Helensburgh Hillhouse

Helensburgh Hill House
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30th April 2007 -

It's nearly May already and Spring/Summer seems to have started very early in Scotland this year. This April certainly feels like one of the sunniest that I can remember in my (almost) 40 years.

All this good weather has meant that Aurelia and I have been zooming all over the country trying to get new photographs for updating the website.

This week we seem to have spent a disproportionate amount of our time going back and forth on the M8 between Glasgow and Edinburgh to research routes for day trips from the cities. The M8 has to rank as one of the dullest roads in Scotland, but it serves the purpose of getting you quickly from East to West.

On Thursday I went to visit Charles Rennie Mackintosh's famous Hill House at Helensburgh. Seeing this house on a sunny day can make such a difference because the sunlight really allows you to appreciate the way that Mackintosh designed the house to use light.

The first room you enter in the Hill House is a dark wood panelled hallway with beautifully detailed stencils on the walls. Mackintosh even designed the light fittings with careful attention to how they would reflect light around the room.

After the cool darkness of the hallway you enter the crisp, fresh brightness of the living room and the mood of the house changes completely. On the first floor of the Hill House you can see a "State of the Art" 1900's bathroom with a complex shower that blasts water from multiple directions. Next door to the bathroom is a dressing room and the master bedroom, which is presented in a very original state.

The other bedrooms on the first floor are now used for displays about Hill House, Mackintosh's design themes and a small gallery for works of current artists. I found this a bit disappointing as the Mackintosh designed rooms are so beautiful that I wanted to see more of the same.

Look here for more information on the Helensburgh Hill House

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