Trading up, trading down – in pictures

Trading up: Ideford, Devon. Three-storey cottages bucked the trend in 17th century England and the novel stature of this one in the Devon village of Ideford accounts for its quirky looks. The fourth bedroom sprawls across the whole of the top floor and there are a myriad nesting nooks in the two receptions, the reading room, snug, study and the chic breakfast room hewn from the old village laundry. At the bottom of the large lawned garden is a self-contained home office. Cost: £500,000.
Knight Frank, 01392 423111 Photograph: KnightFrank.co.uk

Trading Down: Gloucestershire. A weeny stone dollop of Broadwell, one of the Cotswolds' prettiest villages, can be yours for £250,000. It currently earns its keep as a holiday let, but would blissfully accommodate a shrinking household in its one beamed en-suite bedroom, one reception and elegant kitchen diner. The walled garden backs onto farmland. You could leg it the 1.5 miles to Stow-on-the-Wold for provisions.
Strutt and Parker, 01608 650502. Photograph: Struttandparker.com

Trading Up: West Sussex. Well, it's a couple of rungs up on the ladder of prestige, but you've still some way to go to afford the whole of this grade I listed mansion near Petworth in West Sussex. What your £335,000 gets you is a stately two-storey wing with three bedrooms and aristocratic décor. You are, after a fashion, landed gentry, as you share 84 acres of private parkland with the neighbours. The estate sits at the foot of the south downs with tennis courts, a lake, croquet lawn and church.
Jackson-Stops & Staff 01730 812357 Photograph: Jackson-stops.co.uk

Trading Down: Dalston, London. This is 950 glossy sq ft of Islington in north London. There are two double bedrooms upstairs and two capacious receptions below and the miniature kitchen opens onto a private courtyard. The handiness of Dalston's two stations will compensate for the fact that you're in a basement/ground floor duplex on the busy A104. Cost: £350,000.
Cluttons 020 7647 7171 Photograph: Cluttons

Dream home: Colliston Castle, Arbroath. The dream could start out as a nightmare because this 16th century castle near Arbroath in Angus needs serious money spent on it – the roof is unwieldy, general maintenance is overdue and cosmetic surgery is required in many of the myriad rooms. But even without intervention the bare bones are glorious, from the stone barrel-vaulted entrance hall to the round turret rooms. The £650,000 price tag also buys vast fireplaces, panelling and priest hole, bedrooms beyond count and nearly 11 acres of land. Modernity has made inroads in the form of a jacuzzi bath and an Aga in one of the several kitchens.
Strutt and Parker Photograph: stuttandparker.com