diff --git a/mesonbuild/envconfig.py b/mesonbuild/envconfig.py
index e074d072b..f2510c1aa 100644
--- a/mesonbuild/envconfig.py
+++ b/mesonbuild/envconfig.py
@@ -92,10 +92,27 @@ class MesonConfigFile:
             out[s] = section
         return out
 
-class Properties:
+class HasEnvVarFallback:
+    """
+    A tiny class to indicate that this class contains data that can be
+    initialized from either a config file or environment file. The `fallback`
+    field says whether env vars should be used. Downstream logic (e.g. subclass
+    methods) can check it to decide what to do, since env vars are currently
+    lazily decoded.
+
+    Frankly, this is a pretty silly class at the moment. The hope is the way
+    that we deal with environment variables will become more structured, and
+    this can be starting point.
+    """
+    def __init__(self, fallback = True):
+        self.fallback = fallback
+
+class Properties(HasEnvVarFallback):
     def __init__(
             self,
-            properties: typing.Optional[typing.Dict[str, typing.Union[str, typing.List[str]]]] = None):
+            properties: typing.Optional[typing.Dict[str, typing.Union[str, typing.List[str]]]] = None,
+            fallback = True):
+        super().__init__(fallback)
         self.properties = properties or {}
 
     def has_stdlib(self, language):
@@ -269,10 +286,14 @@ class MachineInfos(PerMachineDefaultable):
     def matches_build_machine(self, machine: MachineChoice):
         return self.build == self[machine]
 
-class BinaryTable:
-    def __init__(self, binaries = {}, fallback = True):
-        self.binaries = binaries
-        self.fallback = fallback
+class BinaryTable(HasEnvVarFallback):
+    def __init__(
+            self,
+            binaries: typing.Optional[typing.Dict[str, typing.Union[str, typing.List[str]]]] = None,
+
+            fallback = True):
+        super().__init__(fallback)
+        self.binaries = binaries or {}
         for name, command in self.binaries.items():
             if not isinstance(command, (list, str)):
                 # TODO generalize message
diff --git a/mesonbuild/environment.py b/mesonbuild/environment.py
index 9760b08df..3bfdfd7d7 100644
--- a/mesonbuild/environment.py
+++ b/mesonbuild/environment.py
@@ -375,12 +375,13 @@ class Environment:
         # that there is no meta data, only names/paths.
         self.binaries = PerMachineDefaultable()
 
+        # Misc other properties about each machine.
+        self.properties = PerMachineDefaultable()
+
         # Just uses hard-coded defaults and environment variables. Might be
         # overwritten by a native file.
-        self.binaries.build = BinaryTable({})
-
-        # Misc other properties about each machine.
-        self.properties = PerMachine(Properties(), Properties(), Properties())
+        self.binaries.build = BinaryTable()
+        self.properties.build = Properties()
 
         # Store paths for native and cross build files. There is no target
         # machine information here because nothing is installed for the target
@@ -395,7 +396,7 @@ class Environment:
 
         if self.coredata.cross_file is not None:
             config = MesonConfigFile.parse_datafile(self.coredata.cross_file)
-            self.properties.host.properties = config.get('properties', {})
+            self.properties.host = Properties(config.get('properties', {}), False)
             self.binaries.host = BinaryTable(config.get('binaries', {}), False)
             if 'host_machine' in config:
                 self.machines.host = MachineInfo.from_literal(config['host_machine'])
@@ -405,6 +406,7 @@ class Environment:
 
         self.machines.default_missing()
         self.binaries.default_missing()
+        self.properties.default_missing()
         self.paths.default_missing()
 
         exe_wrapper = self.binaries.host.lookup_entry('exe_wrapper')