The man cave has a neighbor. It's called the "she shed"

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Amy Spearing has a five-bedroom, 3,000 square-foot home outside of Richmond, Va. But when she needs a break from her husband and three children, she high-tails it out the back door to her “she shed.” “You know how men have man caves? This is like that, but for women,” says the 42-year-old interior designer, whose children are ages 10, 13 and 16. “If I was inside, someone would be screaming, ‘Mom!’” She shed She shed After years fighting for a seat at the table, some women now want their own place. Ms. Spearing converted her backyard pool house into a Parisian-theme oasis with a brass chandelier and bistro table. She retreats there every day.

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Marta Benson, of Marin County, Calif., converted a storage shed into a rowing studio. Ms. Benson, an executive vice president and general merchandise manager at Pottery Barn, is there by 5:30 a.m. Her husband tried to store some bike equipment there, but she blocked the move. Now, she says, her family members “respect it as my sacred little space.” Diane Schaefer, 64, was a she-shed pioneer when she started on hers in 2010. Ms. Schaefer, of Des Moines, Iowa, applied for a city permit to build a playhouse. “The guy behind the counter said, ‘Look, you are going to need to call it something else,’” Ms. Schaefer recalls. He suggested “Victorian garden shed.” Together with her husband, Bill, Ms. Schaefer spent six years working on what is now a 20-by-22 foot “sunshine-yellow” painted Victorian-style she shed. It has a raised front porch and window on the front door. Inside is a gas fireplace and a spiral staircase leading to a second-story loft.

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Tess Harper, a mother of two who lives in Wyoming, Ohio, designed her she shed as a home office. The prefabricated structure has a combination cooling and heating unit that was overwhelmed by Ohio winters. It’s no problem when the temperature is 40 degrees, she says, but not when it falls to minus 18. A portable space heater saved the day. Ms. Harper, who works in the medical device industry, says it took some time for the family to adjust to the idea. She had to explain to her sons, ages 7 and 14, that it wasn't a playroom. Her husband asked about installing a cigar fan. The request, Ms. Harper says, was denied.

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