room. It's a light shade of grey. We wanted something neutral, but warmer than white, and to allow a bit of contrast with the pure white trim.

At first I thought I'd want a fun color that I wouldn't necessarily use in our living spaces, but I prefer the calm neutral and it serves as a good background for all the stuff we have on the walls (floating shelves, some posters, and hopefully soon some mirrors).

[Susie]

Lots of ideas, thanks!

I had thought about various grays and grieges, but wasn't sure if, in a basement, they would seem too dungeon-y. I will have to give it some thought, and see what Calvin thinks. The doors and trim are also something I will have to work with for now. I'm working on painting the trim throughout the house white, but I can guarantee I won't get to the basement for a very long time.

[MrsE]

My immediate reaction was aqua or teal blue until I saw that your home already has a lot of those colors. I like brighter colors for workout rooms.

[MrsE]

ETA: and that first thought may be because I just got home from Crossfit an the room looks like this