27 Modern She Shed Designs to Inspire Your Backyard Escape
As tiny homes and small spaces continue to grow in popularity, new concepts for outbuildings like guesthouses, greenhouses, and garden sheds have also arisen. Among them is the "she shed," in many ways the female version of a "man cave."
While conceptually the she shed is a space for women that provides solitude, peace, and privacy within a separate, modestly sized outbuilding, in reality they can take a wide range of forms and styles and can be virtually indistinguishable from many other outbuildings. However, they’re typically a few hundred square feet in size, and can be constructed for about $5,000 or more for a prefabricated kit, although if you’re a DIY kind of person that range can come down considerably! We’ve gathered a few of our favorite ideas for modern she sheds and she shed designs that are used as everything from an art studio to home office.
A Bright and Cozy Sewing Shed
A Naturally Lit Shingled Garden Shed
A Wood-Clad Writing Studio
A Guesthouse in the Forest
Jason and Suzanne Koxvold commissioned Studio Padron to design a 200-square-foot guesthouse on their Ellenville, New York, property. The geometric structure’s dark cedar cladding contrasts with the inviting interior, which is heated by a cast iron Jøtul stove. A layer of built-in bookshelves made from felled oak lumber also helps insulate the building in winter. We can certainly see the minimalist exterior and warm interior filled with books being a great inspirational example for a she shed in the woods.
An Elegant Motorcycle Shed
While the idea of a motorcycle shed might not initially scream "elegant she shed," there's a lot to love in this shed by Drop Structures. The exterior lighting gives the building a presence at night, and the mixing of natural wood, a white door, and darker cladding make for simple but modern exterior.
A California Hangout Hut
A Bali-Inspired Tea House
A Metal-Clad Art Studio
In Seattle, an artist sought an affordable option for her own studio and looked to Modern Shed, a company that provides solutions for storage and limited living spaces like studios and office sheds. For the art studio, metal panels in gray and red clad the exterior, and natural light pours in through glazed double doors and clerestory windows.
A Modern Shed With Custom Windows
When a homeowner needed extra space for her growing business, she also looked no further than Modern Shed for her minimalist she shed, with a sloped roof, clerestory windows, and personalized window and door locations. A color scheme that worked with the colors of her historic home also on the property gave it its finishing touches.
An All-Wood She Shed Home Office
A Rustic Gardening Shed
Inspired by a French farmhouse, this rustic she shed features multi-pane French doors, exposed roof rafters and joists, and earthy terra cotta floor tiles. With its wide-plank wood cladding sitting on gray stone foundations, this shed looks as though it has been around for centuries, but also has a simple, modern sensibility.
A She Shed Guest Room
In San Luis Obispo, California, this rustic she shed was constructed in less than three months and was heavily inspired by the existing buildings on the owner's vast property. Doubling as a guest bedroom and the owner's own retreat, a delicate color palette of pale green and white contrasts with the live-edge pine siding on the exterior, which was repurposed from a felled tree on the property.
A Combined Art Studio & Home Office
In Avalon, Australia, Olaf von Sperl and Cindy Goode Milman designed a she shed for the corner of Milman's backyard with $15,500. As an artist, she sought a space that would work as both a functional studio as well as a place of respite to enjoy the beautiful year-round weather of the area. With a roof of translucent polycarbonate panels topped with a planted green roof, this she shed is one-of-a-kind.
A Kit She Shed
A Modern, Prefabricated Home Office She Shed
A DIY Glass Guest Room Shed
Although this cabin functions more as a guesthouse than a she shed, there's a lot of design inspiration that can be taken from this guest resort in the forest of Southern Sweden. From its use of wood and glass to its simple, asymmetrical shape, we can easily imagine using the space as a yoga or art studio or home office.
With an interior clad in wood and outfitted with a CLT bench and desk that laterally brace the small structure, this mobile writing shed is simple but effective. We love the idea of using a few pieces of carefully chosen furniture, especially for a she shed, where space is precious, but the use of the space might be a bit more focused.
A Modern Garden She Shed
Designed to complement the existing adjacent home on the property, this modern gardening shed uses landscaping and terraced steps to create a pathway between the two buildings. Mixing horizontal and vertical wood planks gives the exterior of the shed a more dynamic facade, while exterior light fixtures provide necessary lighting at night.
A Tiki-Style She Shed
A Library She Shed
A Yoga and Art-Ready She Shed
A Garden Shed That Doubles As a Hair Salon
A Backyard She Shed With a Bathroom
A She Shed For Meditation
Out in rural Oregon, a she shed was constructed almost entirely of old multi-pane windows that the owner was able to reuse from local construction projects. Since cross-ventilation was a priority, more than two-thirds of the windows can be opened. The wide-plank wood floors help continue to bring the outdoors in, and minimal interior furniture and finishes keep this space comfortable for meditation.
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