She sheds are a woman’s great escape, much like a man cave is a cherished sanctuary. Not sure how to make the most of your she shed? We’ve detailed 20 she shed ideas that are both creative and practical to spark your imagination.
We’ve also included landscaping tips to make the most of your she shed’s surroundings.
So, turn your aging backyard storage shed into a cozy fairytale cottage, a quiet place for baking, or a calm WFH office shed. Not into remodeling? Build your she shed from the ground up or buy a prefab shed kit.
- 1. Art studio
- 2. Baker’s kitchen
- 3. Garden room
- 4. Make it kid-friendly
- 5. Coziest corner of the yard
- 6. Potting shed
- 7. Office space
- 8. Add a bed
- 9. Tea house
- 10. Pottery studio
- 11. Natural light
- 12. Cabin getaway
- 13. Farmhouse style
- 14. Fairytale cottage
- 15. Book nook
- 16. Succulent heaven
- 17. Beach vibes only
- 18. Photography studio
- 19. Small country home
- 20. Meditation space
- Your she shed is a playhouse made entirely for you
- When to hire a professional
1. Art studio
Painters and sketch artists will love turning their shed into an art studio. Getting the creative juices flowing is hard when your family is coming and going, or the television is too loud in the living room.
So gather your paint brushes, canvases, and easel, and move your cramped studio into the open space of your she shed. You’ll love the peace and quiet.
Landscape Tip: Plant your favorite flowers or shrubs right outside the window. When you hit a creative block, a window’s view of your favorite blooms may be just what you need for a little inspiration.
2. Baker’s kitchen
Every baker knows baking is a science. Accidentally use a tablespoon instead of a teaspoon, and you could be starting all over. Turn your she shed into your own little bakery for a bit more concentration and experimentation.
Landscape Tip: If you love to cook or bake, consider growing a herb garden outside your kitchen shed. Pick a few fresh mint leaves outside the shed, and you can surprise the family with some delicious mint chocolate chip cookies.
3. Garden room
If you love plants and the calming atmosphere they create, consider turning your she shed into a houseplant oasis. Enjoy the golden light spilling through the windows, mindfully water your green friends, and then sit back with a good book.
Landscape Tip: Install a trellis around your shed’s walls and grow your favorite self-climbers, like hydrangea, roses, or ivy. Flowering walls will make your garden shed look like it’s sprouting right from the ground.
4. Make it kid-friendly
If you have little feet running through the house, chances are they may want to join you on a few trips to your she shed.
When designing your she shed, add a few fun elements to keep your little one entertained while you work or relax in the shed. A play area with their favorite toys or books can help keep them occupied, or even a small cot that gives them space to rest their head.
Landscape Tip: A small sandbox or playset right outside the she shed will entertain your child all afternoon, and you get to keep a close eye on your little one from the shed.
5. Coziest corner of the yard
If a cozy corner is where you go in your daydreams, then let’s turn your she shed fantasy into a reality. Slip on your warmest socks, turn on the kettle, escape the internet, and sink deep into the softest pillows.
Landscape Tip: Are there specific colors that make you feel relaxed? Warm hues of gold and orange tend to make us feel more comfortable than cold colors, like blue and gray.
Another idea? Consider dappling a few of your favorite warm-colored flowers (like black-eyed Susans) around the landscape for an extra dose of hygge.
6. Potting shed
Potting your plants can seem impossible – and messy – at times. Pot your plants in the house, and dirty spills get all over your clean floors. Pot your plants on the front porch, and the stubborn wind throws soil in your face.
With a potting she shed, you can be as messy as you want, and you never have to worry about cleaning up the floors or finding a safe storage space for your plants.
Landscape Tip: If you love growing plants in pots, consider building a container garden right outside your she shed. You can feature your favorite pots and containers, and even move the garden from place to place whenever you want to change things up.
7. Office space
You love your home office, but working in your house can test your patience at times, and it’s not easy to separate home life from work now. Turning your she shed into office space will help you get the privacy you need and create a calming separation from home and work.
Landscape Tip: For a stress-free workplace, consider growing flowering shrubs near your she shed. Prop open the shed door, spring open the windows, and let the cooling wind fill your workspace with soothing perfumes.
8. Add a bed
If you’re working a late night in your she shed, like finishing a painting or work assignment, a bed can provide excellent power naps. Or if you’re too tired to trek back to the house, lay your head down in the shed for a long night’s sleep.
A bed can also turn your shed into a guest house. Visitors will love having a tiny house for themselves.
Landscape Tip: Depending on your yard’s layout and your shed’s windows, you may want to landscape for privacy if you plan to sleep in your shed. If you have a window by the bed, you may feel more at ease if a small tree is blocking the view of any wandering eyes. Or if the sun makes a startling entrance in the morning, a shrub by the window can help stop the glare.
9. Tea house
Tea kettles, teacups, tea bags – turn your she shed into a serene tea house where you can relax with a warm cup in your hands and catch up with an old friend. Fill your shed cupboards with exotic teas, light a few candles, diffuse your favorite essential oils, and let your worries wash away in this tea lover’s paradise.
Landscape Tip: If you love experimenting with teas and trying new flavors, grow a little garden of plants you can use in your teas, such as mint, lavender, and chamomile.
10. Pottery studio
Your she shed is your space to get creative and express your artistic visions without any interruptions or judgments. No one’s here to tell you how to run your studio shed. Close the shed doors, turn on that potter’s wheel, and throw bowls all afternoon.
Landscape Tip: Feature your finished pots in a stunning container garden at the steps of your shed, or build a beautiful centerpiece for your shed’s garden.
11. Natural light
Bask your she shed with elegant natural light from a window wall, charming french doors, or skylights. You’ll love being up close with nature while working on your pottery or reading your favorite saga.
Peek out the window wall and watch squirrels touching the glass, or observe how the same view changes slowly through the seasons.
Landscape Tip: If you want to feel close to nature while in your shed, but feel hesitant about the exposure, then landscaping for privacy may be the perfect solution. Build a wall of hedges (short or tall) around your wall window, and you can get the privacy you need while also saying hello to passing chipmunks.
12. Cabin getaway
Sometimes isolating yourself in a cabin can feel like the best vacation. You’re unplugged from most of the world, you fall asleep to nature’s sounds, and you savor the peace and quiet.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have that same cabin adventure in your own backyard? Design your she shed into a little log cabin, and you can have a backyard getaway any day of the week.
Landscape Tip: Cabins tend to have a cozier feel when there’s a fresh blanket of snow on the ground, and there’s a wood stove burning in the corner. For a little burst of color and sign of spring, plant a few winter-blooming flowers, like crocuses, daffodils, and violas, around your shed.
13. Farmhouse style
If you already live on a farm, a tiny she shed farmhouse will be an attractive focal point in the landscape. If you love farmhouses for their aesthetic appeal but don’t have any chickens running around in your suburban backyard, a she shed farmhouse will still make a perfect fit.
Spend a relaxing afternoon in your farmhouse shed with a warm cup of coffee in hand, listening to the sound of drizzling rain, and enjoying the earthy smells coming through your shed’s casement windows.
Landscape Tip: For even more farmhouse aesthetic, build a charming farm or picket fence around your she shed.
14. Fairytale cottage
If you need a safe place to escape to, building a fairytale she shed will bring you into a whole new world (and your kids will love it too).
You’ll enjoy exploring your imagination as you design your fairytale she shed. Base the theme around your favorite childhood storybook, or have fun with bright colors that remind you of dragons and unicorns.
Landscape Tip: Even yard space around your she shed can capture the fairytale feeling. Build a yellow pathway to your she shed much like the yellow brick road from the Wizard of Oz, or plant beautiful flower beds of pansies and daisies to remind you of the singing flowers from Alice in Wonderland.
15. Book nook
If you love to read, chances are your house doesn’t have enough bookshelves to store all your books. Build a reading nook in your she shed to keep all your favorite stories. The written characters you’re so fond of will appreciate a nice spot on the shelf instead of staying stored in that old dusty box.
Landscape Tip: For an elegant atmosphere that helps you sink into a good book, consider installing a water feature outside your she shed, such as a fountain. Crack open a window, and the fountain’s trickling water will have you lost in the pages in no time.
16. Succulent heaven
It’s no wonder why these fleshy plants are gaining such popularity. Succulents are easy to grow, hard to kill, and produce such beautiful shapes and patterns. If you love collecting succulents and growing them in attractive pots, transform your she shed into succulent-themed bliss.
How to do this? Play with your furniture color, the color you paint your shed, and even the types of succulents you grow.
Landscape Tip: Succulents aren’t just cute houseplants – they can be grown outside too. For a beautiful outdoor view, build an exotic succulent garden around your shed, or even create an eye-catching rock garden (succulents thrive in rock gardens).
17. Beach vibes only
If you can’t wait for those hot summer days by the beach, bring a tiny beach house to your backyard with your she shed. Fill the space with trinkets and decorations that remind you of the roaring waves and salty air. And you can’t forget to paint your she shed like a bright-colored beach hut!
Burn your favorite ocean scented candle, sit back, and enjoy reading that romance novel you always bring to the beach.
Landscape Tip: A dry rock garden, succulent plants, or beach pebble walkway outside your she shed will make the perfect addition to your backyard retreat. Hang beautiful string lights around the shed’s landscape to carry on the vacation vibes after the sun goes down.
18. Photography studio
Design your she shed just right, and you can create a space with stunning natural light for your photography sessions. Hang a few curtains so you can play with the lighting, and bring in the rest of your equipment.
You won’t have to do business in the house anymore – have clients head straight to your she shed for their photo appointment.
And after your photo session is over, your shed can make the perfect editing room.
Landscape Tip: Plant a few of your favorite flowers or bushes, like hydrangea or roses, around your shed for a last-minute photo prop. Pick a few colorful blooms, tie them with a ribbon, and now you have a beautiful bouquet to include in your photos.
Are any trees blocking your good light? Consider having an arborist remove any that are affecting your photos.
19. Small country home
If you grew up in the countryside or have ever wanted to live there, a small country she shed can make you feel a little bit closer to that way of life. Slow-paced, minimal, and food growing straight from the soil – you can have all these countryside traits with your she shed.
Escape the noises of driving cars, honking horns, and zooming motorcycles and enter a quiet world inside your country home she shed.
Landscape Tips: Plant a few flowers that remind you of the countryside, or build your very own vegetable garden. Investing the time and energy in a garden will help slow you down and get you in touch with country living.
20. Meditation space
Your she shed ought to be a place of relaxation and serenity, so why not make it your yoga studio or meditation room? Lay down your yoga mat and enjoy the total privacy and peace your shed provides you.
Sometimes a few moments to yourself, away from the busy house, is everything you need to hold yourself together. Light a few soy candles, set out your Tibetan singing bowl, and take a deep breath.
Landscape Tip: For an extra dose of relaxation, install a fountain outside your window. The dripping water will help you reach a meditative state. A zen garden can also make an excellent addition to your calming she shed.
Your she shed is a playhouse made entirely for you
Your she shed is a playhouse made entirely for you. Whether you turn it into an art studio, a place for relaxation, or a whole new world, your shed ought to be a backyard retreat that brings you joy.
And you don’t have to take a construction course on how to build one either. You can remodel the shed already in your backyard, hire a professional to construct one for you, follow an easy DIY building project, or order a prefab shed.
You needn’t consider yourself a creative person, either. Your shed is simply a reflection of the hobbies and interests that excite you.
And remember, anyone can build a shed. Your pup has its own tiny outdoor house. So can you.
When to hire a professional
Call a landscape professional near you for assistance with landscaping around your she shed, he shed, or X Shed. A landscape professional can offer customized design plans that help blend your shed with the surrounding landscape and transform it into an attractive focal point.
If you’re not confident with tools or construction, hire a carpenter to build your shed. Keep your hammers, screws, and ladder in the garage, and let a professional do the hard work for you. You won’t enjoy your shed quite as much with a broken thumb.
Main image credit: Manfred Antranias Zimmer/ Pixabay