Magnolia Place, Montpelier Road, Ealing, London, W5

What the owner loves:

What we have loved most is just how well the house works for family life. There is a huge amount of space, but importantly, it is space that actually gets used. With six bedrooms, three bathrooms and two additional WCs, everyone can have their own corner of the house without ever feeling disconnected from one another.

The location has been equally important to us. We are surrounded by excellent schools, both state and private, which was a major consideration for us, while having Pitshanger Lane, Pitshanger Park and Montpelier Park nearby means there is always somewhere to walk, exercise or escape to some greenery.

Despite feeling tucked away and residential, getting around is remarkably easy. Ealing Broadway and its excellent transport links are close by, and road connections out of London are straightforward too. Having a garage and plenty of off-street parking has made everyday family logistics considerably easier.

More than anything, it has been a wonderfully practical family home. The rooms are generous, there is plenty of storage and the way the bedrooms and bathrooms are arranged across the house gives everyone privacy when they want it. It is the sort of house that has made the busy years of family life that little bit easier.

Why we’d buy it

There is a lot to get your head around at Magnolia Place. Six bedrooms. Three bathrooms. Two additional WCs. A garage. Parking for multiple cars. A garden. Banham security. And more than 2,500 sq ft before you have even counted the garage.

But the thing we really like is that this isn't just a big house. It is an incredibly functional one.

The layout isn't entirely conventional, and we suspect it will divide opinion. For some buyers, that will be a reason to move on. For the family it suits, we think it could be absolutely brilliant. The kitchen sits separately at the front, leaving the enormous reception and dining room at the rear as the heart of the house, opening towards the garden. Upstairs, six bedrooms are spread across three floors, with bathrooms positioned where you actually need them, two additional loos, a dressing room and enough separation for children, guests, working from home or the teenager who decides they'd quite like their own floor, thank you very much.

It feels like a house designed around the realities of having a busy family rather than one designed simply to look good on a floorplan.

Then there is the location. This is one of those Ealing neighbourhoods people tend to move to very deliberately. Excellent state and private schools are a major part of the attraction, while Pitshanger Lane, Pitshanger Park and Montpelier Park put shops, coffee, green space and weekend life comfortably within reach.

Ealing Broadway brings the Elizabeth, Central and District lines into the equation, but we should also mention something property descriptions strangely tend to ignore: roads. The A40 and wider road network are easily accessible from this side of Ealing, which matters enormously if family life regularly takes you beyond Zone 3.

And when you get home, you can actually park. Several cars, in fact. There is even a proper garage, plus scope for EV charging and CPZ resident parking on-street, because apparently someone really has thought of everything.

Big houses aren't particularly difficult to find if the budget allows. Finding one with this much usable space, this level of specification, genuinely useful parking and a location that works so well for family life is considerably harder.