Wall Street Journal

Refining the Bachelor Pad

For a Type-A trader, a stylish retreat turns out to be the rarest commodity

And then there is “the cave.” No modern gentleman’s home should be without one. Commandeering a spare bedroom, the designer (Csaba Lucas) installed a grotto of gym equipment, complete with rock climbing walls and a ceiling-faux-painted to resemble concrete-of climbing ropes.

“It’s my favorite thing in the apartment,” said the client. “I’ll go in there just to relax or meditate.”

The Cave

Because the client is an avid outdoorsman particularly interested in endurance training (he’s also a boxer), the apartment’s spare bedroom was converted into a small but versatile gym, walled with rock climbing surfaces. Cove lighting up-lights the ceiling, which supports a system of climbing ropes. The floor is end-grain wood blocks, set like tiles, and stained a rainforest green. The tree-of-life mandala on the large resistance machine was custom painted to remind him f his holistic life goals: the big workout.