Mackintosh House, Glasgow

No-one should miss the chance to visit a house museum if possible because they are an excellent way of feeling as though you are stepping back in time. Mackintosh House on the Glasgow University campus is a very fine example of this.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh was a 19th/20th-century architect, designer, artist and the principal representative of the Art Nouveau Movement in the UK. He and his wife Margaret, who was also a renowned artist, lived in the house on Southpark Avenue between 1906 and 1914, when they moved the house and its contents were bought by a Mr Davison and his family. When they put the house up for sale in their turn in 1946, it was bought by Glasgow University and the Davidsons made the university a gift of the furniture.

The house museum has been a part of the Hunterian Art Gallery since 1981 and is a faithful reconstruction of the time when the Mackintosh’s lived there. The beautiful furniture was designed by Mackintosh himself and several examples of his and Margaret’s paintings adorn the walls.

You can visit the hall, drawing room, dining room, studio and main bedroom, all of which are elegantly decorated. As you drift from room to room, you almost expect to come across Charles working on the designs of another building, or Margaret, paintbrush in hand, bent over her easel to catch the last rays of the summer sun.

Why You Should Visit:
Even if you have only limited interest in architecture, the half-hour tour through this house is worth every penny.
Eye candy wherever you look, and breathtaking examples of the Mackintosh genius. The use of light and space, too, is a revelation.

Tip:
Take the morning guided tour first – you will then be able to pop back in the afternoon when you can go round at your leisure.