Welcome to the Backyard 'She Shed,' Where Women 'Unplug and Get Away'
This "she shed" in Houston is where Tamara Harbert unwinds.
— -- You've heard of “man caves,” but what about "she sheds"?
The “she shed,” as seen on Pinterest, is a home-decor trend where women can create individualized sanctuaries in the convenience of their own backyards.
Debbe Daley, a designer in Lowell, Massachusetts, told ABC News she has designed a handful of sheds, including her own, a calm spot she uses for music and reading.
One woman for whom she designed a shed told her, "I want it to be my room, a place I can go and enjoy and not have anyone bother me,” Daley, 52, said.
"Everyone has to have a 'she shed,'" Daley said. "There's nowhere for the woman's mind to rest."
Tamara Harbert, a married mother of two in Houston, said the idea for her "she shed" started about eight years ago.
"My husband and I have always just loved cottages," she told ABC News today. "He's always wanted to build one."
Harbert, 45, said their shed started out as a playhouse for their children, who are now 16 and 18. “I knew they'd outgrow it and it'd eventually be ours," she said.
The furniture is a collection of hand-me-downs or items that would have been thrown out.
While the 144-square-foot shed is now "normally for my use," Harbert said it still benefits the whole family. It serves as a tranquil place to sit with her daughter to talk after school and as a spot to complete projects.
The shed is great for "anything I want to do that I can leave out," Harbert said. "You don't want to leave out a project in your house. If I'm working on something [in the shed] I can leave it exactly like it is and go back in."
She didn't even realize her backyard getaway had a name until she read a magazine article on the "she shed" craze. For Harbert, the main purpose of her shed is unplugging.
Barbara Techel, a writer in Wisconsin, calls her "she shed" her "favorite place on earth."
Techel said her idea to build it came in 2009. She was writing a children's book at her kitchen table, but her husband also works from home, and she started to find the house too noisy.
"I needed a place for quiet and to be by myself," Techel told ABC News today.
Techel calls her shed a "Zen writing cottage," a spot to write, do yoga and meditate.
"It's my place to come center myself," Techel said. "It continues to evolve and be a great little place to be everything I need to be."
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