These five standout properties have halls made for towering trees, sparkling decorations and Champagne-bright celebrations– festive magic that will practically begin before new owners move in

WHEN THEY MOVED IN, NATALIE AND TIM’S KITCHEN WAS DAMP AND UNUSABLE, BUT NOW IT’S THE HEART OF THEIR HOME

Houses with good railway connections Kent: Palm Cottage, ...

BUYING A RUN-DOWN BUNGALOW ON A LARGE PLOT ENABLED KATE AND ROSS TO BUILD THEIR DREAM HOME IN THE GARDEN AND EDGE CLOSER TO BEING MORTGAGE FREE

Three historic country houses in Yorkshire, a stone’s throw from the most northerly of Britain’s 16 white chalk horses, offer comfortable contemporary living and fascinating backstories

Despite their clichéd ‘chocolate-box’ description, thatched cottages are generally showstoppers. They tend not to remain on the market for long, so, for this quintet, it may be a case of he (or she) who hesitates is lost