Denise is now busy running up soft furnishings for her new home
Denise and Dick Allen’s move to rural Devon from south London back in the 90s was all about giving space and freedom to their sons, then aged four and six. Fast forward 20 years and with both boys having flown the nest, the ancient mill house with its two and a half acre garden was now far too big for the couple. With Dick’s retirement imminent, it was also placing too much of drain on their resources. ‘We thought long and hard about downsizing and realised we wanted to make a fresh start in a completely different style of house and in a new area, so that we wouldn’t constantly be making comparisons,’ says Denise. With no ties and more free time for travel, they also wanted a more manageable, easy-to-maintain home they could lock up and leave.
The Allens downsized to a modern property at the end of a quiet suburban cul-de-sac – a far cry from the rural mill house they left behind