We live in an adorable old cottage house. It's a white weatherboard, full of character, and more often than not, lots of dust!
Like many of these older style homes, it's not overly big.
Our family consists of my husband, a fast-growing nine-year-old boy & seven-year-old girl, two cats, an enormous black Labrador dog, and me.
Hi, my name is Janelle Bridge, and I am a psychic medium in Melbourne, Australia.
As a practicing psychic, I was in desperate need of an improved work area, a magical room of my own, where I could proudly take clients for their psychic readings & spiritual mediation sessions.
Our house had no spare bedrooms, so inside wasn't an option; our backyard was quite small, so an extension was out of the question.
My budget wasn't much, and I was running low on ideas.
I then began eyeing off cute little timber sheds on Pinterest and suddenly had the inspiration to convert our garden shed into a spiritual space of my own.
I excitedly told my husband about my plans. He wasn't convinced. He said he could make me a custom-built room elsewhere in the yard.
But I knew that he would take months to build me anything. We were wasting this little shed, I wanted to use it, and I was up for the challenge.
So I decided I would go ahead and do it anyway, and so the transformation began!!!
Here is the step by step process I followed to turn our cluttered garden shed, into my new psychic reading room and spiritual haven, all on my own.
Step 1 – Cleaning Out The Crap
I began by pulling everything out of the shed, and it was full to the brim with disorganized chaos.
I gathered a bunch of large tubs and sorted out what we were keeping, what we were giving away, and what was going straight into the bin!
I then set about cleaning all the dust and evicting all the spiders.
Step 2 – Evaluating The Empty Space
At this point, I could stand back and see what I had to work with.
I decided to keep the workshop type shelving that had already been custom-built, rather than rip them all out and create something new. I enjoy the challenge of working around things and finding creative ways to make what I have work for me.
Step 3 – Paint
I decided to paint the cabin style walls. I opted for a dark green color, chosen by my son Sebastian, with black shelving. I was happy with this because I wanted to create a darkish, relaxing vibe for my readings.
Because the pine walls were such a raw canvas, the paint would seep into the rough wood, and each wall required multiple coats. There were so many nooks and crannies, and I found myself contorted into some super uncomfortable positions as I attempted to reach every bare spot with my brush.
Step 4 – Laying A New Floor
This was the step I was least confident in completing on my own.
I needed to do something with the floor to make space seem less like a shed and more like a room.
I'd made a big mess by spilling paint all over the already dirty chipboard floor that desperately needed to be covered.
I chose to go with wooden vinyl planks from the local hardware store.
They seemed simple enough to use and bond to the floor with their own self-adhesive.
The hardest part was cutting the planks to size, but I got it all done in a couple of hours.
In the end, it was pretty straightforward and just like a giant Tetris puzzle with scissors.
Step 5 – Camouflaging The Ugly Stuff.
I still had some ugly but necessary items that needed to be kept in the room, such as our lawnmower, power tools, tins of paint, etc. So I used some stretchable curtain wire to hang an old piece of black satin across the shelves, to hide the not so inspirational items.
Step 6 – Make It Homely.
By this stage, my spiritual haven was looking almost complete, and I was feeling pretty good about myself, but the exposed tin roof was a bit of a giveaway to the fact that my new room was once a little garden shed.
I headed over to the local fabric store and bought some sheer curtains, which I hung along the roofline using more of the stretchable wire to add a softer, more luxurious feel. I then peppered the fabric with some battery operated fairy lights from Kmart, and the roof had gone from looking ugly to a glamorous feature.
I took the mandala carving off the wall in our bedroom and added it to the room. I had a black chandelier that was gifted to us a few years ago and had just been sitting around unused in storage, so I hung that as a feature.
I tried to utilize items that I already had to make things more sustainable and also to save money. Certain items add sentimental value to my space which makes me feel loved and supported while I work.
For example:
I have an electric fireplace that my grandparents gave me which adds so much ambiance and of course, warmth to the room!
My best friend was recently married and used both artificial and real Pampas grass as a decoration for his wedding.
I saved a few of each and have these as sentimental décor in my space.
Another friend of mine had some beautiful candlesticks at her wedding and gave them to me afterward.
My favorite piece of décor is a hand-painted artwork of Goddess Kali, painted by a special person in my life. It sits beside a Blue Calcite crystal, and an incense holder, each gifted by two other close friends.
See what I mean about the good vibes being brought in by those I love?
Step 7 – Add Power
I operated without power for a few weeks, and I simply used a long extension cord from the house. I wanted to see where I needed the power points, the lighting, etc. Then I could make an informed decision and organize a local electrician to run power from our circuit board to the shed properly. Two double power points, plus one light were connected, and the cost was around $400.
All up this transformation project from a lifeless old garden shed to my new psychic medium haven cost me around $1200 in total.
The value I have gotten out of this little room has been unbelievable. Especially since not long after completion, we had a 12 week isolation period! It has given me some form of personal space and sanity, which I love.
Here is a rough breakdown of the cost:
$400 flooring
$160 paint
$400 electricals
$150 roof fabric and curtain wire.
Plus miscellaneous inexpensive bits and pieces, like fairy lights, cushions, etc.
I feel a great sense of pride every time I walk into my room. When my clients arrive for their psychic reading, I love watching their reactions as I swing open the doors to this spiritual oasis, oh and I especially love telling everyone about how I did it all by myself!
Written By – Janelle Bridge
Psychic Medium in Melbourne, Australia
