Hill House, Helensburgh

Hill House in Helensburgh, Scotland is one of Charles and Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh's most famous works, probably second only to the Glasgow School of Art. It was designed and built for the publisher Walter Blackie in 1902 – 1904.

In addition to the house, Mackintosh designed most of the interior, furniture and fittings. Mackintosh's attention to detail extended to prescribing the colour of cut flowers that the Blackies might place on a table in the living room.

In 1982 the house was donated to the National Trust for Scotland which maintains it and opens it to visitors.

The top floor (formerly the family nursery and servants' bedrooms) was leased to the Landmark Trust in 1978 for use as holiday accommodation but since 2011 has been operated as a holiday rental by the National Trust for Scotland. It accommodates six people.

Helensburgh, to the west of Glasgow was settled by businessmen whose wealth came from the industrialised city. In 1902, Walter Blackie of the publishers Blackie and Son purchased a plot on which to build a new home. At the suggestion of Talwin Morris, Mackintosh was appointed to design and build Hill House. Blackie was surprised at the youthfulness of the architect, but after visiting other houses Mackintosh had designed, was convinced he was the right person to build the house. Blackie stipulated no bricks and plaster or wood beam construction, and no red-tiled roof, as traditional in the west of Scotland. Instead, Blackie asked for grey rough cast walls, and a slate roof; and that architectural effects ought to be secured by the massing of the parts rather than ornamentation. The requirements and non-traditional taste of the client allowed Mackintosh full rein for his design ideas.

Before creating an elevation drawing or floor plan, Mackintosh spent some time in the Blackies' home to observe their everyday life. By analysing the family’s habits Mackintosh could design every aspect of the house according to the needs of each user. He believed functional issues should be solved before allowing the design to evolve.

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