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Interior designers interviewed by Livingetc say home gyms remain part of luxury residential projects, even as social workouts and boutique fitness studios attract people outside the home. Their accounts describe a shift from equipment-focused rooms toward designed wellness spaces that may incorporate recovery features and connect with the rest of the house.
Home gyms remain in demand in luxury residential projects, but interior designers say the brief is changing: clients increasingly want spaces that fit the home’s design and support exercise and recovery, according to a Livingetc report. The shift comes as group workouts and fitness studios become social destinations, raising questions about the role of dedicated workout space at home.
Designers interviewed by Livingetc described home gyms as an ongoing consideration in contemporary homes, rather than a feature displaced by social fitness trends. Sydney-based interior designer Nina Maya said demand for more comprehensive wellness spaces has grown, and that the main change is the ambition behind their design. She said clients are thinking about how their homes can support movement, recovery and time alone.
British interior designer Rebecca Hughes similarly told the publication that demand remains strong, while the focus has moved away from rooms designed only to house exercise equipment. She described the gym as increasingly part of a home’s overall design and lifestyle offering. Neither designer supplied market figures, so their comments describe their professional experience rather than a measured industry-wide trend.
Gabriele Zanni, co-founder of equipment and design studio Alama Studio, said clients want fitness spaces to feel like an actual part of the home. In high-end residential projects, he said, gyms are sometimes planned alongside the architecture and interiors from the outset. The report also describes projects that combine workout areas with features such as saunas, steam rooms, cold plunges and stretching space, as well as natural light, views and integrated storage.
Why Home Gyms Are Being Reconsidered
The reported shift matters to homeowners and designers because it changes the question from whether to fit exercise equipment into spare space to whether a home can support a broader set of wellness routines. A room planned early can be located and designed in relation to other parts of the house, while a retrofit may have to work around existing layouts and storage.
It also puts private fitness spaces alongside the social appeal of run clubs, Pilates classes and boutique studios. Those options offer group activity and a reason to leave home; a personal gym offers privacy and convenience. The designers’ comments suggest that, for some luxury clients, these functions are not mutually exclusive: the home gym is being designed as one element in a wider lifestyle and recovery space. The report does not establish how common that approach is outside the projects and clients its sources know.
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From Equipment Room to Wellness Space
The Livingetc report frames its discussion against the rise of social fitness, including run clubs, group Pilates and sauna sessions, which can serve as ways to meet friends as well as exercise. That trend prompts the question of whether people still want to dedicate home space to treadmills and weights.
The designers’ examples point to a design-led response rather than a claim that home gyms have become universal. Maya described a project where a gym’s outlook toward a pool and garden, along with walnut and white leather equipment, helped create an open feel. Hughes discussed a bespoke gym in a historic home that paired contemporary wellness design with original timber beams. These are individual projects, not survey results or evidence of demand across the housing market.
“We’re certainly still seeing strong demand for home gyms, although the focus has evolved over the past few years.”
— Rebecca Hughes, founder of Rebecca Hughes Interiors, speaking to Livingetc
How Broad Is the Demand?
The report does not provide sales data, project counts, homeowner surveys or comparisons over time. It therefore cannot establish whether home gym demand is rising across the wider housing market, or how the pattern differs between luxury homes and other properties. The designers’ accounts are informed observations from their own professional work.
It is also unclear how many households will combine exercise areas with recovery facilities such as saunas or cold plunges. The report discusses these features as elements of some wellness designs, but does not indicate their cost, prevalence or suitability for typical homes. Its reference to what gyms may look like in 2027 is a design outlook, not a confirmed forecast based on quantified research.
Design Choices to Watch
The report points to continued attention to location, natural light, outlook, materials and storage in future home gym projects. Designers are also considering how workout areas connect to other wellness features and to the home’s architectural character. These are current design directions described by the interviewees, not a schedule of specific industry announcements.
Whether these ideas spread beyond high-end residential projects remains to be seen. More data on homeowner demand, renovation plans and equipment purchases would be needed to establish the market’s size or direction. For now, the source-grounded finding is narrower: the designers interviewed by Livingetc say home gyms remain relevant to their work, with clients asking for spaces that feel integrated rather than purely functional.
Key Questions
Are home gyms still in demand?
The designers interviewed by Livingetc say they continue to see demand, particularly in luxury residential projects. The report provides no market-wide statistics, so it does not show how common home gyms are across all households.
How are home gyms changing?
The designers describe a move from equipment-only rooms toward spaces planned as part of the home’s interiors and wider wellness offering. Examples include attention to light, views, materials and storage, and, in some projects, nearby recovery facilities.
Are social workouts replacing home gyms?
The report describes social fitness as a growing way for people to exercise and meet others, but its interviewees say home gyms remain relevant. It does not provide evidence that one option is replacing the other across the market.
What is not known about the trend?
Livingetc does not give survey results, sales figures or a comparison of demand over time. The extent of the trend beyond the designers’ own client projects remains unclear.
Source: livingetc.com
