Shed to Studio: Jules Verne Inspired Art Studio, DIY

I have always dreamed of owning my very own art studio. At our last house we lived in, I had a small art room inside the house. I loved it, but was always worried about getting paint on the carpet or walls. When we moved into our small 1 acre homestead last February, we were very excited about an old shed in the back. This shed would become my current art studio. Its close to our goat pen, so I can hear them when I'm inside!

I love Jules Verne and the aesthetic associated with his books. The goal was to have my studio lightly inspired by Jules Verne as well as my own personal style.

Supplies

-Old shed full of bugs (bugs are optional)

-A "Voluntold" husband

-Lots of paint

-A whole lot of patience

This is how we found the studio. It was clear someone lived here at some point. We cleared out some old furniture/cabinets/table.

The ceiling was incomplete with exposed beams. The walls were chipboard and has not been mudded. It had ceiling lights that were very low...I'm 5'2 and would hit my head on them (maybe Snow Whites & the 7 Dwarfs lived here?).

Random wires hung from the ceiling as an old choice of decoration. The pellet stove was incorrectly installed and posed a fire hazard. When we ripped down the old wallpaper, dozens of dead and dried spiders stuck to the walls.

My husband pulled down the half completed ceiling, removed the old beams and took down the miniature wall. The lighting didn't work and it only had 1 outlet.

Here you can see where the chip board and dry wall was ripped off. The yellow wires are the new wires installed by my electrician friend. I was very pleased when he installed more outlets (artists can never have enough outlets). I initially really wanted to keep the exposed wooden beams but it would have cost more and increased the work.

We had some local contractors come to finish the dry wall and mudding. I didn't get a bunch of photos since I wanted to stay out of the way. We waited several days for the mudding to dry. Then we used a primer on the ceiling and walls. It took about 10 gallons to properly paint everything. Then we painted the walls white.

Here comes the fun part! I've always wanted to have a blue ceiling with stars. I visited France in 2024 and went to a cathedral with a blue ceiling with stars and it sealed the deal for me. I wanted my ceiling to have teal swirls also, so I bought multiple sample paints of different shades of blue from Home Depot. We did several tests on old dry wall before committing to the ceiling. We used old rags to "rub" the light blue paint on. It created a great texture! We also used paintbrushes to make smoother swirls.

I used this gold paint from Walmart and an angled paint brush to hand paint the stars. At some point I'd like to do more stars and maybe constellations.

I already own plenty of items that fit very well in my studio. I bought this vintage fainting couch off of Facebook years ago and finally found a home for it! I also found these beautiful hot air balloons that remind me of the film Around the World in Eighty Days.

This is a continuous work in progress. At some point I'd like to buy a big wardrobe and make a "Narnia" door to the other side of the studio (currently storage). I'd like another wooden desk and bookshelves. We also need to finish the trim at some point. Overall, I'm very proud of my studio and how it's coming along!