A She Shed of One's Own

First it was Tiny Houses. Then the Man Cave. And now it's the She Shed. 

It's the latest trend in real estate and the biggest thing since Virginia Woolf declared the joys of "A Room of One's Own." Of course, she was using the term as a metaphor to argue that women needed space in a male-dominated literary world. But still, taken literally, it's a pretty neat idea. A room, a home office, an attic, a corner, and, yes, maybe even a shed. 

Go ahead and google "She Shed." Prepare to fall in love. Close your eyes and dream. What would your very own space look like? A paint-splattered atelier with north-facing skylight? A comfy reading nook with frilly curtains and chintz slip covers? A craft workshop with kiln and potter's wheel? An under-the-rafters sewing station with an eyebrow window that looks out at treetops? A basement renovation for setting up your band saw and drill press? A sound-proof chamber for writing your symphonic magnum opus? A serene meditative space for yoga and herbal tea-drinking? Or a modernist cube of reason where you write your memoirs? 

Heck, you could even have a Martha Stewart gift-wrapping station. Be still my heart.

The very idea conjures images of creative activity. Private musing. Reading a good book and forgetting all about time passing. Safe. Secure. Cozy. Giving your inner designer a chance to come out and play.

I had imagined a garage re-do for our new house. In my mind it looked like a Manhattan loft. In reality it is a two-car unheated storage locker that needs mold remediation.

Instead, I situated a desk facing the living room window and parked my lap top, along with a few decorative items that might have inspired Shakespeare. Wouldn't writing be so lovely with that view? Sure, maybe. But I'd need a space heater, Bob Cratchett gloves, and a lap blanket. Geez, we really need to weather strip that window. 

So, I'm back to the dining room table. It's warm next to the heat vent. It's close to the kitchen for making a cup of tea. Not far from the laundry room for throwing in a load. And I imagine my very own shed in the backyard — a tiny retreat. A haven for art-making, gift-wrapping, and blog-writing. Except in winter months. Or July. 

Apparently even Virginia Woolf fled to a garden outbuilding to write. I think it might have been her who invented the term, "She Shed." But I bet she changed it to "A Room of One's Own" because she was freezing to death out there.