How Mysa Hus Healthy Home Building Born From Burnout

There was a moment when I realized… I was tired.

Not the kind of tired vacation fixes. Not the “we just need to push through this project” tired. It was deeper than that. After more than two decades of building custom homes, after navigating emotionally heavy client projects, tight timelines, and the constant pressure to perform, I found myself asking a question I never thought I would:

Do I even want to keep building?

On paper, things looked good. We had completed some incredible homes. The Curious Builder was gaining momentum. I was surrounded by talented people and meaningful conversations. But creatively? I was empty. The idea of another spec house, another safe layout, another checklist of crowd-pleasing finishes felt suffocating.

I knew one thing for sure:
I wasn’t going to build another house unless it meant something.

The Turning Point

Through The Curious Builder (conversations with builders across the country, hosting collectives, slowing down enough to actually listen) I felt a spark coming back.

Those conversations reminded me why I got into this industry in the first place. Not to chase trends or optimize resale value at the expense of everything else. But to build homes that support real life.

That’s when I realized I didn’t need to quit building. I needed to build differently.

Mysa Hus wasn’t born as a business strategy or a marketing move. It was a personal reset. A way to ask myself better questions instead of defaulting to familiar answers.

Instead of asking, What will sell?
I started asking:

• What do I actually believe in?

• What kind of home would I want my own family to live in?

• What does wellness really look like inside a house?

Learn more about my story here!

Becoming My Own Client

For the first time in a long time, there was no traditional client, so I became the stand-in: my life, values, family rhythms, need for quiet. My desire for connection and rest. That’s when healthy home building stopped being a concept and became the filter for every decision.

• How does this space sound?

• How does the light move through it during the day?

• Do these materials feel good to touch?

• Does this room help your nervous system settle?

Stripping Away the Noise

Burnout has a way of clarifying things. It strips away what doesn’t matter.

That meant prioritizing:

• Quiet over spectacle

• Restraint over excess

• Systems that support health, not just convenience

• Spaces that slow you down instead of speeding you up

This is what healthy home building looks like to me: thoughtful air, light, acoustics, materials, and flow. A home that feels calm the moment you walk in.

“If This House Fails…”

I remember saying this out loud at one point:

If this house fails miserably, and no one wants it, and I have to live here, I’ll be happy. Because I built something meaningful.

That was new for me. For most of my career, success was tied to external validation: client satisfaction, awards, sales, momentum. Mysa Hus wasn’t about any of that. And ironically, when you stop building for approval, the work gets better.

Rediscovering Joy in the Process

This project brought joy back into building for me. Real joy.

It reminded me that craftsmanship matters, relationships matter, the way a house feels is just as important as how it looks in photos.

This has been the most fun I’ve had building in years!

Why We Don’t Talk About Burnout

We’re expected to have it together. To keep pushing. To always want more. But the truth is, running a business is hard. Building is hard. And creative people, especially, hit walls.There’s power in naming it.

Mysa Hus started the moment I finally admitted: I’m tired. That honesty didn’t end my career, it reshaped it.

For Anyone Feeling Burned Out

If I could offer one piece of advice to other builders or creatives, it would be this:

Stop building what everyone else wants. Build something you want. Even if it’s small. Even if it’s just one room. Ask yourself: If I didn’t have to sell this, what would I create?

That’s where the magic comes back.

Mysa Hus didn’t pull me away from building.
It brought me back to it healthier, clearer, and more grounded than I’ve been in a long time.