I would say figuring out what equipment and how to lay it out was the most fun in this project, but second is getting the look and feel right. After all, an unfinished shed is just a box and the original TuffShed look with the logo plastered everywhere just doesn’t work. Here’s everything we did to the interior to get the vibe right.
The ceiling: painted black, rafters open
The ceiling of a Tuff Shed is just bare metal, which looks exactly as unfinished as it sounds. We painted the whole thing black and left the rafters exposed. It instantly made the space feel taller and more intentional — more industrial loft, less storage unit. The black was a slam dunk because 1) it seemed easy enough for our handyman to apply, 2) it would contrast nicely with the light colored pine and 3) It would match the floor and equipment. I iterated on the look and feel using ChatGPT and honestly the end result is pretty spot on with the original digital renderings!
Lighting: warm, but diffused
This was the big one for us. We wanted the light to feel warm, not like a warehouse, but still bright enough to actually train under. We ran Govee COB LED strips along the tops of the walls, where the walls meet the ceiling. COB strips matter here — no visible dots, just one smooth line of light. It’s soft on the eyes but genuinely bright. At night with the strips on, the whole shed glows. I had originally purchased the cheaper Govee light strips with the visible dots and quickly realized these would be super harsh on the eyes. So, I ended up using them to point upwards at the ceiling. They are totally unnecessary but when turned on they illuminate the ceiling along the edges.
Regarding light warmth, this is sometimes a preference thing. Some like bright and energetic lighting, others like warm. It also depends upon when you’re going to workout — daytime and have lots of windows? It doesn’t really matter about the lighting. Early morning? I personally need warm lights.
Black everything (when possible)
When it comes to gym stuff, I feel like you either end up with a black color theme or stainless steel. Usually black though. With Peloton stuff in the mix, black was the theme. This drives the mat color to some degree because believe it or not, there are a lot of options. There are mats with a wide variety of colored specs. Interlocking mats can also come in a wide variety of colors and designs.
Mirrors
Technically you don’t need mirrors, but they are great for not only form check, but also for making the space feel large and more gym-legit. Mirrors are certainly a challenging one to buy — there are a million options of size, dimensions, quality, how they are hung, and some have tech features. They also widely vary in price. Mirrors can get extremely expensive. Ideally you have one single mirror piece to cover the space you need, but when you’re covering a large wall, the cost, shipping and installation can become cost prohibitive. I decided to go with a three-piece set from Wayfair that looked simple enough to install. I would say these mirrors work, they get the job done and they look good (though I wish the frame was black!) Despite using a leveler and taking my time, I still was unable to completely eliminate the tiniest spacing between the mirrors. I don’t notice it actually, but if you state long enough I suppose you do. Also, if you’re standing between two mirror edges, the mirror image is not seamless. We hung full-length wall mirrors (we bought ours from Wayfair; this link is to a similar one on Amazon).
The walls: vintage magazines
We bought vintage magazines off eBay and framed them in simple 11×14 frames — a Muscle mag from June 1976, and an autographed Kerri Strug Sports Illustrated photo. It gives the walls some personality and makes the space feel like ours instead of a showroom. I made sure not to go too crazy here — just give it a little bit of character.
The walls: rustic pine planks
We finished the walls with rustic pine planks over the bare TuffShed studs. Since we’re not fully finishing the interior and making it completely HVAC-ready (California weather makes this work), we decided to go with wood plank walls. Inspired by our extended family home in Tahoe, we liked the warm feel of the wood. We also knew of a good carpenter and it seemed simple enough and wouldn’t get too expensive. Something to cover the walls is a must, otherwise you end up with the TuffShed white labelling everywhere. The TuffShed installers offered to reverse the interior lining so the labels came through less but I felt uncomfortable making changes to the default specs even if TuffShed was willing to do it. I bounced back and forth in my head between just painting the walls (maybe white) or putting wood planks up. The white paint seemed like it could end up looking back for a lot of effort, whereas I knew the plans would look great.
We actually started out wanting knot-free pine, but it was substantially more expensive, and once we saw the rustic stuff up on the walls, we were happy — it still looks great. The pine also helped the walls match the TuffShed’s default trusses, so the whole interior feels like it belongs together. We also had our carpenter do finishing touches to the windows.
One thing we haven’t decided yet: whether to stain it. A stain would lower the chance of wall scuffs from plates and bars, but it could also make the wood feel too glossy — and right now the matte, natural finish is part of the charm. Undecided for now.
No clutter
The ongoing rule: everything has a home. Barbell on the wall hanger, dumbbells on the rack, plates stacked. If something doesn’t have a spot, it doesn’t stay in the gym. A 16×20 space feels messy fast, so we’re strict about it. That said, we do have a storage tower that holds all the odds and ends (random gym stuff). Keeps it off the floor and easy to access.
The commercial touch
We grabbed a commercial gym wipe dispenser (the black stainless kind) from Home Depot. It’s a small thing, but it makes the shed feel like a real gym instead of a garage with weights in it. Wipe down the bench, toss the wipe, done. It’s currently filled with empty gatorade bottles.
Disclosure: Some links on this blog are Amazon affiliate links for the exact products we bought unless otherwise noted — we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
