I don’t know about you, but the moment that lockdown was eased for the property market, I was in shock.

I had played that moment out so many times in my head and imagined a feeling of exhilaration and joy, but I literally just sat there.

“Ok, what does this mean?”, “can I still do this?”, “how?”.

It was a little sooner than I had anticipated and the feeling of uncertainty was overwhelming. Within just a week, I had had a booking for an occupied stage as well as our first post – lockdown installation. I knew that it was back on, well, as “on” as you could get with no shops, reduced storage hours, 2m social distancing measures and the children still off school!

Trying to prepare for my installation took me back to my very first. The clumsiness of scrapping around for anything to stage with, trying to arrange removals and creating new processes.

With a destage outstanding on another property, we were lucky to be able to source a lot of the “big” pieces, but the artwork was especially difficult.

Staging day came and nerves were high.

But, from the moment I turned the house key, I knew that I was home. Home, in an empty home. The nerves, panic and self-doubt were gone and I felt a wave of contentment. I knew how to do this and I knew it was going to be ok.

Sitting, alone in the vacant property, listening to the birds singing from a tree out back, I made up furniture, unpacked crates and pieced the house, and myself back together.

And that was that the lockdown was over and we were back to work.

Making it work.

Natalie Evans is an HSA Founding Member. She runs Little Barn Door and shares her insights, news and tips monthly here at the HSA website.