Harbord Road, Oxford

An appealing detached family house set in pretty gardens in the quiet Cutteslowe suburb of North Oxford. Living room with bay window, separate dining room, four bedrooms, ample driveway parking plus garage. Although the house would benefit from modernisation it is offered in good order throughout.

If you were to choose the suburb of Oxford in which to live, the Cutteslowe area of North Oxford would be competing for top slot. Within a mile of your front door is a diverse selection of parkland, schools, shops, eateries and bars, a popular golf course, plus both a mainline London-bound rail station and trunk roads to reach each compass point. And yet unlike many urban areas the plots are larger, there's little passing traffic, and the houses have a feeling of good space around them. As a place to raise a family while enjoying all these amenities, there are few rivals.

Number 8 has been in the same family ownership for many years. During that time it has been well maintained, with continuous improvements ensuring that while it could benefit from some modernisation, it appears to be in very good condition throughout. Originally starting life as a more compact property, it has been extended to provide fine living space. The peaceful outlook to front and rear is a refreshing change from the more built-up and hemmed-in plots so often found in the city. The garden space in particular is an appealing mix of seating areas, lawn, and pretty borders bursting with flowers. For a family looking for all the convenience of Oxford life with the more relaxed atmosphere of a quiet suburb with nearby parks and walks, it's a very attractive option.

The open porch shelters a front door that feeds into a light and elegant hallway. A polished timber post and hand rail flank the stairs to the right, with contrasting simple white panelling. Windows at both the bottom and top of the stairs help bring in really great light. And the hall is wide enough to easily house a key table, chair etc. To your left, the downstairs cloak room features a white suite, and it's also fitted with very useful hooks and a shelf for coats, hats and like. Directly opposite, the under-stairs cupboard is large and deep. At the rear, a glazed door opens into a really lovely living room. Once upon a time this was two rooms; nowadays the combination of the pair has resulted in a delightful room in which the large bay window, glazed door to the garden, and window to the right all conspiring to make it light and welcoming. The fireplace is brick-edged, a neat and enclosed gas fire nestling in the centre.

Concertina doors on the left slide back to reveal a pleasant dining room complete with a parquet floor. A pair of sliding glazed doors to the rear offer a glimpse of the pretty garden, as well as access to both it and the terrace immediately outside. From the dining room another hallway links first to a utility that also doubles as a downstairs shower room. And in the hallway a pair of doors open into a useful pantry cupboard. Directly opposite the kitchen, while dated, is pristinely presented with a run of units across the front wall, and a sink in front of the wide window that gives you a very pleasant view across your own front garden. There's ample room for a breakfast table in here plus dresser and the like.

On the first floor, there are four bedrooms. Reaching the landing, taking the first right leads you into a very good-sized single bedroom, or as in our images, a really great study/home office. And the view from here out across your own and neighbouring gardens is very attractive. Next door, a much larger bedroom is a very good size double, made even more so by the useful fitting of a double wardrobe to the chimney alcove. The width of the room is generous enough that a dressing table, chest of drawers, easy chair and the like will all find space here with ease. Almost opposite, another double room is similarly proportioned to allow easy placement of furnishings. And as with the kitchen below, this room offers that same pleasant view of the neighbouring properties and front gardens which are some distance away from you.

The last of the four bedrooms sits in the extended part of the house at the end of the corridor. A pair of built-in wardrobes provide excellent storage. A window to the front and a roof light to the rear also bring in excellent natural light. The proportions are excellent as a double bedroom with ample space, as seen here, for chairs, chest, bookshelves etc. Serving all four, the bathroom is neutral with a white suite, and as it used to be a separate toilet and bathroom, the two windows to the front ensure great natural light. Last but not least, the landing also includes an airing cupboard with a mix of shelves and a drawer offering all the linen space you are likely to need.

Turning to the outside, the front of the house looks out across a quiet road. A wide garden contains various planted borders bursting with a myriad of flowers and other plants, with a lawn behind the front wall. Unusually, parking is provided by a pair of driveways, linked via a path that connects both to the front door and side gate. To the right a pair of steel gates enclose a block paved off street parking space; to the left the driveway is also block paved, this time with space for several vehicles in front of the large garage. A gate to the right of the house leads through to the rear garden.

At the rear the pretty terrace runs across the back of the house, with an attractive ornamental pond just behind the living room door. On the left behind the garage there is also a rather pleasant detached timber summer house. Close board fences to either side are neat and secure, with various borders edging either side, stocked with a lovely diversity of flowers and shrubs. The main expanse of lawn runs a good distance to a pergola. And beyond it a shale-covered seating area is exceptionally peaceful, the perfect spot for a quiet glass with a good book on a sunny day!