When the time is right for me to build my own house, I'll certainly make it with stone and wood, yet a main structure of reinforced concrete. The ideal balance between taxation and space is the 200 m2 mark, with about 120 m2 of basement, including an underground two car garage. I'll go with local mountain architecture, which calls for square fascias with dark coloured stone.
For a second home, I'd go for a classic villa in the Aegean sea. Something like this one:
This particular villa is in Syros island, valued between 5 and 6 million €. It belongs to a former finance and then defense minister, currently in jail for corruption and money laundering.
When the time was right, choosing to buy an apartment instead of building a house was one of my most stupid life choices.