Period detail goes hand in hand with updated design features in this house, reconfigured to let natural light flood in.

For years, Jean Barr would walk past the picturesque cottage around the corner from her home in Whitecraigs and daydream about it.

"It was one of the first properties in the area so, when it was built, it would have been surrounded by grassland," she says. "It still had that look of a traditional country cottage and I always admired it when I used to walk past it every day."

When Jean first noticed the bungalow, it was owned by an elderly brother and sister whose parents had built the house and who had both lived there for most of their lives.

Four years ago, when Jean was selling her own house, Redarch was also for sale and Jean jumped at the opportunity to own it.

She and her three children moved in but, before they could begin to enjoy it, a comprehensive renovation was required to upgrade the property to the needs of a larger family.

Today, the interior is unrecognisable as the internal footprint has been redrawn to make the most of the natural light.

The kitchen has undergone the most dramatic transformation.

"The original scullery was very dark," says Jean. "There wasn't a kitchen in the way there is now, but several smaller rooms including a scullery with double Belfast sinks and a pantry.

"It would have originally been a house with staff and the kitchen areas would have been their domain."

Indeed, there is an original wooden box above the front door with bells for the various rooms in the house which evokes its time as a staffed house.

In order to create a modern, open-plan dining kitchen, an extension was built at the rear of the house. The result of the extra space is a cavernous room on two levels which leads from kitchen to dining area to informal lounge.

A wealth of windows at the far end provides a view of a delightful summer house, painted pistachio green, and creates an incredibly bright room.

The pale decor includes a limestone floor with underfloor heating, smart white kitchen units and a distinct note of shabby chic introduced through some statement furniture, including an expansive dresser.

Two reception rooms occupy the front of the house and provide both a formal entertaining space and a relaxing family room.

Despite the contemporary decor, there are flashes of period detail in every room, which includes stained-glass windows, an original WC on the upper floor and eye-catching cornicing in the sitting room.

A particularly pleasant nook is an outdoor balcony, reached from the upper hallway, which is a perfect sun-trap and just the spot for a cool drink at the end of a summer's day.

While the expansive master bedroom is on the ground floor and adjoined by a dressing room and an en-suite shower room, the remaining three bedrooms are on the first floor.

Each is characterised by high ceilings – unusual in a bungalow – and picture windows but, in terms of decor, each has a distinctive feel.

Outside, the house is surrounded by a large, level, enclosed garden, and the front garden has been reconfigured to create a sweeping, curved driveway gated at both entrances, offering parking for multiple vehicles, with a single detached garage. The garden is lawned to the back.

Redarch today is awash with a wealth of mod cons but at its heart remains a beautiful period cottage which will charm anyone who walks across its red sandstone threshold.

What? An extended four-bedroom period property set in half an acre of gardens. There are two reception rooms, and the master bedroom has a dressing room and an en-suite shower room.

Where? Langtree Avenue, Lower Whitecraigs, on the south side of Glasgow.

Price? Offers over £695,000.

Contact? Corum Property. Telephone 0141 639 5888.