Rejuvenation, fitness, and self-care are today’s most in demand luxuries, and areas that address those needs have now become an essential part of the home. “It’s been building,” says designer Eric Egan, who has seen a growing interest in these type of next-level wellness spaces in houses and yachts since 2017, when he installed his first residential health club–size gym, Pilates area, and massage room. “We’re doing the same level, the same equipment, as we do for our hospitality projects.”
As wellness becomes an integral part of everyday agendas, interiors experts are fielding calls for larger gyms, spa-worthy hammams, and soundproof yoga and meditation rooms outfitted with top-tier cardio machines, oak paneling, heated stone floors, or handcrafted artisan tile. “More than just a stylistically interesting space, clients are seeking a Zen home that offers an antidote to the frenetic pace of daily life,” says Tom Kundig, principal of architecture firm Olson Kundig. “It’s very much a part of the design conversation now—how to make a quiet place, a protected place, a nurturing place.”
“Bringing water as a feature into your home brings nature into your experience,” says Robin Standefer of Roman and Williams, which created this spa bath in a Montecito, California, residence. Photo: YOSHIHIRO MAKINO
Vital to any wellness routine is establishing the right ambience, so clients are selecting larger rooms with ocean views or access to the outdoors to place workout gear. “Whereas the gym used to be in the basement, they’re now moving up to the top floor of the house,” says Egan, who often responds to requests for full-size Pilates reformers with 65-inch televisions for virtual training sessions as well. “If you take a lot of time for self-care, you want to be in the nicest part of the house.”
In the Bay Area, Olson Kundig crafted a refined indoor-outdoor gym at a property also boasting a running track, putting green, and soccer field, while Roman and Williams conceived a dreamy home spa in Montecito, California. “The idea is to bring natural elements into your home that are restorative and healing,” says the firm’s cofounder Robin Standefer. “Natural materials are a fundamental element of the design that help create warmth and keep it from being antiseptic or austere.”
But, experts note, the area doesn’t have to be spacious to be effective. “You can have a dry sauna that’s only four by four feet in an apartment,” states Brian Sawyer, a founding partner of Sawyer | Berson. Standefer adds that a hinoki-wood soaking tub, like the kind seen in a Japanese onsen, can also be done in a smaller size. “Ultimately, whether you have a lot of space or a little space, interior or exterior, it requires a focus and understanding of the traditions and rituals,” she says.
North of Palm Beach, Florida, Smith and Moore Architects enveloped a spa bath’s Zen massage area in a beautiful silver travertine and added a deep soaker tub made of teak. Photo: ERIC PIASECKI
Considering that even the most well-designed equipment can still look uninspiring, decorators emphasize the power of wrapping the room itself in beautiful textures. “The gym is getting equivalent attention as far as materials and really making it fit with the quality of everything else in the home,” says Daniel Kahan, principal at Smith and Moore Architects in West Palm Beach, Florida.
In the area’s Seminole Landing neighborhood, the studio covered the walls of a home spa in a glorious silver travertine. “We’re using it really simply and allowing it to be additive to the space as opposed to just background,” says Kahan of the stone, which takes on a jewel box glow with thoughtfully orchestrated ceiling and floor lights. A deep soaking tub made of teak brings warmth, complementing the room’s neutral, natural palette.
In Southampton, New York, Sawyer | Berson’s client Dune CEO Richard Shemtov enhanced his subterranean sanctuary with furniture from his own collection. Photo: JOSHUA McHUGH
It’s no longer enough to have a Peloton bike and free weights. Technogym equipment conceived by Italian architect Antonio Citterio, Pent, Tonal, and Paragon Studio are popular choices. Poltrona Frau, Louis Vuitton, and Versace have also introduced branded gear. There are even highly specialized consultants who can tailor gym rooms to a client’s regimen.
Of course, nothing fuels a workout quite like a great playlist. “I’m seeing a backlash against centralized sound systems; they’ve become so complicated no one can figure out how they work,” says Egan, who points his clients to Phantom speakers by Devialet.
Now that gyms are no longer crammed into leftover spaces, and requests for plunge pools, golf simulators, and wet and dry saunas are de rigueur, finding new and inspiring ways to prioritize one’s health offers fresh opportunities for today’s designers. “If you went to any proper Roman villa, you would have all those accoutrements,” says Sawyer. “Not to sound absurd, but it is kind of a return to that lifestyle.”
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2025 Spring Issue under the headline “Care Package.” Subscribe to the magazine.
