Little Waldingfield,Sudbury, Suffolk. £875k

There are so many historic properties of this sort for sale, in Suffolk, that it seems hardly worth choosing one over any of the others.  They are the usual sort, beamish boys, with thatched, roofs, wooden framed and infilled construction, oozing charm and chocolate box appeal and demanding one uses the Q word when attempting to describe them.  I think I will put links to half a dozen or so similar ones at the end so you can see how you are spoiled for choice, if this is your thing.

This one is considerably more expensive than similar properties, though it as been added to and now has a total of over 4k sq ft. It also has particularly good gardens, though Suffolk, being such a warm and sunny county is full of beautiful gardens.  This one begins with a well clipped knot garden by the front gate.

The dining room is a good size with two, striking fireplaces.  The early Suffolk bricks, which one sees in the first picture, look remarkably long to me.  This fireplace seems to be constructed in
English garden wall bond, but perhaps the photograph has distorted things rather.  The second
fireplace has a stove in it rather than dogs. I guess this one is in use.  I don't think I've seen a house with two big fireplaces in the same room.  Perhaps it was the kitchen originally.

Would you furnish your cottage with these rather high status  antiques?  As I said of the town house in Wiltshire there is no reason to stick to furnishing of the period of construction, or relevant to the original status of the place.  However, I think I would go for a 17th century table in here, myself and more simple rustic chairs from the early 18th century.  I would have a small court cupboard or early Georgian oak dresser of medium coloured oak.  And curtains that came down to the floor.  I wouldn't choose a fitted carpet for a country cottage, or anywhere really, as I have explained before,but this one is a lovely shade of blue, I would keep it if they were leaving it.

The 30' drawing room has been constructed recently, in the traditional, Suffolk manner and is a wonderful bright room.  You wouldn't go senile living here, due to the darkness, as you would in so many of the dark and gloomy houses of the same date up north.  The window seats around the edges are a bit pointless, because they would not really be comfortable enough to sit on for any length of

time and if you were looking out at your garden you wouldn't be able to stay put before you were out there weeding or pruning.  There is something a bit conservatory like about the room, which makes it quite hard to decorate, and yet one would hesitate to dress it up entirely like a conservatory.  A concert grand piano would be a nice addition, at one end and some big country house sofas of about 1900, in green or gold velvet or brocade.  The trouble with all that wonderful light coming in, would be that one's antiques would become sun bleached.  I think tapestries would be right for in here, the gilt framed paintings don't really go with the country style.

The kitchen is a bright and spacious room, white Aga, belfast sink, terracotta floor, it looks a bit spartan at the moment as the vendors have tidied everything away.  It needs a large, period oak table and a proper old dresser and lots of kitchenalia on display.  But you could see to that.

Only one of the bedrooms features in the photographs.  I would go for a more country look with exposed floorboards, rugs and vernacular furniture I think.  I would have to paint over the knotty pine strip between the windows.

But as I say, you are expending a considerable fortune on your quintessential, English, chocolate box cottage, because of the lovely (Japanese) gardens.