One of the most striking designs of Alexander "Greek" Thomson, one of Scotland's most revered architects, is being brought back to life.

As the bicentenary of his birth in April 1817 approaches, a £30,000 project to restore his striking interior designs at Holmwood House in Glasgow is getting underway.

Holmwood, on Netherlee Road, Cathcart, was designed by Thomson and built in the mid-19th century.

Owned by the National Trust for Scotland (NTS), the charity is now undertaking specialist conservation work on the Thomson-designed frieze in the dining room.

The money to pay for the work was raised by the NTS's London Members’ Centre and the National Trust for Scotland USA Foundation.

Holmwood was completed in 1858 and was designed by Thomson (1817-1875) for his client, the paper manufacturer James Couper.

Couper's Millholm Paper Mills were located below the property in the valley of the White Cart, the remains of which are still visible.

Thomson drew his nickname because of his neo-classical inspirations - the dining room has a frieze of panels enlarged from John Flaxman's illustrations of Homer's Iliad.

Holmwood is widely regarded as one of his finest designs and includes many of his trademark neo-classical features, as well as an impressive glazed cupola.

Ian Howie, a specialist painter who has worked on other Thomson houses, will work on reinstating the intricate patterns in the original colour scheme.

The work is expected to take four weeks.

Julie Gilliland, property manager, said: "It’s 200 years since Thomson was born and we think he’d be pleased to know that his original decorations for the dining room was being brought back to life, for future generations to enjoy.

"When he designed Holmwood, it was always intended to be a private family home, so he would be surprised to know that the public visit to see his creations more than 160 years later."

Thomson’s design was featured in an 1868 publication Villa and Cottage Architecture.

It is thought to have been an influence on Frank Lloyd Wright and other modernist architects.

Holmwood retained much of its classically-inspired interior décor and, following a spell as a convent and Catholic Primary School, it was acquired by the National Trust for Scotland in 1994.

Thomson was born in Balfron, Stirlingshire, on 9th April 1817 and died in Glasgow on 22nd March 1875 at his home at No.1 Moray Place.

Thomson had a large clientele for medium-sized villas and terraces of cottages in Pollokshields, Shawlands, Crossmyloof, Cathcart, Langbank, Bothwell and Cove and Kilcreggan.

He designed commercial warehouses, blocks of tenements, terraces of houses, suburban villas and three Presbyterian churches, of which the St. Vincent Street Church is the only intact survivor.

Other important works still standing include Moray Place, Great Western Terrace, Egyptian Halls in Union Street, Grecian Buildings in Sauchiehall Street.