Whitchurch Lane, Bristol, BS14

The extension at the back tells you quite a lot about how this home has been lived in. Although there's a separate lounge at the front, it was the kitchen and family room overlooking the garden where the owner chose to spend most of her time.

And it's easy to understand why.

Extended across the rear, this is a generous, sociable space that brings the kitchen, dining and everyday living areas together. Large areas of glazing look out across the garden, keeping the room connected to what's happening outside and giving you somewhere that can comfortably take on several jobs at once. Cook, eat, have friends over or simply settle down for the evening without everyone needing to disappear into separate rooms.

The original lounge at the front gives you that option when you want it. Its southerly aspect means it's one of the warmer, brighter rooms in the house and provides a more traditional sitting room away from the larger family space behind. It could just as easily become somewhere quieter to read, work from home or escape to when different generations want to do different things.

There's also a downstairs wet room, an increasingly useful addition whether it's needed for busy family life, visiting relatives or simply avoiding another trip upstairs.

The way the house changes from front to back is worth understanding. The south-facing front naturally benefits from more direct sunshine, particularly in the lounge and main bedroom above. The rear of the house and its northerly-facing garden are cooler by comparison, although gas central heating keeps the house comfortable through the colder months.

Upstairs are three bedrooms and the main family bathroom. The principal bedroom sits at the front, sharing that warmer southerly aspect with the lounge below, while the remaining accommodation gives you the flexibility you'd expect from a three-bedroom home.

Outside, the garden sits immediately beyond the glazed family room, so even when you're indoors it remains part of the outlook. The northerly aspect also means it can offer welcome relief from the heat during the warmer parts of summer, particularly when the front of the house has been enjoying the sun.

At the rear is a garage with both power and lighting, adding useful storage, workshop or hobby space. There is also off-street parking for one car beneath the carport.

Whitchurch Lane is well placed for anyone wanting to remain connected to Bristol while having everyday amenities within easy reach. For a household that needs separate spaces for different parts of the day, the layout makes particular sense: a proper lounge when you want one, three bedrooms upstairs and that large extended room at the back where everyday life can naturally come together.

For the previous owner, that was exactly what happened. Of all the rooms available, it was the extension overlooking the garden where she spent most of her time. And perhaps that's the best indication of what the next owner is likely to discover too — the room added to the house eventually became the room at the heart of it.