Basement Home Gym Update: The Final Stretch

This will be my last update on our $100 basement home gym makeover before the reveal next week!  I’ve made a lot of progress – but there is still so much to do!  This makeover has been slow going due to a crazy cold snap that made the basement too cold to work on and my husband and my 2 year old both getting the flu this month along with the normal problems and delays every project has. So let’s take a quick look at the to-do list and see where we stand.

Basement Home Gym Makeover Plans:

• Clear out all the junk.  Done!
• Clean and paint the walls This took way longer than I anticipated but it is finally done.  (Painting bare cinder block is no fun.)
• Simple wall mural  I am painting huge letters on the wall that spell GYM and I’m about 75% done.
• Big Chalkboard Not even started yet.
• New TV stand I found an old typewriter stand in the basement for this.  It’s not the perfect solution but it works and it was free.
• String Lights I have bought the lights but haven’t even taken them out of the box yet.
• Window covering Haven’t even really thought about this one yet.  But I did remove the chain link fence the previous owners had put over the windows which was a major improvement!
• Accessories Nothing yet.

So looking at this list it looks like I haven’t done much of anything!  But really those first two things on the list took sooo much time and made such a difference in the space.

Before

Progress

It may not be very stylish just yet, but this space has already come a long way!

And what about the budget? Am I going to come in under $100.  Well, yes and no.

Here’s the thing.  (That’s never a good start is it?)  Half of the walls in our basement had been previously painted and the other half were completely bare cinder block.  Before painting bare cinder block, you need to use some sort of block filler to prevent future moisture problems and also create a paintable surface. (If you’re interested in the scintillating process of painting cinder block walls, you’re in luck.  I’m going to put together a tutorial soon.)  Buying the materials to properly prepare the bare cinder block walls cost around $60.  This is clearly a huge problem since the budget for the entire space is only $100 and that $60 didn’t even include the actual paint!  So I’ve made the decision not to include the cinder block filler in my $100 budget.  It might sound like cheating and maybe I’m justifying things too much, but I’m looking at it as a home repair that had to be done before I could make over the room. And so I’m not counting it.  Everything else counts though so here’s where I stand so far.

Basement Gym Budget:

• Paint $26
• Paint roller cover for highly textured walls $4
• String Lights $28

Total: $58

Still to buy: supplies to make chalkboard, possibly a window covering or accessories.

I’ve got to be honest: this really hasn’t been such a fun project so far.  The majority of this makeover has involved hanging out in a dreary basement going through piles of clutter, sweeping up dust and bugs, and painting cinder block walls.  Not exactly the creative work I love to do.  Thankfully, all of that is done and finally I get to add a few touches to actually bring some fun style to the space.

See everything related to my $100 home gym makeover right here:

Week 1: Basement Before Pictures

Week 2: Industrial Home Gym Plans

Week 3: Trick to Finally Decluttering the Basement

Week 4: Home Gym Update: The Final Stretch(you’re here)

Week 5: Basement Home Gym Reveal  (the big one!)

And in case you missed them, you can see my other $100 room makeovers here:

$100 Modern Farmhouse Bathroom Reveal

$100 Family Room Reveal

Here’s an update on how everyone else’s spaces are coming along!