Designed by Charles Rene Mackintosh, probably the most famous architect to come out of Glasgow. I would best describe him as a proto-modernist who was way ahead of his time and somehow achieved architecture, furniture, and design that could be both described as minimal and also Art Nouveau. Out of all the places you can visit in Glasgow I would recommend this one as closest to the original intent. Other places have had to unfortunately modernize with exit signs, lighting, etc... that were not part of the original vision. On site there is a gift shop, cafe with indoors and outdoor seating, upstairs private meeting room and wedding area, and of course rooms designed by Mackintosh. The only unfortunate name is "House For An Art Lover". It seems somehow not so serious and I think it should have just been called "Mackintosh House". This was designed in paper in 1908 but not completed until 1996, there is an alcove between the 1st and 2nd story that has a scale model and reproductions of the design drawings. The thing I LOVED is there were no barriers and you could touch and sit anywhere you want. There is a room with a fancy piano and I was surprised you could sit there and play on it, listened to our oldest play Minuet in G and felt like we were transported back in time. This is the room that shows up in a lot of photography and our favorite. read more

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House for an art lover is situated in Bellahouston park, a beautiful house designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in beautiful grounds with some interesting art pieces in and around the area. As you enter there is a £7 entry fee and you will be handed an audio guid and instructed to head upstairs where you will find stunning Mackintosh designed rooms including the main hall, the oval room and my favourite: the music room and the staircase! This is definitely a wonderful place to visit whether your a Mackintosh fan or not! read more

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This resturant and lovely gardens, too walk. The food and staff here will blow you away. Amazing, cheap and artistic., nice wee shop too. Not far to ibrox rangers, football club. Think some players eat here too. It's very posh. read more

Fantastic tea room for high tea. The chicken breast was fantastic and the potatoes too. The salad was good too. We will return! I took a tour of the house in 2008. I remember it being fantastic too. Loved the symmetry and the simplistic artwork. read more

House For An Art Lover - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

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This place is quite a unique venue on the "Mackintosh Trail", as it is a building that he had designed it for a competition entry in a German design magazine, but it was never actually built during his lifetime. It is only due to the vision of Glasgow-based Consulting Engineer Graham Roxburgh, who assembled a team of specialists to work on the project, that it was eventually reverse-engineered from Mackintosh's sketches and plans in 1989; and even then funding issues led to its closure for some years until funding and a collaboration with Glasgow School of Art (who were looking for some additional workspace) led to its completion and public opening in 1996. Since then of course, it has become a tremendously popular venue for weddings and specialist conferences, and although in places it necessarily involves some imaginative interpretations of Mackintosh's design as his sketches and drawings were in no way complete construction plans and would undoubtedly have been altered if the building had actually been built under his supervision, nevertheless it is a fascinating modern interpretation of his work, and the research and techniques involved in actually bringing his vision to life have provided invaluable insights into the great man's working methods that would have been otherwise impossible to achieve. The main feature room that is most often used for weddings is the 'Music Room', which is wonderfully proportioned with lovely recessed curved full-length south-facing windows that can be opened into the grounds (if weather permits). The light in here when the sun comes through the windows makes it very special, a complete contrast to the dark wood of the main entrance hall and dining room. Next to the music room is the Oval Room, another white interior that is commonly used these days as the bride's changing room at weddings, it has a lovely intimate feel. The long dining room contains 24 gesso panels that were made by Glasgow artists Dai and Jenny Vaughan after the sketches by Mackintosh. Only 7 or 8 panels were visible in the sketch that Mackintosh made, so they have had to re-imagine the rest of them and rediscover the incredibly elaborate and time-consuming gesso technique. You can get a glimpse of this in the introductory video in the 'Margaret Macdonald Room' upstairs, which has information on the other artists involved in the project. Our guide on this visit was none other than the aforementioned Dai Vaughan, who has ran the 'official' Mackintosh Glasgow tours for the last 10 years. But he is retiring from the job next weekend so it was great to have a personal tour from him today. There was much more detail and personalised stories about the place that I won't bore you with here. Just go along and appreciate this gem of a building. read more

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I've been promising myself a visit to House for an Art Lover for far too long, so when the opportunity presented itself recently I grabbed it with both hands. Some 2-4-1 vouchers from the Glasgows Leading Attractions website were duly printed off, and we headed for the Charles Rennie Mackintosh's iconic house in Bellahouston Park. The House overlooks some lovely parkland and a children's playground. Lucky for us the flowers were putting on a cracking display in the garden. Once inside the house we handed over our discount tickets and paid the entrance fee in exchange for audio handsets for the self-guided tour. The reception staff pointed us in the right direction and supplied a handy map. Off we set on a wonderful journey of discovery. It took my breath away. The craftsmanship throughout the building is mighty impressive and the audio narrative is engrossing. Downstairs is a lovely wee restaurant which is hugely popular, and a giftshop which sells, as you might expect, desireable items where quality and design is the focus. While I'm a fan of Charles Rennie Mackintosh this is not a pre-requisite to the enjoyment of House for an Art Lover, which also features works by his wife and fellow artisans. What can I say. I loved House for an Art Lover. I'm definitely not one of yer highbrow arty-farty types, and yet I was unexpectedly in my element here. Pay the place a visit! read more

I've been keen to visit HFAAL for a while now, but for some reason always assumed it was hard to access. A bit of research suggested it was only a short walk from Dumbreck train, so we decided to visit on a lovely sunny day with cameras at the ready. The house is situated in Bellahouston Park and is accessed through an archway which leads to the house, cafe, walled garden and ArtPark. There's also art studios and frequent events programmes for adults and children alike. Based on designs by Charles Rennie Mackintosh the house is a venue for art exhibitions, but is also popular for weddings and you can take a tour of the beautifully decorated rooms at a small cost. On this occasion, we didn't venture to the cafe but the terrace was very busy and certainly looked like a nice spot for a glass of wine and a light meal. The garden is beautifully maintained and we enjoyed taking some pictures and people watching from a bench. The Art Park was what we were most interested in, and is a really unusual park which incorporates art installations into the landscape alongside a play area. Sadly we had no children in tow but it looked like a great spot for kids to play and was really interesting to look at/ photograph. For an expensive day out I'd defintely recommend paying a visit and I'll be back to sample the cafe and hopefully take a class at somepoint in the future. read more

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My husband and I got married at House for an Art Lover in July 2018, so it will probably always hold a special place in my heart. But honestly, I think this place is wonderful with beautiful surroundings and delicious food. If you are booking a wedding here, you've made an excellent choice. All of our booking details and check-ins on the run up to the big day were taken care of with ease and it was great to be able to visit the House in all seasons. The master of ceremonies we had on the day did an incredible job, making us feel completely at ease and taking any and all pressure off of us. As for the food, it was even better than when we did our tasting session! All of our guests were coming up to us to tell us how much they loved it, and that it was the best wedding food they'd ever had. The fact that we never felt displaced during the day was also a massive plus, as all rooms (including the evening reception downstairs) were prepared behind closed doors so we never felt like we were being herded into a waiting room. Having the use of the grounds was also wonderful, especially in the evening in the summer! I'd definitely come back here for food and to visit generally, even for a coffee - the scones are to die for! Overall a wonderful place and well worth a visit (even if it's not for a wedding). read more

Oh dear. I'm not going to be fluffy here and say 'oh yes it's a Rennie Macintosh building situated etc'. I have been here many times before for functions and events and was always very impressed, until I found out today that for some reason, the value of my custom and my money decreases the closer it gets towards closing time. I was under the impression they were open for dinner as having been there only in the evening many times before, I didn't know they closed super early. We were welcomed (somewhat) and were told oh yes take a seat, so we did. After 10 minutes a waitress approached us loudly chewing gum and asked us for our order, I explained we had not seen menus, she then came back with them and basically threw them on the table knocking over a vase of flowers, water everywhere. Another 5 minutes went by and another, more personable waitress came and took our order. Basically we were having a pit stop after shopping, and before my sister and niece left for a long drive north. We were served what we ordered and then were stared for the duration of our visit with one waitress clearing our cake plates and explaining that the kitchen porter was finishing soon and needed our dishes. Great. We had even paid as soon as we received our tea and cake so they could balance their tills. We left without finishing as we felt so unwelcome and I explained this to who I assume was the manager on the way out. She did say sorry. Big wow. Sorry. Having worked in hospitality for over 20 years myself, I took pride in serving anyone who came in regardless of the time, my service standard did not change by the clock, because that customer could have then said, hey this place rocks, let's hire it out for an event. One star for the waitress who took out order, she was lovely. read more

I attended a family wedding here and it was simply beautiful. The service and reception was held here and the staff were friendly and professional. The grounds are perfect for the wedding pictures afterwards and we were lucky to have great weather. The reception was held downstairs in the cafe area and is fantastic for the smaller wedding party. This was my first time in the house and i was blown away with how beautiful it was. There are christmas fayres held here every year and im looking forward to going back for the next one. read more

When my then partner and I decided that it was time for our parents to meet, we decided on the restaurant at The House for an Art Lover was the venue. It has a beautiful ambiance, situated at the edge of a public park, far away from the bustle of the city centre, offering classy surroundings and food that is safe enough for fathers who moan about garlic but interesting enough for the rest of us who have taste buds. The meal was delicious, if a little expensive: traditional Scottish ingredients with a twist, served on immaculate dishes and shown respect and care. It was the attention to detail that paid off: everything is tailored to an exquisite level, even if the influence of Macintosh is a bit obvious in Glasgow. We all left, happy to have bonded and full up with gorgeous courses, from soup to coffee. Everything was perfect. For me, it is a little over the top: too much art on the walls, and most of it pretty tame. It goes for that Victorian style and hits it perfectly, but I don't really care for it, myself. That doesn't mean it isn't good, it just caters to a specific, formal and tasteful clientele. Maybe that's why we split up about six months later. read more

This is well worth a visit. Many beautiful gardens, artwork, architecture, furniture. I would go back. read more

House For An Art Lover - Here's a shot from inside! - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

I have visited there a numerous of times and I do still love going there every time, and it is designed and done by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. I do enjoy looking at every detail of his work, which he have created, such as the lovely lighting on the walls or ceilings. and the detail work on the walls, even windows and everything else. Even the exterior of the house as well. This house have gave me an impression that he have created and made the house with lots of LOVE and care. Which it have fascinated me a lots of times. Even I do enjoy taking bits and pieces of ideas, and try to re-create them into my own design for my parent's house. It is well worth a visit as it is very special place to be inside. Mind you no muddy boots, as the floors are all in cream carpets!!! Argh! Even they do occasionally host a special wedding events and dinner events, but I am sure the reservations are probably overpriced, as I have never made any enquires as I am sure that I will never be able to afford it haha! The gardens around the building is very nice, and it is well worth it to have a stroll around the gardens and looks at the building, and to admire it. read more

The House For an Art Lover was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh for a German design magazine competition (which it didnt win due to late submission). The house was built almost 100 years after his death in the 1980's by Graham Roxburgh, the project was abandoned in the mid eighties but in 1994 was restarted with the interiors finished. The bottom floors of the house hold a cafe / restaurant an visitors centre while the upper floors hold examples of Mackintosh interiors at the top floor is used by the art school for the digital design masters course My sister had her wedding reception here and it was an amazing day, even through it was late september the weather was great and we danced and drank on the terrace outside until the early hours, the staff were great and the mater of ceremonies was a character and a half. I've been again since and the cafe / restaurant is always top notch, best for a sunny Sunday afternoon of lunch followed by a walk in the park although you will be waiting for a table for a while if you havent booked. There's plenty of parking right next to the house and there is also a guided tour of the read more

We were hooked on Mackintosh's work after visiting the Mackintosh House near Glasgow University. Finding out that there is a huge mansion in his style got our attention and so we decided to check it out. I will not go into detail about the design or architecture - if you know Mackintosh you'll love it, if you've never heard of him you will, and even if you don't like his work this place is well worth a visit. Why? The Cafè in the subterrain storey of the building is a real gem. We didn't expect much other than to grab a quick coffee on the way out but ended up ordering a two-course lunch each, mainly because of the atmosphere and the moderate prices. I had the soup of the day with a freshly baked roll and a mains with a salmon-filet. As a drink I had iced tea and was pleasantly surprised that I wasn't served the standard Lipton version but actual iced tea with fruits in it. Very cool! The food was good but both the soup and the fish needed a hint of salt and pepper, which I added with the shaker provided, so not a deal-breaker at all. Judging from the temperature, the roll that came with the soup didn't make the impression to be freshly baked but had (a bit too) much flour on it so somebody definitely put at least some effort into it. In general, the presentation of the food was really appealing and was prepared with much skill. The staff was very friendly, professional and swift and our waiter had also a humorous edge to him which made everything even more pleasant. The tab was more than moderate for what we got and we left satisfied and definitely surprised. Even if you don't want to see the house itself, the Cafe is worth a visit. Surprisingly upper-class food and atmosphere (maybe it's not a good idea to show up in your biking shorts and a tanktop - just saying - it's up to you) - everything for very, very moderate prices which make a student's purse happy (or at least not more desparate for that matter). Verdict: Recommended! read more

G/f and I came here during our summer '08 Scotland/UK trek, and fell in love with it. The grounds are gorgeous and overflowing with gardens and other features, the house an amazing example of Edwardian - or, should that be "Mackintoshian" - architecture? We enjoyed walking the grounds maybe more than we did ambling through Mackintosh's unique and inviting construction. One of the best things we did when in Glasgow - -highly recommended. read more

The scene of my wedding almost eighteen months ago, I suppose that House for an Art Lover will always occupy a special place in my memories. I really enjoyed my wedding there, and every subsequent trip for lunch, brunch or dinner has been similarly impressive. Here's why... The house itself is part of the attraction, needless to say, a construction based on Rennie Mackintosh's design, and full of recognisable styles in the furniture, decor and trim. But the tone of Mackintosh is also very much evident in what goes on inside too. For a start, the meals are exquisite, often tremendously creative ensembles, but most memorable for their wonderful, substantial flavours. I'm not sure if it's because the top table gets served first while the food is hot and fresh, but I can't recall a wedding other than my own where the food was as tasty as one would expect in a fancy restaurant. The other 60 or so guests not at our table seemed to agree. The arrangements for the wedding were by and large very satisfactory too. The room we ate in (the piano room) is a beautiful, quite compact space (limited to around 80 at a bit of a squeeze), with loads of natural light and a kind of landscape layout so none of the guests feel they are too far away from the action. Pre-dinner our guests convened in an adjacent room which was spacious and well equipped with a bottle bar offering a range of drinks to complement the copious champagne. A further room offered opportunities for inside photographs alongside some beautiful Mackintosh furnishings. Despite the showery weather on our big day we also made it outside to the walled garden area, a real floral delight in spring. Evening reception was down in what is typically the cafe/restaurant area, with chairs and table tactically repositioned to create a dancefloor and band area. Once more (and memories are a little hazier here) this was great for our numbers (which swelled to over a hundred in the evening) and the bar, while without draft ales or lagers, was well stocked with various bottles and a full range of spirits. The only criticisms I have of House for an Art Lover were with certain specific aspects of organisation which threatened to cast a bit of a cloud over an otherwise excellent wedding day. One was that despite our instructions to the contrary, staff cut up all of our wedding cake (we'd known in advance there'd be far too much there). The result was that due to some kind of health and safety regulations all the uneaten portions were thrown away. This meant that many cake loving friends and family members who had not had any cake on the day itself never did get a chance to try it. To be fair, the guest liaison did make good on this situation, buying a new tier of cake from our original suppliers. Another slight criticism was the slight over-management of the event's conclusion, with the band desperate to play another couple of songs, but forbidden from doing so by the slightly pedantic staff. But I suppose there are local residents... blah... blah.... blah. Overall, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this as a wedding venue, or just a place to have a reasonably pricey, but extremely tasty lunch. read more

Have visited for several weddings - good food, nice atmosphere and ace architecture.

Favorite place in Glasgow hands down. Yes it is out of the way [bus ride from city centre - 20 minutes + a walk ] however it's well worth the trip. You walk through the park and the sculpture garden to get to the house - the interior of the house has a very calming 'escape' type feeling to it - there's a garden in the far back as well. You can eat in the cafe too, although I can't comment on the foods, since I did not eat there. read more

I've been in for lunch and it was amazing. The house itself is beautiful and well worth a visit. My friend is getting married there soon and I am sure that it will be the ideal venue. read more

Haven't actually been in the house but visited the restaurant on a lovely (untypical for Glasgow :)) sunny day. Had gaspacho as a starter and a lovely crab salad served with a crisp sauvignon. Absolutely delicious and perfect in the heat! read more

I stayed in Glasgow last year for 4 days and it never once stopped raining. I mainly went because I love the work of Charles Rennie MacKintosh and art deco in general and wanted to visit the city where he lived and worked. The House for an Art Lover is a must for any MacKintosh fan. It is a beautiful building set in parkland but the inside is breathtaking. In 1901 Charles Rennie MacKintosh entered a competition to design a house for an art lover. MacKintosh and his wife worked on their design which was in fact disqualified as apparently it was submitted too late! This house was built after his death and the inside decorated to his design. You can compare the rooms with his original design. The Dining Room and the Margaret MacDonald Room were my favourites. There is also a well stocked shop selling good quality items and a smallish cafe. It is also possible to hold private functions here such as wedding, christenings. read more

This is truly worth a visit. I have been lucky enough to have attended 2 wedding at this venue and it is truly special. The gardens are beautiful and the house itself is stunning. There is a small shop to choose from chocolate to jewellery and fridge magnets. There are some nice walks around the surrounding park too that are worth doing. read more

Highly recommended as a wedding/function venue. We planned our wedding from overseas, and they were professional, communicative, and made us comfortable throughout the process. The venue is stunning and was well suited for our group of 67 (though the dance floor was too small to accommodate some ceilidh dances for the whole group). The food was exceptional and well-presented; plenty of staff was on hand, and James did a great job of keeping the day on track. The nearby walled garden is great for photos (though it's worth determining whether the flowers will be between seasons during your event, as there's a small fee that must be paid for professional photography). We did both ceremony and reception here and couldn't have imagined a better day! read more

Well this place is very special to me, as I got married here in 2005. I chose this place as my dream venue because it is just so beautiful inside, and the staff are all very helpful and friendly as well. The gardens are also gorgeous and this place would make a wonderful wedding venue for anyone, no matter whether you want a small gathering or a large celebration. My wedding was a bit of both, and I can only rave about how good a day everyone had. The meal was delicious and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. This place is very highly recommended. read more

I visited the house and wrote a review on tripadvisor.com and the management replied to my review by claiming that I was making a false review which is not acceptable. That is why I am writing another review here to ensure that customers are not discouraged from reviewing places that did not provide a reasonable standard of service which businesses are required to do under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. I went to the cafe for lunch and the waitress seated us outside and it was a very sunny day. The cafe took 45 minutes to serve me so in total, I sat out in the sun for over an hour, this includes the waiting time before the cafe took my order, the time it took for me to eat my food and the time taken to serve me. The excess sun exposure made me ill and I got a cold as soon as I returmed from the cafe. The cafe management claimed that I did not catch a cold from the visit. It is quite common for people to become ill from excess sun exposure and most doctors advise against spending long periods in the midday sun so I wonder why they do that? I find it pathetic that a business cannot accept a simple description of what happened when a customer visited their business on a review site. I still do not understand why the business thinks it needs to challenge my statement. I am a genuine, paying customer exposing poor service. I will not be visiting this place again and I will make a formal complaint to the Scottish equivalent of Trading Standards about this place. read more