See Inside Sauna House, Moving Into Former Mighty Mud in North Knoxville

If it feels like Knoxville is in its sauna era, that’s because it is. Last winter, South Knoxville enjoyed two pop-ups: Sage Sauna at Trailhead Beer Market (Alan wrote about that here), and Sauna House at Ijams Nature Center, which coupled wood-fired mobile saunas with optional cold-plunges in Mead’s Quarry. Now Sauna House is building out a permanent location in North Knoxville’s former Mighty Mud space (126 Jennings Ave.)

The plan is to open in November, right as Knoxville slips into peak sauna season. Sauna House will also continue its winter partnership with Ijams Nature Center; as a 1% for the Planet company, a portion of revenue will be directed back to Ijams.

I sat down with Dianna and Peter Osickey of Sauna House Knoxville to get all the details. Why are saunas, as part of a broader “creative wellness” movement, gaining in popularity?

Dianna points out that this isn’t traditional “exercise.” It’s not performative, and you don’t have to be “good” at anything to participate. “Saunas are accessible to lots of people, regardless of your fitness level or your experience with exercise or wellness,” she says. “You can come and relax, or you can build it in as part of your routine that is supportive of some other health and wellness goal.”

There’s a community piece, too. As Dianna frames it, we’re all tethered to our devices in a way that mimics connection but doesn’t always feel restorative or authentic. A phone-free, alcohol-free space creates room to either talk to real humans—or reconnect with yourself.

Sauna House will have two sauna spaces: a “Bright Sauna,” designed as a social/community space, and a “Dark/Quiet Sauna” for a more meditative experience. Throughout, there will be indoor and outdoor zones for relaxing, plus massage rooms, changing rooms and showers, and a private sauna/cold plunge room for up to eight people. You can also enjoy teas, kombucha, local iced coffee, LMNT and NA beer.

For folks who are into contrast therapy, or back and forth between hot< cold<relax experiences, there is a large recessed in floor stainless-steel indoor cold plunge and a smaller one in an outside courtyard, surrounded by plants. 

I’d never really experienced contrast therapy until the Sauna House pop-up, which I enjoyed several times last winter. I’ll bask like a lizard on a rock all day in a sauna, but the first time I dove into that ice-cold water was INTENSE. With each session, though, I’d float a little longer, observing my physiological response with curiosity instead of panic. By winter’s end, a minutes-long swim in 48-degree water felt less like torture and more like church. The world dropped away. Just breath. Just body. Then back into the sauna: hot, steamy, cocoon-like. Bliss. And the feeling stays with you for hours.

“It makes you feel very … alive,” I tell Dianna and Peter, hoping they can fill in my inarticulate blanket statement with something more scientific.

Peter explains that it’s rare to get a release of adrenaline and dopamine at the same time: “You’re wide awake, all your senses are firing, but you’re calm enough to appreciate it. You’re just like, ‘Oh. I’m in this amazing space right now.’”

The mental benefits go on: regular sauna/cold plunge usage has been shown to reduce stress, anxiety and depression, as well as improve sleep. Physically, it reduces inflammation, increases circulation, helps with muscle recovery and boosts metabolism. 

Dianna and Peter began seeking out saunas during their travels in the past few years, and were particularly smitten with the OG Sauna House in Asheville. “Coming out of it, you feel so rejuvenated,” Peter says. “And then coming back to Knoxville and realizing that there’s not a place like that here, we wanted to create a public bathhouse where you can come and feel that way and also connect with people in the community.”

Two-and-a-half years ago, the Sauna House company was going to start franchising, and they brought Peter on as Sauna House’s new director of development. Peter and Dianna are both architects; Peter has extensive experience in architecture and project planning and management, most recently with Partners Development, and Dianna brings entrepreneurial prowess as partner at L+ARC Lighting Design and other businesses. 

In addition to Asheville, Sauna House’s current locations now include Bonita Springs (Fla.), Charlotte (N.C.), Durham (N.C.), and Greenville (S.C.) with locations forthcoming in Austin (Tex.), Raleigh (N.C.) and Charleston (S.C.) And, of course, Knoxville.

“We never set out to own a bathhouse, and we never set out to own a franchise either,” Peter says. “We just selfishly wanted this amenity in the city. It was just one of those things where everything aligned and we said, ‘Yeah, let’s go into this. Let’s take the leap of faith.’” 

That leap led them to the old Mighty Mud building, once part of the Sanitary Laundry complex. Matthew DeBardelaben connected them with the space, which feels somehow airy and cozy at once, with big bowstring trusses. “We searched and searched and searched,” Peter says. “We wanted to be really close to the urban core, and wanted it to be an historic building. We wanted it to have a story and to be in a neighborhood that would support something like this.” 

The open space was a blank canvas for them to imagine their dream sauna. They tapped BurWil for the architectural design and buildout, and Lauderdale Design Group (which I wrote about last December here) for the interior design.

“The procession and the ritual of moving through the bathhouse, from when you first get there to being able to disconnect from your normal daily life and get into your bathhouse life, is really important,” Peter says. “Because we’re asking you to do a lot of very uncomfortable things, like get into a bathing suit and not have connection with the outside world for two hours.” Morning and evening hours will make it easy to build into a routine.

Sauna House is part of an exciting restoration of a historic section of the North Broadway corridor. Its immediate neighbors include Big Slate Media, a branding agency and media production company we wrote about in June, and McCarty Holsaple McCarty, which is bringing the Sanitary Laundry Building back to life (we wrote about that in March). There’s also Remedy Coffee, Paysan Bread & Bagels, Ironwood Studios and arts studio co-op Space Craft. In August we shared a look inside Axle Logistics’ new HQ, Schulz Bräu is within the block, and Emory Place is across the street.

In celebration of its 10th anniversary, Big Slate Media hosted a block party last Thursday with MHM and Sauna House opening their doors as well. A few photos from the lively event plus updated photos from the Sanitary Laundry building, which is also expected to open in November:

It all adds up to an exciting place to live, work, play and, with Sauna House, relax. Keep up with all the latest Sauna House updates at the website and on Instagram.