- May 13, 2025
- 7 min read
Updated: Nov 26, 2025
Homes That Tempt: A Look at the Market’s Best
13th May 2025
I should say, The Market's Best is hugely subjective. These are the homes I could see myself i, places that spark the imagination, that make you feel life has more to offer than a one-up, one-down. Perhaps we could see ourselves in a Victorian gate lodge teetering on a perilous edge, or a pinkish farmhouse looking out over fields of bucolic dreams. (It wouldn’t be much of a farmhouse without a field or two.)
As ever, I’ve tried to mix up the pricing. I’ve even ventured into a few different architectural realms. Yes, dear reader, they’re not all Georgian. Many are. Some are Victorian. Wild. And one or two, brace yourself, are new builds. I know, I’m growing up. I no longer sit in my closed-minded sensibilities. I push the envelope.
Does it help that the new build just so happens to have an uninterrupted view of the sea? Well, I haven’t lost all decorum. I know the interiors will leave a lot to be desired, especially to your devilishly eagle-eyed gaze, but that, my friends, is the beauty. We rethink. We adjust. We ladle our furniture onto their floor plan, and perhaps, one day, it might well become one of ours.
I have, as ever, bought my lottery ticket this week. So, if Tat suddenly drops off the face of the earth and you're bombarded with sunny updates from a Georgian rectory, you'll know what happened.
As ever, the façade does the heavy lifting but boy is it more than charming enough to reel you right in. A steady hand will be needed with the decoration, though the potential is plain to see.
Here it is, my Gate Lodge on a perilous edge. You can see why my head would be turned. To live somewhere extraordinary is a blessing few receive. To the buyer, the spoils and the bragging rights that come with such a fine build.
I think I could be very at home in a place like this. A natural pool, fields of beauty all around, and a thatched roof. It hardly gets more delightful.
Simply scrumptious. Truly scrumptious. Decorating a home like this would be almost too easy. A couple of glorious paintings, a stable Georgian chair, and some other bits of well-worn wooden furniture.
Not my usual style for an old Georgian rectory, but I’ll consider it. I like the windows in the sitting and dining rooms. I imagine that light would make everything feel a touch more enjoyable.
Not altogether my bag when it comes to the interiors, but there’s a lot to love. I’ve always wanted my own barn. Whether it’s for parties, Tat, or some other grand pursuit, I know it would make me very happy.
I very much like the build of this fella, structurally, I think he’s divine. But I do worry there might be quite a bit of unpicking to do with the interiors. I don’t mean that as any rudeness to the current owners, but personally, I’d want to bring it back to basics. With a house like this, you don’t want to overburden it with bells and whistles.
Well.. What can one say about this pile? Not much, really — I think we’d all feel very at home here. My only worry would be the sheer amount of space and the cost of furnishing it. But if I won the lottery and decided to throw all my cards into Norfolk, this place would certainly be up for consideration.
There are lots of elements here that must be kept. Personally, I’d dial down the shabby chic a little, but it can’t be denied — there’s a real romance to it. Something my own interiors manage to escape entirely, whether that’s a good thing I’m not sure. I’d give my right arm for that façade.
Embarrassing I know, but another one from Inigo.
I feel Richard Curtis would use these interiors as a reference for the quintessential English home. Well, I wish he would — this is right up my street. Rarely designed, a little haphazard, but comfort and beauty reign supreme.
I’ve always wanted one of those impossible apartments you see in sitcoms, light airy factory spaces no twenty-something could ever afford. But now, in my thirties and expecting a child, I fear I no longer suit such a pad. Still, one can dream.
This place sings with opportunity. I could only imagine the money I would have saved if this was the home I occupied. Look at that wall space, can you imagine the amount of Tat you could get into a place like this.
I’m going to hazard a guess that this is the home of the wonderful artist Poppy Ellis. I adore her work, and with so many of her pieces dotted around — including one sitting proudly on an easel — you can call me Holmes.
When one thinks of an Essex home, this isn’t usually what comes to mind, well, not my mind. But to be fair, I’ve been ruined by 2010s reality TV. I’ll adjust my mind’s eye and think of this noble structure instead when I picture that famous county.
'Collection of dwellings' — is there any more beautiful term? As someone who firmly believes in community but also very much needs their own space, this setup would suit me down to a T. I’d ask the kind owners to leave their delightful finds, as they’ve done a marvellous job in creating a gloriously comforting abode.
Divine. Perhaps a change of lighting in the kitchen, but that’s purely a personal preference.
A slightly ridiculous option at 4 million but we aren't in the business of living too firmly in reality.
A delight of a home, swags and all.
I really don’t need to say a word, do I? The pictures are doing all the heavy lifting. It’s the home I imagine being occupied by an artist couple in the 1920s, parties, talks and art. I do hope the next wonder takes note, and also doesn’t change too much.
While I might not agree with all the design choices wrapped up in this 17th-century creation, one thing I do agree with is that façade. I’d have very few qualms about spending my days simply delighting in its charm.
Grade II Listed Detached Farmhouse, 5 Bedrooms, 3 Bathrooms, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, £3,250,000
Just a snip at over 4000 sq ft, with a few barns and a pool thrown in for good measure. For me this is an excellent option as they haven't mucked up all the rooms so its quite possible to see the potential without having to undo all the bad decisions of the previous owner.
Be still my beating heart. This property fairly bursts with charm and good grace. If ever there were a home destined for the pages of any right-minded magazine, this utter delight would be it. Every room offers up something thrilling. The only challenge will be finding the right owner — someone with the restraint not to charge in and wallpaper every wobbly wall while also having the purse to purchase it.
Painswick is utterly sublime. It boasts a Rococo Garden — and not many places can lay claim to that particular novelty. What a joy it would be to spend your days padding around this delightful villa age/ town, only to return to your country house, complete with a deVol-fitted kitchen.
Yeovil, you’ve made me come over all romantic. It’s that rose, those chintz laden sofas, and of course the landscaped garden that would give Chelsea a run for its money. It is the sort of place that makes summer holidays anywhere else feel like a dreadful waste of time.
I can only assume this was once a hotel, or perhaps a house designed for smart rentals. The bedrooms are just too considered for me to believe any normal family lives in such a decorated pavilion. I mean no disrespect — I’d love to stay somewhere so plush. It would be a welcome holiday from my sub-par sheets and sagging upholstery.
I recently visited a friend’s new home and she had a conservatory. There’s something quite magical about this once-shunned attachment — they really can become something. I’ll forever remember Robert Kime’s conservatory, which still brushes a tiny bit of revelry against my heart at the very thought of it. So, going firmly off topic, that’s exactly what I imagine could happen here.
If you’re after a taste of the country but still want to be within sprinting distance of central London, then this might just be the place for you.
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