Bryan and Sarah Build an Olympian Dream Gym

While the gym was important, having a functioning family room was also a priority for owners Steve and Allison and their three young children.

This $80K basement renovation includes a stunning family room, a simple office/guest room and a comprehensive home gym.

“This was a really raw space originally – it was cavernous,” says Bryan. “It still feels beautiful with tons of light coming through the door. It doesn’t feel like you’re in a basement even though there are stairs.”

Having just relocated from the West Coast, Sarah wanted to keep the furnishings and décor a little bit beachy and bohemian.

Having a separate, key-pad-locked entrance to this lower level means family or close friends can come over and use the gym or other facilities when they want to.

The toy recycling dump truck and gold dinosaur objet add fun, youthful touches to this child-friendly zone.

“You do have a great little bar over at one end here too,” says Bryan of this compact bonus area in the family room. “Throw a microwave here for popcorn or whatever you want to do.”

Beautiful, blue-backed build-in shelves sit on either side of the flat-screen TV- “With the height of the ceilings you get a ton of storage,” says Sarah.

“We bought this house because of the potential of it, which is risky,” says owner and past Olympic downhill skier Allison. “When you buy a house that you’re not in love with right off the bat, you can get nervous.”

Initially Bryan stained the box beams a shade (or three) too dark for Sarah’s design, but he was able to find the perfect tone – “It looks fabulous!” agrees Sarah.

“To have this done now,” says Allison after seeing their completed basement. “I can actually see, for the first time probably, that we could actually raise our kids here.”

Since fitness is such a focus for Allison and Steve, having a fully functioning, multi-faceted gym at their new home was a must.

For the floors, Bryan poured soft concrete, which is essentially rubber pellets bonded together to make a shock absorbent surface – “It’s perfect for working out on,” says Bryan.

“The idea is to make it look good but also make it functional,” says Bryan of the climbing wall for the kids. “So, we [had] to put enough handholds and footholds so a child without a massive reach is going to be able to climb up that wall safely.”

Sarah custom designed the gym bench, cabinets and cubbies to have plenty of space for friends to sit and rest, but also have a place to put their gear, coats and yoga mats.

“This is where the magic happens, people!” says Allison. “We looked at a lot of houses before we picked this one, and I didn’t find any with home gyms that actually fit the bill for what my tastes were. Bryan made it perfect.”

While owner Steve was a tad nervous when he first saw the can of baby-blue paint, he admits the soft-hued barn door leading to his office looks amazing.

“It’s a perfect desk, it’s clean and not much to it,” says Steve entering his office for the first time. “That’s all I really need, just put the laptop on there.”

The beauty of this downstairs office is that it also doubles as a guest room. “That office is primarily for Steve,” says Bryan. “And it can be a bedroom when it’s needed.”

Wearing a dress to the gym for the first time in her life, Allison reflects on her Bryan Inc. experience – “I feel re-inspired…to have a space that’s so beautiful and high end. It’s incredible and I just have a lot for love for it, so thank you.”