MINDS have been focused this week on downsizing… The scenario is one which will be familiar to many. The little people who once rambled about the expanses of your rambling family home have become all grown up and flown the nest.

The old homestead has become echoey; there are rooms at the top of the house you haven’t visited for months.

And the garden that was once shrunk by the presence of aforementioned little people and their gang of friends now seems like the size of the American prairie.

It’s time to consider a bungalow. Yes, you read that right. A bungalow.

Because these days bungalows do not mean pipe, slippers and a set of tiny old-fashioned rooms with patterned wallpaper and twitching net curtains.

Take this smart, substantial and sunny offering in Strensall, for instance.

Caldie, in West End, a quiet spot just a short walk away from the village centre with its shops, pubs and post office, is a delightfully light and bright home with spacious rooms and pretty gardens.

It has been thoroughly and skilfully upgraded and modernised by the present owners which has created, in the words of marketing agents Stephensons, “a quite stunning detached family home”.

(Which tells you that bungalows are also not only for down-sizers but for those who still have little people at home).

There is certainly a huge amount to admire here – including the comfortable and stylishly modern finishing throughout and the size and scale of the rooms.

The main reception room, for instance, is a rolling near 23ft long and 15ft wide to an attractive bay window to the side elevation.

Highlights here include a feature fireplace with a multi-fuel burning stove, laminated flooring and clean and contemporary lines.

There is the bonus here of doors through to a garden room which has French doors opening onto the rear garden (more of which later).

The breakfast kitchen is another delight, with a good range of wall and base units to three sides and granite-effect preparation surfaces, a ceramic hob and oven and grill and integral dishwasher.

There is also a utility room off that has a door onto a rear patio – you will have gathered by now that there are wrap-around gardens all around the property… The master bedroom is also another stunning sizeable room, running to some 20ft, at the rear of the house and overlooking the rear garden.

This room has a fine range of modern fitted wardrobes and an excellent en-suite bathroom.

There are two further double bedrooms, one with, again, a stylish range of fitted wardrobes.

The house bathroom has also benefited from a refurb and has a modern suite with shaped bath and shower screen.

And now to the gardens, another fine feature of this outstanding property.

The front of the bungalow is approached by a large sweeping gravelled driveway offering plenty of off-street parking (there is also a double garage with electric up and over door).

The main garden to the rear is walled and well laid out with a good-sized patio area and brick built barbecue for those spring and summer out-of-doors evenings.

There is a long lawned area with walled and hedged boundaries.

Then there is the advantage of another extra, in the shape of an outbuilding with power and lighting which would be ideal for an independent office or hobbies room.

It’s at this point that we realise that, with this property, down-sizing might not be quite the right expression.

It’s got as much room as apparently larger properties but, being spread across a single storey arrangement much more user-friendly. The ideal home in so many ways, in fact, for any life stage…

Stephensons are holding an open viewing on Caldie on Saturday, September 20, from 10am – noon.

For full details or to arrange a viewing, contact Stephensons on 01904 625533.