Mackintosh at the Willow, Glasgow

Arguably the Salon-de-Luxe is the finest of all Mackintosh’s tearoom interiors, for Miss Kate Cranston, in Glasgow. Although popular at the time, it was sold to Daly’s department store in 1927. Thereafter, bit by bit, many of the original fixtures and fittings in the building were all but lost, sold or archived. The Salon-de-Luxe became a bridal salon, but retained its original glazed wall panels, and remarkable double door. The chandeliers simply disappeared over time.  In the 1980’s the building became a commercial tea-room / gift shop / jewellery store. By 2016 the building had lost its artistic integrity and was looking tired and was sold once again for a complete restoration / conservation re-fit. The original concept of the Salon-de-Luxe existed only in two B&W photographs from 1904, and a couple of contemporary writings in memoirs. Extensive collaboration between The Willow Tea Rooms Trust, The University of Glasgow, a panel of Mackintosh experts, UK wide skill-specific craftsmen, and Cannon-MacInnes Stained Glass, finally put the original room back together, for the first time in 100 years, fully conserved, and complete with two bespoke lead crystal chandeliers. Mackintosh’s completed vision is breathtakingly beautiful and completely cohesive. I was privileged to be the first person to see this completed interior in 2018 when I hung the final crystal ball in the second chandelier.