WORDS SOPHIE VENING PHOTOS THE HOUSE AGENCY/MATT CHISNALL
When Catherine and William Allen bought a 1960s detached property in Summertown, Oxford, they had the foresight to look beyond the dingy warren of rooms and crumbling two-storey extension falling off the back of the property. “The entire house was covered in nicotine and mildew stains – it was depressing,” says Catherine. “The whole place was full of books; an Oxford academic had lived and died there and he was clearly a hoarder. You couldn’t even see inside some of the rooms. My husband asked if I was joking when I said I wanted to buy it, but I could see it had potential.”
Read the complete article and many more in this issue of
Build It
Purchase options below
If you own the issue,
Login to read the full article now.
Single Digital Issue
Oct 2017
This issue and other back issues are not included in a new Build It subscription. Subscriptions include the latest regular issue and new issues released during your subscription.
Annual Digital Subscription
$24.99
billed annually