How a South Boston Basement Became a Stylish Home Gym and Sauna

January 2, 2025

Designer Trevor Fulmer transforms his basement into a haven for health and wellness.

Text by Bob Curley Photography by Venjhamin Reyes

Modern home sauna with glass walls, wooden interior, and sleek design next to a staircase in a stylish south boston basement renovation

A narrow staircase with a space-saving cable-row railing leads from interior designer Trevor Fulmer’s entryway to his basement gym and sauna.

Modern Home Gym Design with Sleek Wooden Slat Wall, Hidden Storage Under Stairs, and Fitness Equipment in a Stylish South Boston Basement Renovation

An exercise ball resides in a closet under the staircase; additional gear is concealed behind slatted wood doors that provide design continuity between the workout area and the sauna.

Modern home gym with mirrored walls, sleek led ceiling lights, wooden slat accent wall, fitness equipment, and potted plants in a stylish south boston basement renovation

Dotless LEDs provide uniform lighting on the walls and ceiling, which also includes points for attaching TRX suspension-training equipment.

Modern wooden staircase with integrated led lighting, minimalist railing, and textured accent wall with circular light fixtures in a stylish south boston basement renovation

Both the circular light fixtures and the walls are covered in tactile, light-reflecting Omexco wallcoverings.

Some unusually high basement ceilings in an 1890s South Boston home got interior designer and self-described “gym rat” Trevor Fulmer thinking about a space for some high-intensity workouts downstairs rather than at a downtown fitness center—an idea that turned into action when the pandemic disrupted his usual workout routine.

“Fitness is a really important part of my life,” says Fulmer, who bought the house in 2016 with his husband, Jim Mattus. Despite immediately seeing the potential for an at-home gym in the basement with its seven-foot, six-inch ceilings, however, the idea languished until the pandemic hit. “One of the last things we did before everything shut down was buy some gym equipment from Rouse Fitness,” Fulmer says.

As the health crisis eased, Fulmer’s vision took shape as a masterful blend of design and functionality. Rather than sacrificing precious inches of height for ceiling lights, Fulmer opted to install linear dotless LED strips across the ceiling and down the walls.

At around 300 square feet, the room is about as compact as it is tall; space-saving features include seven secret doors hiding everything from fitness gear to HVAC equipment to—behind the mirrors—the bulkhead door that leads to the backyard patio.

A section of the basement with lower ceilings was set aside for a sauna. A pair of walls constructed from heat-retaining glass help keep the sauna at an ideal 194 degrees. “We use it after a workout or, on a cold night when we want to just heat up, we hop into the sauna before bed,” Fulmer says.

The basement stays cool in the summer, too, and has become one of Fulmer’s favorite parts of the house. “We’re down there almost daily for workouts, weight lifting, and yoga,” he says. “I don’t even have a gym membership anymore.”

Project Team
Interior design: Trevor Fulmer Design
Builder: Any Season Builders

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