Trendy she-sheds offer dedicated space for women over 50

Others have chosen to dedicate the backyard building as an extra bedroom or guest space. Empty-nesters Laurie and Tim Johnson, of Oakland, Calif., for instance, used their sleek and

modernist 10-by-18-foot cabin from Studio Shed (pictured at top), tucked near the top of a terraced lot, as a place to live during construction of the home they built after each of their

three kids had either moved out or gone to college. "We rather liked it," says Laurie. "It was like glamping." The outbuilding has also served as temporary living

quarters when two of their adult children unexpectedly moved home from the East Coast.  Having given the first returnee the choice of a bedroom in the new house or quarters in the standalone

shed, “You can guess which one she picked,” says Johnson, who notes her third child subsequently moved into the shed temporarily after he finished college.   Laureen Clauson seated outside

her customized post-and-beam garden shed in Webster, Mass. Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe/Getty Images Sometimes, however, the trend for the after-50 set isn’t so much a matter of extra

square footage, but a statement about doing something for yourself when you realize it’s high time to do so. Such was the case for Laureen Clauson, 52, of Webster, Mass., who decided to

finally build her dream shed last summer after years of collecting inspiration shots on the subject. At the time, she’d also nearly completed treatment for a recurrence of breast cancer. “I

had plenty of room in my house, but this was just something that was mine, a place I could have coffee, drink wine, color, take a nap and make all me.” Her husband customized a post-and-beam

garden shed from a local company, with things like an antique window and French doors found on Craigslist, and set it on a foundation of concrete footers. The price tag was about $5,000.

“Our neighbor asked him why he couldn’t just buy me jewelry, like everyone else. But he told her, ‘She wants a shed.’ ” The decor made for the truly fun part for Clauson, who also opened an

antiques store in Putnam, Conn., around the same time. Inside her lake-facing abode, a Buddha statue and candles offer a meditative touch — but pink is the major theme. Varying shades of the

hue dot the dozen throw pillows on the daybed and are laced through framed vintage “girl” pictures. For the most part, the space really has remained her own, though she says visitors are

welcome. “I wouldn’t want my husband to have to live in a pink environment, but he doesn’t mind coming into the shed to see me.”