Even from the front, this 1969 rambler in Rockville's Glen Park offers a kind of respite that works well with morning coffees and evening cookouts, thanks to mature trees and shrubs and a charming rear yard that backs to woodland.

Set on a lush one-third acre, the home has been renovated. It offers four bedrooms, three full bathrooms, and a kitchen that boasts granite as well as a breakfast area looking out front.

From the driveway, a cobblestone path lined with shrubs and other plantings leads to the slate-covered porch. The front door opens to a ceramic-tiled foyer, where a garden window through the staircase gives a tree-framed view to the backyard.

To the foyer's right, the updated kitchen features custom birch cabinetry, granite countertops, white appliances, and a breakfast nook with a front window and a skylight.

Another row of cabinets functions as a serving bar that separates the kitchen area and the dining room to the left. A built-in buffet and china cabinet, a wall niche for a painting, a front window, and hardwood flooring are here. Crown molding and salmon-colored walls finish the space that opens to the living room beyond.

The living room also has crown molding and a wood floor as well as sliding-glass doors to the deck overlooking the yard.

A hallway to the left also is lined with wood flooring and leads to two bedrooms that make up the master suite. This suite has front and back windows, a sitting area, a walk-in closet, and a spa bathroom with a jetted tub, a glass-enclosed shower, and a marble countertop and flooring.

A hall bathroom and a linen closet in this hallway round out the main level.

The open staircase leads down to a walkout lower level finished with a family room, two bedrooms and a third full bathroom, as well as the laundry and storage areas.

The carpeted family room has a gas fireplace with a stacked-stone surround, flanked by built-ins, and French doors to brick and slate patios and lush landscaping. The patios and plantings have fencing the owners put in to keep out deer. Another fence farther away marks the property line.

Another finished room down here, could be an office or a craft room.

Other features of the house include a two-car, attached garage and a parking pad for two cars off the driveway. All the rooms in the basement have new carpeting.

Specialties of the house

Address: 12437 Saint James Road, Rockville

Style: Rambler

Price: $719,500

Estimated taxes: $6,638

Lot size: 0.34 acre

Bedrooms: 4

Bathrooms: 3 full

Contact: Mary Zack, Long & Foster Real Estate, 301-641-5523, 301-983-0060