Tamarack Custom Builders brought us in just before electrical rough-in for a dedicated fitness and wellness suite in Lakehead, Montana, after their client made one thing clear: this space needed to be a true showstopper. Their team paused to ensure the layout, infrastructure, and equipment plan were dialed in correctly from the start, with a cohesive design that matched the rest of the custom home.
The challenge was the footprint: a door-heavy, T-shaped room that combined a full gym with recovery amenities – cold plunge with tile flooring, sauna, powder room, mechanical room, and multiple indoor/outdoor entry points – leaving limited uninterrupted wall space for equipment and storage. Our design priority was flow: maintaining clean walkways between training and recovery zones while maximizing function in every usable section of the room.
We refined the equipment orientation based on how the client actually wanted to train, (cardio near the lake-facing windows but positioned for TV viewing), then coordinated added electrical, including in-floor receptacles. To replace an oversized “stretching” zone with meaningful strength capability, we specified a compact Force USA functional rack system, a dumbbell run from 5–75 lbs, and added vertical storage solutions, LED-integrated mirrors, a water fill station, and a slim-profile Chilo luxury cold plunge that comfortably fits two without overwhelming the space.
