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• Beth Peters inside her backyard cottage in Shelburne

Beth Peters and Adam Lougee had been together for more than six years when they decided that she should sell her Burlington condo and move into his Shelburne house. Both were eager to take the next step in their relationship, Peters recalled, but it was still a big deal to relinquish the South End home where she had lived for 14 years and raised her two kids.

As the couple prepared for Peters and her teenage daughter to join Lougee's household, Peters told him, "I'm so excited to move in and for us to make it our home, but I might need a place for myself.

"Maybe I'll even get a 'she shed,'" she recalled adding facetiously, referring to the woman's version of a "man cave," a space — often a decked-out garage, basement or media room — where guys do whatever they want without judgment.

From that lighthearted comment came Kismet Cottage, an enchanting 10-by-12-foot structure in the couple's suburban backyard. The cozy, south-facing shed boasts a pair of French doors under three transom windows and a classic sloped roof. Flower boxes hang beneath two windows flanking the doors, and string lights dangle from the eaves like icicles. A stone path winds through garden beds to a double-hung Dutch door on one side of the shed. On the other side, a white wrought-iron bistro table waits to hold glasses of rosé.

It's every girl's dream playhouse — all grown up.

But girls have practical dreams, too. Peters noted that her roughly $10,000 investment adds value to the house and "was a fun way to put some of my condo equity into the property."

Peters, who is in her fifties, named it Kismet Cottage because "so many parts of my life came together nicely in 2022," when it was installed, she said. "It embodies many of the good things I am grateful for."

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• The cottage in midsummer

Abundant windows flood the whitewashed interior with light. Collections of beach rocks, sea glass, driftwood and art — including a custom landscape by local artist Charlotte Dworshak — fill corners and walls. A small desk serves as a work-at-home office for Peters, who runs her own human resources consulting business.

Once the workday is done, the cottage desk makes a perfect bar for girlfriend gatherings. A cushion-filled daybed and plump settee beckon guests to settle in. "I wanted this to look like you could just crawl in between the pillows," Peters said while chatting on the daybed.

In their house, "Adam has a rule: only two pillows per couch," she said with a chuckle. In Kismet Cottage, by contrast, "all the rules are mine. It's a place where I can use my creative license in any way I want."

Although the she shed is Peters' domain and an expression of her personal style, she welcomes all visitors. That includes her mate, who, she emphasized, has been nothing but supportive, including installing the snap-in faux-wood flooring.

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• Interior of the cottage

"I love to invite him out here," she said with a smile. "It's really a 'we shed' by invitation." The couple have used the cottage to host neighbors from their tight cul-de-sac community and as the focal point for the high school graduation party they threw for Peters' daughter in the backyard last June.

The shed also provided a quiet, private spot for mother and daughter to connect after they moved to Shelburne. "This has been a special place for us," Peters said. "When I put it in, she was so excited. Some of her girlfriends' mothers were like, 'Oh, now I'm in trouble.'"

Beth's daughter, Maeve Collins, shared by text how much she appreciated all the time her mom "put into customizing [the shed], making sure every window would capture the most light." She said she loves hanging out there on warm summer evenings with the doors open onto flickering garden tiki torches.

For others considering a similar shed, Peters highly recommends Livingston Farm Outdoor Products & Excavation in Bristol, where she purchased hers. Base models of the 10-by-12-foot size start at just over $7,000. The family-owned business sells about 240 sheds a year of all sizes and prices, from 4-by-8-foot firewood cottages to some that cost "well into six figures," co-owner David Livingston Jr. said. One customer bought a 12-foot-diameter octagonal gazebo just for their cats and attached it to their home with a feline-size tunnel.

The New England-built sheds come painted in a choice of 21 colors and fully assembled, with free delivery within a 50-mile radius of Bristol. Livingston strongly advises installing them on a crushed-gravel pad for stability and longevity. For a 10-by-12-foot shed, a pad costs around $1,000, he said.

Among her customization choices, Peters elected to have the interior of her shed painted white, an uncommon choice that the Livingstons have since recommended frequently. "It just brightens up the inside astronomically. It makes it feel so light and airy," Livingston said.

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• Interior of the cottage

That was exactly the look and feel Peters sought, she said. The cottage is neither insulated nor electrified, but it gets lots of light and warmth from its southern exposure and all the glass. In the height of summer, it benefits from the shade of trees behind it and a fresh cross breeze. Peters picked double French doors to allow for good airflow and to invite both people and nature into the space.

"It's so magical to just open these up during the day, and then these billow in the breeze," she said, nodding to sheer white curtains.

Even in cooler weather with windows and doors closed, Kismet Cottage feels nestled in the outdoors. "One of the biggest joys I get from spending time in and around the cottage is being immersed in nature," Peters said.

In particular, Peters said she has connected with a pair of barred owls that frequent the surrounding woods. Last June, shortly after Peters' father died suddenly, she was hosting some friends at Kismet and they spent a long time watching and listening to one of the owls. "We were all awestruck by this amazing creature's presence in our backyard," she said.

A few days later, Peters found a beautiful brown-and-white-striped owl feather. She placed it carefully among the treasures arrayed on the cottage desk, a gift from nature and another sign of kismet.