Snooping around: Rural, urban and renovation

In town: London. The cottagey charm of this two-bedder is just round the corner from Peckham Rye in Choumert Square, SE15. Terrace houses are set peacefully behind their gardens, with wrought-iron gates shielding the square from Rye Lane. It has stylish decor throughout. Cost: £325,000.
Wooster & Stock, 020 7708 6700 Photograph: Wooster & Stock

In the country: Hampshire. There’s restricted head height on the landing and only three bedrooms in this £625,000 thatch in East Boldre. But outside it fronts on to miles of the New Forest and backs on to protected estate land. London trains from Brockenhurst are just four miles away.
John D Wood, 01590 677233 Photograph: John D Wood

Wreck of the week: Shropshire. This detached five-bed house in Longnor, near Shrewsbury, is yours for £550,000. It’s weary, so bank on another £50,000 to refresh the more vintage fittings and the decor in general. The garden also needs work. It’s a veritable mansion: four reception rooms and a seven-room cellar in more than two acres of land with outbuildings and stables. It sounds remote, but unfortunately the driveway opens on to the A49.
Balfours, 01743 353511 Photograph: Balfours

Dream home: Monmouthshire. You could indulge a fascination with gothic horror in this former rectory in the village of Mitchel Troy, which has lots of vampire-friendly features: gothic inner arches, stained glass leaded windows, a romantic secluded garden with drooping willow tree and waterfall, and a cellar perfect for storing coffins. It also has five bedrooms, a lounge, a kitchen with pantry and a breakfast room. Yours for £599,950.
Bairstow Eves, 01600 729 126 Photograph: Bairstow Eves

Overseas: Venice. If you are going to live in one of the most mysterious cities in the world, you might as well splash out on a historic home. This apartment on the ‘piano nobile’ of a 17th-century palazzo in Cannaregio, one of the city’s six historic districts, has all the features you could want: antique doors, faux marble, a red venetian floor, a beamed ceiling and very ornate plasterwork. The interior was recently restored, and now includes air conditioning. An independent ground floor studio in need of restoration and a large courtyard garden are available separately. Price on application (ie if you have to ask you can’t afford it).
Savills, 020 70163740 Photograph: Savills