I can’t imagine a more perfect experience than this. A pot of tea, specially blended for this single place. A warm scone bursting with raisins and red currants, along with proper clotted cream and strawberry jam. A tea room straight out of its 1903 opening, bright and airy, warm and inviting. And the genius of a true master of design whose work made this city, Glasgow, what it is to this day. This is Mackintosh at the Willow, the original Willow Tea Rooms, and just part of the brilliance of Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh was born here in Glasgow in 1868. It seems architecture and design were all he aspired to, as at the age of 16 he accepted an apprenticeship with a local architect while studying at the Glasgow School of Art. In 1889, after graduating, he joined the firm of Honeyman and Keppie, and with them his career would take off.

In 1895, Mackintosh was part of the design team for a new building in Glasgow’s center. While the bulk of the plan was done by other, more senior members of the firm, his contribution was a tower, easily the most iconic part of the building, that was to contain a huge water tank as part of a fire prevention system. That tank was never used, but the tower of what is now Glasgow’s Lighthouse is visible for blocks. And here one can start to see what separates Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his “Glasgow style” from a standard Victorian building.

The Glasgow style, as it would become known, is considered to be art nouveau, although not taken nearly as far as similar masters of that style like Antoni Gaudi or Frank Lloyd Wright. The Glasgow style is much more subtle and nuanced, featuring more curves and plant motifs than the Victorian era architecture that came just before, although still with its decorations, especially on rooftops. Stonework is the primary feature, but inside, the Glasgow style incorporated more painted glass, Asian influences, and open, airy, and almost under-furnished plans.

In Glasgow’s magnificent Kelvingrove Museum, itself probably the most stunning Victorian building in the city, an exhibit to Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his peers takes up one end of the ground floor. Here, one can admire the evolving style as seen mainly through its decorative art and furnishings.

The highlight is a recreation of portions of Mackintosh’s famous tea rooms. Catherine Cranston was a local Glasgow entrepreneur, and her specialty was tea rooms, all the rage at the turn of the twentieth century. Each one had to be specially designed, with enough difference so as to stand out. While only the Willow survives today (and it, too, closed down for decades, but because the building remained empty for much of that, many of the original features were able to be restored to the glory that it was, and still is), here at Kelvingrove, I admire a partial setup from the equally stunning Chinese Tea Room.

In 1901, Charles Rennie Mackintosh became a partner at what would become Honeyman, Keppie, and Mackintosh, a period that would correspond to the most lucrative of the architect’s career. While he was never wealthy, having a decent income and no children (his wife Margaret MacDonald was his design partner as well as romantic) meant a lavish enough lifestyle to be able to afford a lovely, if reasonably small, home on the campus of the University of Glasgow, which the couple also had the funds to immediately refurbish to their own specifications. Today, the Mackintosh House is one of the key parts of the university’s Hunterian Museum, a vast collection contained in several buildings. (The house also seems to be the only portion of that institute with an admission fee.)

Mackintosh and MacDonald lived in the home from 1906 to 1914, and it is a testament to the furniture and decorative design portion of the Glasgow style. Furnishings seem almost accent pieces to the windows and natural light, sparse but diverse. Many have an obvious Asian influence, reminding me immediately of Greene and Greene, famed architects of Pasadena, California.

Each room is able to be visited, although not all can actually be entered. I am not sure if the furnishings, while all original, are in their actual places as the couple would have had them, or are more meant to be a showcase of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s designs, since there seem to be few that actually match. Chairs face others done in a slightly different style, for instance. I like it, actually, but it might make others a bit more squeamish.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh would design several other buildings here in Glasgow, though few are in the center, meaning they are harder to see, especially in my limited time in the city. I do swing by the Glasgow School of Art, now named for him and one building of which was designed by him, but it is being renovated and I can’t see much.

In 1913, Mackintosh resigned from his firm, which was struggling, and though he attempted to start his own practice, more of his time was apparently spent painting than anything else. In 1928, at the age of 60, he passed away, with little fanfare at all. In fact, it was an event largely unnoticed. It wasn’t until the middle of the 20th century that Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his influence were appreciated locally, let alone beyond the limits of Glasgow.

My tea in the Willow Tea Rooms is comforting, my scone delightful, and the view of what is easily the most beautiful tea room I’ve visited is perfect. I wander to the mezzanine for a different set of furnishings, admire the incredible tea service and its Asian-inspired blue and white design, and just appreciate the chance to live out a piece of Glasgow history for what is actually a very reasonable price (tea and scone for under £15).

Charles Rennie Mackintosh is not a household name in the U.S., but if you find yourself in Glasgow, it is a name synonymous with what is best about a truly remarkable city. His Glasgow style is a bridge between Victorian and modern, with a subtle beauty that is truly one-of-a-kind.

Like it? Pin it!