Trading up, trading down – in pictures

Trading up: Suffolk. The building’s original purpose as a workhouse for the Victorian dispossessed near Ipswich has been thoroughly eliminated from the security gates onwards. Residents now live regally in recently converted houses, one of the grandest of which is this £425,000 six-bed portion encompassing the old chapel. French doors open the dining room into a double-height orangery overlooked by a gallery. There is a separate office, a boat store, a private garden and use of seven communal acres.
Jackson-Stops & Staff, 01473 218218 Photograph: Jackson-Stops & Staff

Trading up: East Sussex. The views from the lofty garden terrace across the countryside are the glory of this four-bed house in the picturesque village of Mayfield. It’s in an area of outstanding natural beauty, swathes of which can be absorbed from the windows, and has been recently renovated. On the market for £550,000.
Freeman Forman, 01435 873803 Photograph: Freeman Forman

Trading down: Cumbria. This manor in Warwick Bridge on the edge of the Lake District is a horological house: it has 365 windows, 12 corridors, seven entrances and, in tribute to the seasons, four floors. Built in 1837 by a cotton mill owner it has been converted into apartments – 12 of them, of course, each named after a month. ‘December’ is up the grand staircase on the top floor with sweeping views across the landscaped grounds. The enormous sitting room and two large double bedrooms have shuttered windows and original fireplaces, and the kitchen is capacious enough for family dining. You have fishing rights on the river that runs past. Cost: £249,000.
Jackson-Stops & Staff, 01904 625033 Photograph: Jackson-Stops & Staff

Trading down: London. A one-bed budget needn’t mean communal entrance halls and the stench of a neighbour’s cooking. For this is a self-contained, semi-detached houselet near Peckham’s fashionable Bellenden Rd, and it’s yours for £275,000. The basement is a cellar but needn’t remain so for long; a gym or a cinema room would suit it nicely. There’s a living room on the ground floor and a double bedroom and bathroom upstairs, all stylishly floored with dark-stained wood.
Wooster & Stock, 020 7708 6700 Photograph: Wooster & Stock

Dream home: Suffolk. This is a rebuilding of a Victorian barn near the town of Harleston, so while the outside is venerably quaint the interior is light, bright and modern with heated marble floors in the open-plan living area. There are four bedrooms, an attic to expand into, and a covered verandah opening off the living area and overlooking the pond. In the inner courtyard is a heated splash pool. There’s an acre of grounds and wide views over the valley, all of which is yours for £545,000.
Jackson-Stops & Staff, 01473 218218 Photograph: Jackson-Stops & Staff