Trading up, trading down

Trading up: Northamptonshire. Methodism was never intended to be this glamorous. A former chapel in the village of Holcot, this three-bedder has been reinvented as a deluxe dwelling with underfloor heating, limestone floors, granite work tops and soaring ceiling heights. The staircase is made from locally-sourced chestnut, while a wood-burning stove warms the beamed and trussed sitting room, which opens on to a walled garden. Cost: £415,000. Jackson Stops & Staff , 01604 632991 Photograph: Jackson Stops & Staff Trading up: Suffolk. More than an acre of garden should accommodate your expansionist hopes, a large chunk of which is to the fore of this three-bed semi-detached cottage in Cotton, with an even greater sweep behind including an orchard and a field. Inside are large, tastefully groomed rooms. An inglenook dominates the sitting room, the kitchen is large enough to accommodate family feeding, and there is a dining room for formal fuelling. Your cars live spaciously in a detached double garage. Yours for £295,000. Jackson Stops & Staff , 01284 700535 Photograph: Jackson Stops & Staff Trading down: London. This is the £365,000 bottom slice of a Victorian terrace close to Ladbroke Grove and Kensal Rise in NW10. Two bedrooms and a double length living room/kitchen are your lot, but what an elegant lot it is. Layout and fittings have been overhauled by an architect, bequeathing painted board floors, show-flat décor and a back bedroom opening on to a landscaped courtyard garden. A hearth, bay window and elaborate cornicing are the Victorian contribution. Marsh and Parsons , 020 7313 8350 Photograph: Marsh and Parsons Trading down: Devon. This is a lofty portion of the estuary town of Kingsbridge. For £183,000 you get two bedrooms, one of which is an attic conversion with exposed beams and views over the town, and a beamed sitting room overlooking the church. The town centre and waterside are a walk away, but the price reflects a couple of inconveniences: the kitchen is upstairs above the reception, and the garden is reached by a shared pathway. Marchand Petit , 01548 857 588 Photograph: Marchand Petit Over the sea: Portugal. This four-bedder was built to absorb the coastal glory a couple of miles from the old town and beach of Albufeira in the central Algarve. The two receptions and study open on to two covered terraces and the swimming pool via french doors, while the balcony of the top floor bedroom surveys the horticultural exotica below. The heated floors are tiles and parquet, many of the ceilings are beamed, and it has satellite TV. Yours for £422,000. Portugal Property , 0845 308 8511 Photograph: Portugal Property