Natasha Clarke Watch here on YouTube

“Today’s guest, Natasha, has a story that proves your passion can quietly follow you through life — until the moment you’re ready to step fully into it. From her early years surrounded by building, redecorating, and antiques, to a demanding career as a social worker, Natasha always carried a love for transforming spaces. It was only after raising her two boys and returning briefly to her old profession that she realised her joy was in design — in creating rooms that feel calm, warm, and full of possibility. Now, she runs a business that stages and styles homes, helping families, sellers, and businesses unlock the true potential of their spaces. And today, she’s here to share that journey with us.”

Natasha Clarke’s Background and Career Transition

Early Influences and Passion: Natasha’s early life cultivated a hands-on approach to property; her father was a builder, her mother was always redecorating, and the family frequently visited antique fairs and markets. This immersion led to her realisation that she loved interior design and “making a space look amazing” when she renovated her first cottage while receiving help from family. While her now-husband also renovated his fisherman’s cottage, building up shared knowledge of property. Over the years, they bought and sold several properties, where Natasha would personally handle the interior design and styling before market listing.

Previous Career as a Social Worker: Natasha trained and began her career as a social worker in her very early twenties. She predominantly worked with local authorities, supporting adults and older adults in the community, including those being discharged from hospitals. Her role involved assessing needs, risks, problem-solving, and acting as an advocate during challenging times. Before leaving the profession, she managed a large project for Hertfordshire County Council.

Transition to Entrepreneurship: Social work was described as incredibly intense and stressful. After getting married and having her first child, Natasha made the decision to step away from social work to be a stay-at-home mother for 13 years, raising her two boys (William, 13, and Eddie, 9). As her children grew older, she felt it was the right time to pursue her passion. A brief return stint confirmed she wanted a change, which solidified when redecorating one of her boys’ bedrooms brought her joy. She recognised that her previous professional skills—managing large caseloads, handling stressful situations, problem-solving, and meeting quick timelines—would be beneficial in her new business venture.

The Business: Property Styling and Design

Natasha runs a business focused on property staging, interior design, and styling, using her skills and experience to help clients. Her design philosophy is centered on creating warm, calm, textured, layered, and luxurious design.

Services Offered: Natasha serves three main client types:

Staging Homes (For Sellers): Preparing and styling properties specifically for sale. Residential Interior Design (For Occupiers): Helping clients reimagine a space, such as transforming a tired room, creating a den for teenagers, or setting up a hobby room for those whose children have left home. Business Clients and Holiday Homes: Styling workshop spaces to reflect a business, creating tablescapes for corporate events, or designing holiday homes and serviced accommodations.

Differentiating Staging and Interior Design: Natasha clarifies that her work involves solving slightly different problems depending on the client:

• Interior Design: This service is specific and bespoke to the individual client, catering to their personal taste, needs, and desired look/feel. This applies to residential properties and holiday homes.
• Staging (for sale): This is specific to selling a property. Since the market is broader, the styling is not personalised to the current homeowner. The goal is to appeal to the specific target audience or “dream buyer” by de-personalising the space (but avoiding a “stark” or too minimalist look). Advice often involves reducing clutter, advising on storage, and removing objects that might be too unconventional or not to everyone’s taste (like zebra wallpaper).

Client Interaction and Challenges

When beginning work with a property seller, Natasha first ascertains crucial information like why they are selling, their timelines, pressures, and their “end goal” (e.g., securing a dream home). She researches the demographics of their ideal buyer to ensure the styling appeals directly to that specific market.

Her service is bespoke, ranging from minor advice to major decluttering projects. She notes that lighting design, though seemingly simple, can have a major positive or negative impact on a room; she advises on using low, warm lighting alongside practical ceiling lights.

The biggest challenge Natasha faces is managing people’s expectations. She must reassure clients that she is the expert and needs to be trusted, especially when styling decisions conflict with the homeowner’s personal taste. Her role requires being both honest and diplomatic when explaining that changes must be made to attract the target audience.

Personal Life and Contact

Natasha’s family is very supportive; her husband is described as her “biggest fan” and assists in the background. She actively teaches her sons about how businesses work.

People can contact Natasha via her website, www.clarkandclarkpropystaging.com, or by email at info@clarkandclarkpropystaging.com.

The post Natasha Clarke: Helping Homeowners Unlock Hidden Value Through Strategic Styling appeared first on Entrepreneurs in Action.