78 Derngate - The Charles Rennie Mackintosh House

Northampton is home to Charles Rennie Mackintosh's last ever commission and one of the most important interiors of the twentieth century. In 1916 entrepreneur W.J. Bassett-Lowke bought a small terraced house for £250; 78 Derngate Street, Northampton. Bassett-Lowke looked to achieve a modern interior and enlisted Mackintosh, who despite never carrying out work outside his homeland of Scotland, eventually agreed. Mackintosh was an influential designer throughout our continent, an important limb of the Art Nouveau movement. The movement’s style is characterized by the use of floral and curvilinear shapes…

Here are some images of the interior

 

Lounge/hall - geometric stair screen, with decorative glass panels

Guest bedroom - black and white wall/ceiling stencil stripes. Geometric furniture, including signiture ladderback chairs

Rear of 78 Derngate - Black and white emphasizing linear forms, shows the width of the property

What can be noticed from the interior design is the use of geometric shapes and linear forms; and the use of black and white plus only a few other colours, all similar to the Neo-plasticism principles of the De Stijl movement based in the Netherlands. Bassett-Lowke encouraged Mackintosh to remove the floral and curvilinear shapes evident of the Art Nouveau movement, instead asking for a minimal approach. The importance of this event is almost monumental. These were the initial signs of modernism; almost 10 years prior to its eventual arrival.

78 Derngate is open to the public, and I hugely recommend it.

‘One of the most important domestic interiors of the 20th century’ 

– The Times

www.78derngate.org.uk