Old and new

New build: London. This four-bed, oak-clad tower in Wimbledon is a modernist fantasy for those of us who can't muster £1.65m. The reality, for the moneyed, is a dramatic mingling of concrete, glass, slate and steel with a roof terrace. Artworks are obligatory at this level of income and the spaces have been designed to show off sculpture and paintings in the large, minimalist, sun-splashed rooms.
The Modern House, 08456 344 068 Photograph: The Modern House/The Modern House

New build: Suffolk. Drained budgets might still manage a waterside view in this reinvention of industrial Ipswich. For £90,000 you get two bedrooms and a view of the river Gipping. It is 500m from the station which is an hour to London Liverpool St. The idea is for the Fairview Homes development, Voyage, to launch a cafe quarter in this neglected part of the city.
Fairview New Homes, 01473 254807 Photograph: Fairview New Homes/Fairview New Homes

Historic home: Essex. A 15th-century pedigree has earned this £699,500 five-bed house a grade II-listing. It sits in 1.1 acres close to the seductions of Braintree, and is superbly equipped for escape: horsepower can be housed in the two stables, cars in the triple garage, and it's a swift commute to Stansted airport, the M11 and rail services to London. The three receptions and the kitchen/breakfast room are grandly proportioned and ornamented with beams and fireplaces. A tennis court awaits resurrection.
John D Wood, 01245 344222 Photograph: John D Wood/John D Wood

Historic home: East Sussex. You can absorb the vintage of this ancient cottage by drawing your water from the well. Inside it is exuberantly timbered with inglenook fireplaces dominating the dining room and the large living room. There are three quaintly, low-slung bedrooms and a generous swirl of gardens with holiday brochure views over the countryside. It is near the centre of Burwash beside the parish church. Cost: up to £495,000.
Freeman Forman, 01435 883800 Photograph: Freeman Forman/Freeman Forman

Dream home: Suffolk. Everything around you is aesthetic perfection. The period prettiness of the village of Somerleyton has earned it conservation status and you awake in this Georgian home overlooking a walled Mediterranean garden, a knot garden and a kitchen garden. The farm-housey kitchen opens on to a conservatory, there are three reception rooms with fireplaces, shutters and surviving servants' bells, and four bedrooms and a dressing room. Cost: £560,000
Jackson-Stops & Staff, 01603 612333 Photograph: Jackson-Stops & Staff/Jackson-Stops & Staff