Burnout, Beauty & Building a Life by Design

For the past five years, I have quietly fought a battle that many in the interior design industry know all too well: burnout.

I’m a mom of two boys deep in rep soccer. My evenings are spent on the sidelines, my weekends at tournaments, my heart constantly split between ambition and presence. At the same time, I’ve carried a deep desire to do meaningful work in my community — work that leaves something better behind.

And somewhere in the middle of all of it… I lost myself.

The post-Covid construction boom created a wave none of us could have predicted. It was fast. It was demanding. It was relentless. And when it slowed, the drop felt just as extreme. The pressure, the financial stress, the uncertainty — it settled into my body. I gained weight. I couldn’t quiet my mind. I felt like I was constantly trying to outrun something.

There were days I felt completely beaten down. Days I truly believed I had no fight left in me. Days I wondered if I should just give up.

But interior design isn’t just what I do.

It’s my life’s work.

Bringing beauty into my clients’ homes is my artistic medium. And creation — real, intentional creation — is medicine for the soul. I have always believed that when a space feels aligned in form and function, something shifts inside the people who live there. They breathe easier. They gather more. They rest better. They feel safe.

And that matters.

Eight months ago, I made a decision that felt terrifying: I stepped back.

Instead of pushing harder, I chose space. I took a part-time role with the Elora Centre for the Arts, where I had the privilege of supporting an extraordinary organization that brings joy, healing, and purpose to our community through the arts. That experience reminded me why creativity matters. Why beauty matters. Why community matters.

And it reminded me who I am.

I learned something in that season that changed me:
I don’t have to suffer to be successful.

I wasn’t successful when I was exhausted, overwhelmed, and denying myself rest just to keep up the appearance of momentum. I am successful now — as I return to my role as CEO and Principal Designer of Volumes of Space Inc. — because I am doing it with intention, integrity, and clarity.

I am designing my business the way I design homes: thoughtfully, purposefully, and in alignment with the life I actually want to live.

My purpose has always been to help people love their homes — to create spaces that feel deeply personal, functional, and safe. That hasn’t changed. But now I approach that purpose from a place of wholeness rather than depletion.

If you are in a dark season — in business, in motherhood, in life — please hear this: it is possible to come through it. You are allowed to pause. You are allowed to recalibrate. You are allowed to build a life that feels fulfilling instead of performative.

You can design a life you love.

And sometimes the bravest thing you can do is step back long enough to remember that.

I’m back.
Stronger. Clearer. And more aligned than ever.

And this next season?
It will be built on my terms.