Those of us with an eager eye for aesthetics and interior design have been able to create enviable home office environments - making it all too appealing for us to leave the dreaded commute behind for good.
And it’s the same for working out, too. With Google searches for home gyms through the roof, exercise lovers have sought to shun the drudgery of treadmills at their local gym, opting instead to get creative within the comfort and safety of their own home.
Although we might be returning to our offices and gyms in greater numbers, with average households with three gym memberships forking out up to £2,400 a year, some suggest a bounce back to pre-pandemic gym membership levels might never happen.
Therefore, with an abundance of adaptable living spaces, our range of Light and Space homes are perfectly suited to accommodate your family’s changing needs, whether you’re working from home or working out from home.
START SMALL
All too often, people will easily spend £000’s on fancy equipment like running machines and bikes, which will take up a load of space, never be used and turn into glorified clothes-horses. Instead, you should focus on the essentials which can be easily tucked away into a closet to maximise space and get into a routine which works around your schedule, before investing further.
When investing in equipment, make sure to check out local sellers on sites such as Facebook Marketplace or eBay to grab some second-hand bargains.
If you’re starting out, start small with equipment that can be easily hidden away. Dumbbells, an exercise mat, resistance bands and medicine balls can be easily used in a spare bedroom or office room for your workout and hidden away if you’re jumping on Zoom calls or have guests staying over.
OPTIMISE YOUR SPACE
This Urbanpod at our Kinnaird Lee development in Larbert was installed to future-proof resident’s homes, so they could create an additional workspace during the pandemic, helping to keep work and home life separate The pods would also make a great home gym; the possibilities are endless…
Although we can all dream of an enviable outdoor space like this, you can easily get creative with your home’s pre-existing rooms to create the ideal workout space.
For example, with a bit of creative imagination, you could transform a garage into a flexible home office/gym. You could also buy a foldable desk to use when you’re WFH, which you could then collapse when working out to create extra space.
KEEP IT LIGHT AND AIRY
You should always ensure you’ve got adequate space, lighting and ventilation when exercising... the last thing you’d want is to work out in a small, damp, unventilated room.
Our Light and Space homes are designed to optimise natural lighting and space to allow families to grow, and for the space to work around your lifestyle.
The collection features flexible spaces throughout, including dedicated studies in half of our homes – which is most of our 4- and 5-bedroom properties. Where a study is harder to accommodate, for example in some of our 3-bedroom homes, the smallest bedroom can be easily adapted for home working.
And if you’re short on space, you can buy some full-length mirrors to make your space look bigger. It’ll also help you keep an eye on your form when exercising...
By providing our customers with space, flexibility and technology to maximise both work and family time (or even a little bit of ‘me time’), we hope that elusive work-life balance will become a reality, with our homes at the heart of it.
We’d love to hear from you about how you’ve adapted your space for home working or workouts. Don’t forget to tag us on Instagram @Calahomes.