Tales of Transformation

New Lows

Every home has a basement — or something like it if you’re not from the Midwest. It’s the room we avoid or the corner we “make work.” These places often hold past versions of ourselves and our lives, and we usually avoid them for a reason. We may not give them much thought, but they still take up space, even unconsciously. Sometimes, though, those lost parts in dark corners hold the key to changing everything.

This is where the alchemy begins: below the surface, often in the dark, and always exactly where we need to look most.

It felt like fate that my very first client wanted to bring his basement to light. He told me it was a place that he just never felt comfortable — it felt like it didn’t belong to him fully, and although he really wanted to utilize his whole house, he just couldn’t get comfortable down there. He’d tried some different styles, hoping bright, vibrant colors would lure him down there, but the truth was that he wasn’t giving himself what he really needed: a grounded, soothing, warm space just for him. He was trying to create a look that evoked the feelings he wanted, rather than listening to what those feelings wanted, and that required getting honest about what was important to him, and what HE loved rather than what he thought would be the ideal look to aim for.

It’s funny, because in order for me to take on this project, there were going to be parts of myself that I was going to have to be honest about too — aspects of myself that I didn’t want to face, and things I presented to the world, but that were no longer true about me. Much like we avoid the dark, unsettling basement, we often avoid parts of ourselves — unwilling to confront what’s below the surface.

Man, there’s nothing I love more than a good metaphor.

Vision

Client goals + inspiration

My client wanted a space that felt like a sanctuary- cozy, inviting, and warm. He wanted to be proud of it. He wanted to spend days off down there, host friends for movie nights and have a place to drop down to relax. Having taken a recent trip to the desert Southwest, he was inspired by the vast sky overhead, and ancient, red earth underfoot — sun-warmed and teeming with life. He loved the feeling he had in the Arizona desert, and he wanted to recreate a desert sanctuary for himself.

I felt confident. I sent him layers of bold prints, splashes of turquoise, earthy greens, and the signature terra cotta tones of sunbaked scenery.

And... it flopped.

I thought that because I understood his vision and created it my way, my client would be able to pick it up and run with it.

Verity

Where design intentions missed the mark

The moment he received his Foundry Formula, I could feel his hesitation. He was confused and overwhelmed, unsure where to begin. What I thought was vision made manifest was really just vibes on (digital) paper. There was no scaffolding or structure — nothing solid for him to build on. It was a hot mess to say the least- pretty, sure- but a hot mess.

Cue my worst fears rising to the surface: I’m not good enough. I can’t do this. What was I thinking?

I won’t say that I spiraled, but I retreated from the project — for months. See, me? I’m a perfectionist. My worst fear was my very first client would realize the truth: that I was a fraud who didn’t know what I was doing. And I had to confront that. Because it wasn’t the truth, but it was the story I told myself any time something didn’t click for me right away. To miss the mark, to flop, to try and flail — that felt like a fork in the road. Was I to admit that I have a great idea and need to practice, try again and keep going till I get it right? Or was I to let the inner critic win, backtrack on my dream and let myself believe that I really didn’t have what it took to do this?

I think it’s obvious which path I chose. I had to face the foundational cracks in my own process and self-belief. I had to pour a better foundation before I could decorate the room, so to speak. I had to believe that just because a good idea wasn’t great yet, that didn’t mean I couldn’t refine, practice and learn from this rather than listen to old voices of doubt and disbelief.

I also had to take myself more seriously, because vision without clarity is just noise. Pretty pictures mean nothing if they can’t be brought to life.

Luckily, this client is also a dear friend, and he gave me what I most needed: time and space to traverse this terrain and navigate a new world that was still forming in the dark.
I used that time to study and sharpen my skills, revamping The Foundry Formula. I had to excavate every thought that told me I wasn’t ready and every belief that led me to perform on the surface while the foundation underneath me desperately needed rebuilding.

Basements can be scary places, but I’ve learned too many times that you can’t build something beautiful by avoiding the dark.

From chaos to cohesion.

Victory

Southwest dreams meet grounded delivery

Months later, he reminded me that his basement was still waiting for its time to shine (I hadn’t forgotten, I was just doing that “I’m not ready yet” drain circling thing), so we found our way back to the Southwest Sanctuary- and the second delivery landed with clarity and ease. According to the full shopping carts and texts I got that whole weekend, this time it clicked.

What was once a cool concrete corner room became a warm desert cave, warmed from the inside out. The concrete floor and charcoal couch anchored the room in stoney grey, while terra cotta texture evoked red clay.

While my client did make major changes by redoing his floors and purchasing a new sectional, the rest was a matter of turning vision into a plan.

3 Lessons Learned the Hard Way

1.     Growth isn’t linear, and neither is design. It’s a stop-start, a pivot, or even a pause. Sometimes, we have to go down to the metaphorical (or literal) basement before we can shine on the surface.

2.     Things land when they’re supposed to land. We can’t rush ahead of lessons that need learning or else we wind up with a pretty veneer and nothing solid underneath it. (Sick of the basement metaphors yet?)

3.     Doubts exist but so does persistence. If we stop every time we encounter a doubtful thought, we’ll never get anywhere. As corny as the old saying is, we truly have to learn how to get comfortable being uncomfortable. That’s the only way real growth can emerge.

I’m proud of the beauty that emerged from the struggle — eight versions later, The Foundry Formula feels right. It feels useful, valuable and inspirational. I turned it into a workbook that you can download here.

If you’re feeling inspired to work one on one, I’d love to help you find clarity from the bottom up.
Get in touch with me today, and let’s begin your home alchemy journey- one grounded, beautiful step at a time.

With Warmth & Wonder

Liz | Alchemy of Home

P.S.

If you haven’t signed up for my newsletter, The Alchemy Archive (delivered every other Sunday), you can do that here and get my free download, Alchemy 101: The Foundry Formula to help jumpstart your journey.