Side hustle to store owner: Geneva’s Little Red Barn Door offers gifts, decor to fit the season

For 20 years, Sylvia Torres did accounting and human resources for her family’s steel company.

As her children got older, Torres began searching antique stores and markets to redecorate her home, which eventually led to a professional career change.

Unsure what to do with purchases she didn’t like once she brought them home, Torres tried to sell the items online.

Torres ended up with a following and began a side hustle with an online store. That’s when her husband suggested she open her own physical store.

Wanting something near her home in St. Charles, Torres started Little Red Barn Door in a 600-square-foot space on the second floor of the Berry House in downtown Geneva. She stayed there until 2022, when a bigger space down the street became available.

Little Red Barn Door now is a boutique shop featuring home decor, floral accents, accessories and thoughtful gifts.

“I try to find items that are unique. I don’t want to carry products that other stores carry,” Torres said.

One of her goals is to have Little Red Barn Door get back to its roots, offering antiques and architectural salvage — decor that comes from old buildings. The shop also offers a variety of gift options such as slippers, jewelry, little notebooks depicting the names of Fox Valley towns, tea towels and ornaments.

Torres recently expanded her offerings with the addition of light apparel including T-shirts, dresses, cardigans and socks.

“Home decor is fine, but I also want to help people find a gift for mom, sister or friend,” Torres said.

The fall collection at Little Red Barn Door includes seasonal-scented room sprays, Halloween-themed art and pumpkin dishes. For the youngsters, you can pick up a Halloween rice treat pop or giant Halloween marshmallow pop to tuck inside their trick-or-treat buckets.

The last few years, Little Red Barn Door has sponsored a home in Geneva’s annual Holiday House Tour. As part of the festive fun, the team works with homeowners on ways they can decorate their house, including incorporating any holiday decorations they own into the design.

Torres said customers often head over to Little Red Barn Door looking for featured items to replicate the look at their home.

In the future, Torres hopes to offer events and workshops at the shop like she used to do at her former warehouse space.