Expert reveals secret to selling your house in just 12 hours

SELLING a house can be a stressful time, especially when you list it and nobody takes an interest.

By Kimberley Barber

Published 14th Oct 2020, 12:30 BST

Updated 20th Oct 2020, 11:21 BST

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But savvy house sellers have been making their properties stand out with a helping hand from a staging company, set up by businesswoman Natalie Evans.

Natalie, from Titchfield, set up Little Barn Door two years ago – and the business idea has taken off much quicker than she could’ve anticipated, and even seen it listed for seven awards.

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Little Barn Door. Pictured is: (l-r) Emily Porter, staging design associate, Natalie Evans, owner, Faye Mapleson House, staging design associate and Fay Goodchild, business operations administrator.

Picture: Sarah Standing (131020-5654) — Little Barn Door. Pictured is: (l-r) Emily Porter, staging design associate, Natalie Evans, owner, Faye Mapleson House, staging design associate and Fay Goodchild, business operations administrator. Picture: Sarah Standing (131020-5654)

Little Barn Door. Pictured is: (l-r) Emily Porter, staging design associate, Natalie Evans, owner, Faye Mapleson House, staging design associate and Fay Goodchild, business operations administrator.

Picture: Sarah Standing (131020-5654) — Little Barn Door. Pictured is: (l-r) Emily Porter, staging design associate, Natalie Evans, owner, Faye Mapleson House, staging design associate and Fay Goodchild, business operations administrator. Picture: Sarah Standing (131020-5654)

The 35-year-old said: ‘When we put our family home on the market, it was in me to think how to give it that competitive edge. It was just a normal terraced house, the same as all the others in the street, so I needed to do something to make sure it stood out to people.

‘It worked and it sold within 12 hours. That’s when I thought there might be something in this.’

Natalie, who has three children – Olive, seven, Edie, five, and Rory, three – with her software engineer husband Gareth, quit her job in HR after her last child and began to explore home staging as a career.

She said: ‘It took me a while to understand that home staging was even a concept. I had not even heard of the term before I started researching.’

Little Barn Door. Pictured is: (l-r) Emily Porter, staging design associate, Natalie Evans, owner, Faye Mapleson House, staging design associate and Fay Goodchild, business operations administrator.

Picture: Sarah Standing (131020-5666) — Little Barn Door. Pictured is: (l-r) Emily Porter, staging design associate, Natalie Evans, owner, Faye Mapleson House, staging design associate and Fay Goodchild, business operations administrator. Picture: Sarah Standing (131020-5666)

Little Barn Door. Pictured is: (l-r) Emily Porter, staging design associate, Natalie Evans, owner, Faye Mapleson House, staging design associate and Fay Goodchild, business operations administrator.

Picture: Sarah Standing (131020-5666) — Little Barn Door. Pictured is: (l-r) Emily Porter, staging design associate, Natalie Evans, owner, Faye Mapleson House, staging design associate and Fay Goodchild, business operations administrator. Picture: Sarah Standing (131020-5666)

Natalie found inspiration in America, where home staging – making rooms look appealing to buyers through styling, staging or even using virtual furniture – is a much larger industry.

She undertook training courses in Texas and joined the Home Staging Association, becoming the founding member of the Home Staging Association UK & Ireland.

Now just two years after setting up the business, Natalie is delighted to have three members of staff, who work out of their office in a scenic 17th century barn in Shedfield.

This year, 80 per cent of properties touched by Little Barn Door have sold within six weeks.

Home staging projects by Little Barn Door that are up for awards

Home staging projects by Little Barn Door that are up for awards

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Plus the team is celebrating having seven of their projects shortlisted for awards in the Home Staging Association’s 2020 Home Staging Awards.

The projects have been shortlisted within the Best Transformation and Best Starting Projects categories.

Natalie said: ‘It is an incredible honour to be shortlisted for these awards. With such an uncertain start to 2020, we could not have imagined that as a small business we would be receiving such amazing news this year.’

Home staging projects by Little Barn Door that are up for awards

Home staging projects by Little Barn Door that are up for awards

The winners will be determined through public vote on the Home Staging Association website – homestaging.org.uk – with the winners announced on October 15.

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