See a Dingy Basement Transform Into a Workout Wonderland

Successfully creating an at-home gym that also has serious interior design clout is no small feat. On Save My Reno, designer Sabrina Smelko and contractor Sebastian Clovis take a dark basement and turn it into a state-of-the-art gym (and laundry room) fit for an Olympian.

A basement home gym with grey floors, red accents and a rack of dumbbells

HGTV Canada

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Spot Me

After living in their new house for only three months, first-time homeowners Natalie and Adam decided they needed a designated spot to do their squats, plus a place to air out their piles of smelly hockey equipment.

Former CFL football star and Save My Reno host Sebastian Clovis shares his workout tips.

Basement at home gym with grey floors, red design accents and black equipment

HGTV Canada

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If You’ve Got It

Since Natalie is an Olympic athlete – she was part of the Canadian hockey team that took home the gold at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi – tastefully displaying hockey-career memorabilia was important to the couple.

A dirty basement piled high with hockey equipment, boxes and old tools

HGTV Canada

3 / 10

Ground Zero

Yikes! Before the Save My Reno team stepped in, Natalie and Adam’s basement had become a dumping ground for their bags of hockey gear, miscellaneous furniture and tools they could never find due to all the accumulated mess.

Sabrina Smelko shows you how to make an organization board that will keep you and your family on track and on trend.

A wooden bench with two grey and white pillows sits in a new gym with grey floors, red running shoes and a red maple leaf pouf

HGTV Canada

4 / 10

In the Red Zone

Sabrina endeavoured to bring order and calm into this new basement gym by installing grey engineered-wood floors, an easy palette of white, grey and red, and defining different zones around the space with activity-specific furnishing and accessories.

Basement at home gym with grey floors, red design accents, hockey memorabilia on the walls and a black stationary bike

HGTV Canada

5 / 10

Sweat Equity

Since their budget was set at $30,000, the Save My Reno team sourced second-hand, state-of-the-art exercise equipment that was still in excellent shape but wouldn’t break the bank.

How the Save My Reno team turned this no-go basement into a family-friendly refuge.

A grey yoga mat sits in a new basement gym with a red water bottle, two grey workout towels and two yoga cork blocks

HGTV Canada

6 / 10

Canadian Yogi

A strong Canadian theme runs throughout the space, evident here in the maple leaf water bottle and red square poufs, paying homage to the country Natalie has now represented twice at the Winter Olympics.

Check out this masculine makeover of a simple-Simon semi.

Two custom made hockey lockers feature old hockey sticks and red back walls

HGTV Canada

7 / 10

Stick It to ’Em

To pay homage to their preferred sport, Sabrina thought it would be fun to incorporate old hockey sticks into this custom-made double hockey locker, designed to hold Natalie and Adam’s gear when they’re off the ice.

A dirty basement filled with hockey equipment, a washer and dryer set and an expose HVAC system

HGTV Canada

8 / 10

Dark Days

The exposed HVAC unit, washer-dryer set and 1970s wood veneer panelling all helped to make this large basement feel dark and boxed in. Rather than moving the ductwork, Sebastian was able to construct a wall around it as part of the new laundry room.

New basement laundry room with herringbone tile floors, a butcherblock counter, white cabinets and a two drying racks

HGTV Canada

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All in One

Since the original washer and dryer were in good shape, Sabrina decided to keep them and incorporate them into a design scheme that included white shaker cabinets with gold hardware, a handy wall drying rack and rail, and a gorgeous, cost-efficient butcherblock counter.

New basement laundry room with a butcherblock counter, white cabinets with gold hardware, and a white farmhouse sink

HGTV Canada

10 / 10

Sink Into It

It’s almost sacrilegious to imagine soaking dirty gloves and socks in this gorgeous white farmhouse sink, but even the most fashionable features of this laundry room have a necessary function, which is the hallmark of truly smart design.

Watch the full episodes of Save My Reno.