Unlike any other barn conversion you're likely to come across, this complex of farm buildings was reconfigured by the John Pawson team and is as sharp and minimal as you would expect. Arguably the most architecturally interesting holiday home in the county – at least until Grayson Perry's A House for Essex opens next year Photograph: PR/The Wow House Company
Its giant glass windows, white partition walls and polished concrete floors give the space a simplicity that's in keeping with its agricultural origins but suits serenity seeking holidaymakers. • 01242 220006, thewowhousecompany.com. Sleeps 12, from £3,258 a week
Pet-friendly Photograph: PR/The Wow House Company
A sunny, homely, hideaway in the depths of Constable Country, this 15th-century cottage is cozily decorated, with a pretty courtyard garden, low, beamed ceilings and a wood-burning stove. It also comes with four bikes to use while you're there. Photograph: Mark Scott/PR
If you want to explore the fields, mills, waterways and big skies that Constable painted on foot, the surrounding Dedham Vale promises great walking territory. If you overdo it, add-on services include massage treatments done in the cottage. • 01787 211115, grove-cottages.co.uk. Sleeps five, from £575 a week
Pet-friendly Photograph: Mark Scott/PR
This Victorian gatehouse – marking the entrance to the grand Jacobean house of Audley End – was recently refurbished to feature a smart white kitchen and a contemporary bathroom with walk-in shower and free-standing tub. Photograph: Alun Bull/English Heritage
One of the big attractions of staying here is the after-hours access to Audley End's grounds; stay during the summer and you can have a picnic supper in the gracious Capability Brown-designed parkland once the hoi polloi have finally left for the day. • 0870 333 1187, english-heritage.org.uk. Sleeps four, from £681 a week
Pet-friendly Photograph: Alun Bull/English Heritage
Set in the garden of a former bakery, this white clapboard cottage, with its pretty green paintwork and "cabin chic" kitchen, is one for historical nosey parkers as the surrounding market town is home to more than its fair share of listed buildings, among them two National Trust properties: Paycocke's House and Grange Barn. Photograph: PR
Those with more modern tastes can head to the Chapel Inn for a pint of locally brewed Red Fox. • 01376 566930, firminsbakehouse.weebly.com. Sleeps two (four if you include a sofabed), from £336 a week
Pet-friendly Photograph: PR
What this cottage lacks in outward prettiness, it makes up for with simple but stylish interiors and a convenient West Mersea location. Its interiors are inspired by the surrounding seaside, with maps on the walls and upcycled furnishings in the colours of sand and sea. Photograph: Ross Dean Photography /PR
Staying here is all about discovering what's on the doorstep: from estuary walks and oyster bars, such as The Company Shed and the West Mersea Oyster Bar, to boat trips and crabbing. Have your own dinghy? There's an on-site store for that, as well as an outdoor hose for rinsing off sand and saltwater after a day on the beach. • No phone, merseacottageaccommodation.co.uk. Sleeps six, from £500 a week Pet-friendly Photograph: Ross Dean Photography 2012/PR
