Saturday, February 13, 2010

The Willow Tea Rooms, Glasgow

Sign, Willow Tearoom, GlasgowI am straying into very dangerous territory here.

The Willow Tea Rooms in Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow were designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1903 for Kate Cranston. Mackintosh had already worked on Cranston's three other Glasgow tea rooms working on murals, furniture and at Ingram Street redesigning an entire room to create the White Dining Room. The Willow Tea Rooms was the first time he had complete control over the entire building.

By 1917, Kate Cranston had sold her tea rooms and the buildings were used for other purposes until Anne Mulhern recreated the Room de Luxe at the reborn Willow Tearoom in 1983.

The work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh cannot be claimed to be Art Deco but he was a genius and a man before his time.

Willow Tearoom, Glasgow

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