A very famous Architect and Interior Designer
got his start in a most unlikely place.
If you have been to Glasgow
you know that it is industrial.
When you are born in 1868
and live in an industrial place
you usually succumb to a lifestyle
or more mundane presence.
Instead Charles Rennie Mackintosh
flourished with an array of
interior design elements
and detail that was unheard of for his day.
He was fortunate enough to join an architectural
firm early.
He competed in the lottery to
have the chance to design the legendary
Glasgow School of Art.
In winning the commission
he was able to bring together interior
decoration
and designs for furniture, textiles,
and architectural detail
that had not been seen before.
Looking at architectural renderings
today
and then seeing the actual interiors
is an amazing feat.
His interiors were strikingly
Arts and Crafts
and yet were not tedious
and in replication of his contemporaries.
He had a fresh organic take
on his details.
His parents were both gardeners
and early on he stylized a rose
and used it in many of his interior projects.
This rose became more than a symbol
of him
but also brought the
natural world
into cast bronze
textile design
tile work
and furniture design.
His wallpaper designs were revolutionary for the period.
He was detailed
and delicate
and his repetitive
patterns were fresh
and light for the day.
Geometrical design
was interpreted as organic structures.
As in the Willow chair.
Almost ART DECO looking
the Willow chair is that of a stylized
Willow Tree
in a structure
that divided space
and controlled a room.
Charles Rennie Mackintosh was
experimental
in integrating design details
in interiors
when do one else was doing it.
He was a pioneer
of interior design.
