‘She shed. Hen hut. Lady lair. Call it what you want, the newest iteration of a woman’s private space is looking more and more like a small, but splendid, room built in the back yard. She sheds are mushrooming on properties near and far, in a wonderful array of sizes, styles, and uses. From Australia to Alaska, Texas to the Ukraine, women are staking claim to a completely personal space to call their own.
In She Sheds: A Room of Your Own, discover she sheds that are exquisite in their uniqueness, all owned, designed and enjoyed by women. Miniscule backyard? That’s OK — the beauty of a she shed is that its footprint is small, making it easy to fit onto your property and yet affording a unique getaway for your creative pursuits – gardening, meditating, reading, painting, or simply hearing yourself think. Most she sheds are built with simplicity at the forefront. They are often not insulated, but stocked instead with cozy quilts and pillows. Light is supplied by the sun, or maybe a few battery-operated lights. The idea is to be free of responsibility, using the space to unwind and to do exactly what you want.
As women, we handle a heavy load of responsibility: jobs, marriage, children, household chores, and social obligations. Often we are part of the “sandwich generation,” in which we take care of both our young ones and our aging parents. Days will go by in which we must ask ourselves, “Have I had one minute alone, in the quiet, to myself?” She sheds are a refuge of comfort, filled with promise and your treasured possessions. They are there for however you want to use them. A she shed is for you, and you alone.
If you are fantasizing about building your own she shed, consider this a reality guidebook for gathering ideas and seeing how others brought their she sheds to life.
She Sheds: A Room of Your Own has been featured in Architectural Digest, Breakfast TV, Buzzfeed, DIY Network, Houzz, Luxury Living, Oprah.com, Orange County Register, PopSugar, realtor.com and U.S. News and World Report.