The Wellness Wing: Home Gyms and Spas in LA Luxury Homes
Cold plunge, sauna, hammam, gym, and recovery — how our construction team programs a wellness wing that feels like a private club.
The wellness wing has replaced the media room as the most-requested new program on our luxury projects. Every whole-home renovation we've delivered in the last three years has included some version of it — gym, sauna, cold plunge, hammam, recovery. Here's how our team at New Horizon Development approaches the program.
Location matters
Ground floor with private outdoor access is ideal — for daylight, ventilation, and the ability to walk out to a cold plunge without dripping through the house. Below-grade wellness wings work beautifully when the daylighting and ventilation are designed properly; when they aren't, they don't get used.
The gym
Ceilings at 10 feet minimum, dedicated rubber-over-plywood flooring, a fresh-air ventilation system separate from the main house, and a serious mirror wall. We frame for a Peloton, a Tonal, and a full free-weight rack — even if the client only wants one of the three today.
Sauna and hammam
Klafs, Effe, and Tylö are our regular vendors. The rough-in — dedicated circuit, floor drain, waterproofing, and ventilation — matters more than the finished cabinet. We build the rough-in to the manufacturer's spec on day one.
Cold plunge
Plumb-in cold plunges from Morozko, BlueCube, or a custom stainless tank are common. The mechanical requirements are non-trivial: 40A dedicated circuit, condensate management, and often a dedicated chiller loop.
If you're weighing a wellness wing on a luxury renovation, we'd be glad to walk you through a recently completed one. New Horizon Development has built more than thirty wellness wings across LA in the last five years.
