Sleek, Modern + Compact Treadmill | SpaceWalker Review

When Hubby and I moved from our suburban townhouse to our rural lakehouse we happily traded interior space for lake frontage, but losing a full height basement and third bedroom has proven to be a little more challenging than we thought.  We miss some things about our old house - including a spot to stash a treadmill, which we actually used quite often.  I had a friend who was a real fitness enthusiast and when we were too busy to connect in person we'd schedule "treadmill dates".



We would each put on our bluetooth earpieces and chat while we walked, neither of us minding that conversation was made more difficult by the whir and buzz of our treadmills.  Before Hubby and I moved to the lakehouse we sold the treadmill because we had no place to put it and we assumed we'd just naturally get fit by spending our time in the great outdoors.  We were right - in the warmer months.  We swim, stand up paddle board, bike, walk, canoe and sail (it's a surprising core workout).  In the winter though, we hunker down and eat indoor s'mores in front of the fireplace.  A wonderful way to embrace hygge, but terrible for our health!

Determined to get active during our hibernating months, Hubby and I started to shop for a small treadmill that we could fit into our office closet - formerly a nook with a filing cabinet and antique trunk:
  

We spent months emptying its contents until we had a beautiful blank slate that we plan to morph into a mini home gym with some additional DIY-ing (like adding some ventilation, an outlet, maybe a shelf for some weights and a small TV?).  But the first step was finding a durable treadmill that is compact enough to fit in there.  Many treadmills on the market need a massive walk-in closet to hide them or,  like our old one, they are too heavy and bulky for me to move on my own.

Eventually I found THE most perfect compact treadmill that's small, sturdy and capable, but it looks so stylish that it doesn't even need to be tucked away.  It's the Spacewalker by BodyCraft.  As my lovely Mom is demonstrating, it is so compact that not only can we store it in the closet, we can use it in there too!

I reached out to BodyCraft and they generously provided one for review (I was not otherwise compensated) - but I would purchase this treadmill in a heartbeat.  Most of the treadmill is a gorgeous creamy white but it does have a glossy colorful side, which comes in black or red.   Let's petition them to manufacture one in turquoise!

It is shipped fully assembled and although it weighs 90lbs, once it's out of the box it is surprisingly easy to move around.  Both my Mom and I can do it alone, thanks to a sleek design that's easy to hold on to - and a pair of sturdy wheels.

Once it's folded up, it's unbelievably compact - there are so many places I could tuck this in my home: beside the tallboy dresser in the bedroom, into our coat closet, or even behind the TV!

You can also flip it onto its side and tuck it behind a sofa or place it at the end of a bed as a bench.

Did I mention that this compact treadmill doubles as a small treadmill desk?  It's the perfect size to rest a laptop.  I have to admit that I will need some more practice to be able to walk and reply to an email, but it's perfect for watching YouTube tutorials or easier work tasks that don't require quite as much brainpower or coordination.

In terms of using it, I love how simple it is to operate.  This treadmill has everything I need: cupcake cup holder, built-in pulse sensors, quick access start/pause button, LED display, and a safety key that immediately turns off the machine.  Even though it's small, it's very sturdy, with a steel reinforced laminated melamine under the deck that can support someone up to 300lbs.  Although the deck is compact in size, even when I am walking at a good clip (you can do up to 4mph), it feels perfectly stable and I never feel like I'm going to run out of room.  I actually like how low it is to the ground because I used to feel a little dizzy on our old treadmill, which felt so high that I was convinced I'd get decapitated if I was running while the ceiling fan was on.  

You can read about all of the treadmill features on the BodyCraft website. 

 

BodyCraft is offering readers $200 off (using the code DANSLELAKEHOUSE) which brings the total to $799, plus free shipping in the US.

Hubby and I are thrilled with this treadmill because it can be a bit of a struggle to find that perfect balance between form and function in a small home.  I'd love a six bedroom home or epic finished basement where I could have a photography studio, a sewing room, a home gym, a proper guestroom, a room for the pups, a chest freezer...  But I don't.  I have a perfectly lovely two bedroom house with a weird little fish room, a bunkie I only use in the summer, and a basement that's five feet tall with no visible stairs leading to it (what a mystery).

Products like this help me feel so much more content with the space I have.  Who needs a massive home gym when I have a compact treadmill that looks sharp, functions beautifully, and helps me make the most of the space I have?   



Stay tuned for the rest of this closet turned home gym transformation...

A huge thanks to BodyCraft for sending me the compact SpaceWalker treadmill.

P.S. Thanks also to my beautiful Mom, for being my model.  Her striking leggings and teal (!) top are designed by a local designer who has her own factory in Katmandu, Nepal, with two retail locations (Elfarrow Apparel): one in my hometown and another on Salt Spring Island, BC.   

New White Glass Sliding Closet Doors in the Bedroom!

Exciting news!!  I'm collaborating with Leon's Furniture on their new blog, Hello Yellow!  As one of the bloggers recruited to create fresh and inspiring content, I'll be chronicling a mini makeover of our master bedroom.  This has been the kick in the pants I needed to finally finish our master bedroom and create a functional, peaceful space.  I'll be sharing all kinds of updates (new curtains, furniture, accessories and art!), but today I'm sharing one long overdue change:



That's right: we finally purchased new closet doors - it only took about a year and a half!  Check out my first post on Hello Yellow to relive the exhausting adventure of removing the broken mirrored doors, which mushroomed into repairing the floors and replacing the closet organizer.

Before

The last time you saw it, the closet has been given a colourful paint job (to appease orange-loving Hubby), and a new closet organizer was in place - but our clothes remained on display.  I'm a fan of open shelving in the kitchen, but I grew weary of having a closet without doors.

But now, you won't know that I hang my sweatshirts like a weirdo, or that I've been to a Coach Outlet store one too many times:

It was surprisingly easy to find modern sliding doors that we liked (we purchased ours from The Home Depot).  I was immediately drawn to the white glass, which felt light and airy - perfect for a lakehouse.

(I think that I deserve a serious round of applause for backing away from the aqua in the bottom row):

Door Options

While the aqua was certainly tempting, I like the white glass because it's neutral and even though it reads as the softest, palest green, it works well in our house.  If you look around the lakehouse, I've chosen many light reflecting surfaces, like the ceiling fan, the floating credenza and the wall unit.  I wanted to carry a gleamy surface into the bedroom to help create more cohesion between the spaces.  Plus, it's my nod to living lakeside.  I don't do literal lakeside decor (paddles, buoys), but I pick finishes and colours that remind me of beach glass, polished stones, the water - even the choppy ice that forms in the winter. 

We opted for frameless doors, for a more modern look.  Our metal options were limited with the frameless style, and I couldn't get the brushed nickel I wanted, so we opted for white metal.  I think the white ended up looking better, anyway, because it blends in with the white trim and walls.



We chose a triple by-pass door so we can keep the closet configuration we like (with a centre bank of drawers) and still access everything with ease.  You can see more photos on Hello Yellow.



We're so thrilled!  We've had these picked out for awhile but kept putting off the purchase because of the price tag (just over $800 - having three doors instead of two added a bit to the price).  I'm happy, though, that we waited, kept saving, and upgraded from a "Builder's Basic" style - that's a definite perk of small space living!  Because we only need one set of closet doors, we could pick something we really, really love.

Read more »

Rubbermaid Configurations Closet Organizer Review

We installed a closet organizer in the orange bedroom closet and it's incredibly satisfying to simply pull out a garment, instead of rooting around through heaps and boxes.  We loved the maple-look closet fitting in the townhouse because it matched the floors nicely, but we didn't find any wood closet systems to match our lakehouse floors.  After some questing, we found a grey version of the ubiquitous white wire closet organizer that we thought looked kind of smart.

Rubbermaid Configurations Closet Organizer (in Titanium) Review:

We purchased the Rubbermaid Configurations Closet Organizer system because it promised to be cheap and easy, but it didn't look cheap (to us).  When the dust settled, it turned out to be kind of pricey because we added Rubbermaid Slide on Baskets.

Here's a look at the organized installed.  I really hate when people stage closets for photos, so I hope you don't mind that these photos reflect what it actually looks like, day to day.

First I want to address the cost of the Rubbermaid system.  Admittedly, the basic kit is only about $150-200 dollars, but we ended up spending a lot of money on the baskets (online they are about $45, but we paid $55 in store).  When all was said and done, after we bought every little bit and bob necessary, this cost us around $500!

But, everything is organized and in it's place - and that's priceless, right?

As customize-able as Rubbermaid claims this is, you're a bit limited with how you can place the vertical tracks if you want to add shelves or baskets, or any of the other add-on pieces.  We also couldn't put the bars (on the right side) at the height we wanted them because the baskets use the same tracks to clip on to.  That's why the baskets ended up unevenly spaced, and Hubby's shirts just dust the floor.  We might need to fuss with this some more.

Happily, the wire shelving is smooth and doesn't snag or catch (although the basket brackets are a little sharp). 

The spacing limitation has also left us with another problem: the baskets slide out, which is great, but now we can't install double sliding doors.  If we move the baskets over to the right, they bump into the frame and won't open. 

Despite these small installation issues, I'm really happy with the closet.  I think we really maximized the space - I even added larger versions of my shoe bins to store winter boots and make use of that awkward space under our longer items.  I also love that my purses all have their own space on the top shelf.

The colour still makes Hubby smile (I like it too!) and I'm really happy we took the time to swap out the dated light fixture for the cutie one I love so much. 

Certainly, it's a far cry from before:

UPDATE: We purchased absolutely gorgeous, triple pass glass sliding doors.  Take a look here!

Read more »

A Foolproof Way to Organize a Shoe Closet

Amid the chaos of painting, unpacking, and tearing apart the kitchen, it feels promising to open up a closet door and see orderliness.  I'd like the kind of closets where everything has a home.  I'm chipping away at that goal and the shoe closet is now completely organize - and I actually have room for more shoes!!  

Last time you saw it, the narrow closet by our front door had a fun coat of aqua paint, plus Hubby had cut simple white melamine shelves to fit the existing brackets.  But, um, the closet wasn't very functional:

In the townhouse we had a tall shoe rack but it wouldn't fit anywhere in the lakehouse.  In the coat closet (photos soon), we have our small shoe rack from Costco and this is where we keep the shoes and boots we're wearing regularly.

For out-of-season flats and fancy-pants heels, I picked up dozens of Sterilite shoe bins and went to town organizing my shoes.  I was able to double up some canvas flats, but a few really bulky runners wouldn't fit in the bins.

I don't miss the old shoe rack at all.  I can still see all of my shoes clearly, but everything lines up so neatly.  I can even grab a bin and toss it on the bed while I ponder an outfit, without worrying about getting dirt from the world all over my white bedding.  When I was a teen, I put photos of each pair of shoes on their shoe box in an effort to stay organized, but these clear bins make it so much easier!

I've read that shoes are supposed to "breathe" when stored, but if it becomes an issue I can easily drill holes in the back of all of the boxes for some air holes.  So far, no problems whatsoever!

Read more »

Paint the Inside of Your Closet a Bright Color

Although the lakehouse feels more spacious than the townhouse, and comes with the added bonus of a detached guesthouse and huge detached garage, it has one fewer bedroom than the townhouse and an awkward, 5-foot tall, unfinished basement that is inconveniently accessed.  At first I missed the finished basement (with stairs leading to it!) and spare bedroom the townhouse boasted.  Frankly, though, we just can't be trusted with the extra space - we had mindlessly been stashing junk in the townhouse for years.  When we packed the U-Haul, it became abundantly clear that we have too much stuff, and most of it had been hiding in the basement.  My goal for the lakehouse is for it to only house things we love or can't live without.  I decluttered a bit before we moved, but I'm going to have to be even more ruthless as I unpack.   

I think organized closets will be key to overcoming the decrease in storage space (and maintaining my sanity).  To show the closets some love, in the fall we removed all of the warped shelves, melamine closet fittings, and bi-fold (or sliding) doors, so each closet was a blank slate.  You already saw what we did with the blank slate in our bedroom.  Remember the fun orange closet?  Surprise: it wasn't the first colourful closet!

The colourful closet thing actually started when I began running out of white paint.  I had realized that in my paint partnership with Canadian Tire I had over estimated how much turquoise I would need for the kitchen makeover.  Because the white paint I was provided was rather thin and required three coats, not the two I planned, I was running out of white.  On a whim, I painted the three hall closets (a small cupboard beside the main entrance, plus a coat closet and linen closet) turquoise to avoid having to cough up some cash for additional white paint.  You actually caught a sneak peek in the bathroom mirror when I showed off how I spruced it up.  See?

Here's what the hall closets looked like before: oak trim, scuffed paint, more oak molding (acting as shelf brackets) and warped shelving (already removed).

I loved the turquoise closets and that's when I decided the bedroom closet was next.  I tried so hard to steer Hubby toward a greenish teal so all of the closets would be watery hues, but no dice.  The guy loves orange.

As a reminder, the bedroom closet was previously pale pink, with oak trim, and a horrible white melamine closet fitting that was one windy day away from toppling over.

Over the weekend, I tackled the last remaining closet, in the office, and painted it a greener turquoise than the hall closets.  Actually, it's colour matched to the laundry room floor in the townhouse.  I was so sad about leaving our freshly updated laundry room; my favorite part was the dreamy turquoise floor in the perfect mint-tinged hue.  It has made me seriously happy to bring that colour to the lakehouse.  

Before the wash of turquoise the closet was dinged up, outfitted with oak trim and and makeshift brackets, and pale, pear green paint that was really scuffed.  Along with the master closet, this one also had a super ugly, really dated light fixture inside.  Both closet fixtures were replaced with the inexpensive exterior light I used in the laundry room makeover.

So long, ugly light!

Hubby has cut some new, inexpensive white melamine shelves for every closet but the bedroom.  One day we might rearrange the shelves, use better brackets, create custom wood shelves or some other fanciness but for now we used the existing brackets (primed and then painted to match the closets colours) and are just happy to have fresh shelves.  Let the organizing begin!

Read more »