Want to give your home or business a uniquely dazzling look? Look no further than stained glass! This beautiful functional art form has been around for centuries and is more popular than ever before.
Stained glass presents you with an opportunity for creating a customized and personalized feel in your home or even brand identity in your place of business. Wondering where you can use stained glass to truly shine in your own light? Keep reading for great ideas where custom stained glass pieces can truly make your world more brilliant!
1. Windows
Stained glass has been dated back as early as the 7th century in England. By the time the 12th century rolled around, this stunning art form had been perfected. Impressive pieces of stained glass from centuries ago still remain intact in many of the most marvelous wonders on the planet, still drawing visitors from around the world to bask in their glory.
To this day, windows are still one of the top choices for installing stained glass art. There are many ways to use stained glass in windows. If you’re building a new home or renovating, you can replace ordinary windows with stained glass. Built as a triple pane unit or insulated in its own frame, you can install it as you would a regular window.
The best part about using stained glass in place of ordinary windows is that it can obscure what’s inside from the outside. This allows natural light to come into your spaces while keeping prying eyes from ruining your privacy. Stained glass windows are one of the best solutions for bathroom spaces for this reason. They create more visual space with flowing light, add a centerpiece of art, and keep the entire neighborhood from seeing you in the shower or tub.
Some homes have unusual window locations too, which will only look better with a customized stained glass window. For example, if you have an open foyer that extends to the second floor and a window up above it, you can turn that into functional art with a gorgeous floral, underwater, or abstract geometric design and make your home truly reflect your tastes while working with the light.
If you’re unable to replace the windows in your home or business, you can always hang a stained glass cut in any window to add a decorative touch and create privacy in the most artful of ways.
2. Doors
Doors are another great place for stained glass. Again, because they can be built with impact-resistant glass and frames, they stand up against weather and anything else that comes its way. They also provide privacy while bringing light into spaces that would otherwise be dark, like a front foyer for example.
Even in neighborhoods where HOAs control the color of paint you’re allowed to use, most are in agreement that changing your door to one with a tasteful stained glass insert boosts the value of the home and makes it more attractive. Instead of painting your front door, try replacing it with a door that contains a stained glass insert. You may also find this to work beautifully on rear doors, like the one that leads out to your pool or spa area.
3. Cabinet Inserts
Stained glass doesn’t always need to go in windows or doors to be a beautiful addition to your spaces. Updating cabinets and furniture with stained glass inserts is a fantastic way to incorporate stained glass and achieve a unique look.
Kitchen cabinets will have more charm and beauty with stained glass. Upscale restaurants will thrive with furnishings that feature stained glass art, especially if it depicts the theme of the establishment in its designs. The possibilities to be creative with stained glass as cabinet inserts are infinite and really allow for the imagination to run wild.
4. Sidelights
If you’re not sure about replacing your door with one that has a stained glass insert, consider installing sidelights. These are small, narrow windows that flank a door or even larger windows. By using stained glass sidelights, you add more light into your space. While these windows can’t open, that’s the sheer beauty of them. They cast favorable light into your spaces.
With colored stained glass designs, they can be even more mesmerizing. Plus, they add that element of openness without compromising privacy, something every homeowner cherishes. It’s a smart and stunning way to add more value to your investment in your home. If you plan to sell your home down the road, there are many stained glass options for sidelights that will make potential buyers jump at the chance to buy your home. Clear textured and beveled stained glass options are among the most prized, for they allow you to change the paint on your home without clashing with the stained glass design.
5. Transoms
Transoms are the windows that are above an entryway door. For homes that have this feature, replacing a regular glass transom window with stained glass is an excellent choice. The stained glass transom won’t open, adding more security to your premises without blocking out the light that you treasure coming into your space.
For businesses, transoms are very popular in certain areas. Again, in the olden days, these style of windows could easily be opened up. It’s not something any business owner wants to leave open for potential to crime. Plus, with stained glass, commissioning a customized piece with your logo or an artful design that flows with your store, café, or restaurant makes it more memorable and creates a focal point.
Even in interior spaces for homes or businesses, there are ways to open up rooms that feel dark and heavy. Arched wooden doorways, for example, are notorious for being a bit confining. By replacing the arch with a customized stained glass insert, it draws in light from the exterior rooms and instantly brightens up space.
6. LED Light Boxes
For homes with dark spaces in interior rooms or even restaurants, bars, cafés, and the like, using an LED light panel with your stained glass can add both light and art all in one. Since LED lighting is very energy efficient, it’s a low-cost way to beautify your space.
Since stained glass is art, setting it in the form of light boxes gives you more options for decorating. Perhaps you have a swanky bar in your home that isn’t near the windows. Adding a stained glass piece with an LED light box can make your home bar space come alive. You can also use it to add a glow to bedrooms, hallways, or anywhere you choose.
Businesses like restaurants also benefit for an LED light box paired with stained glass casts a favorable and beautiful light while upholding the theme. Imagine converting a boring restaurant space into an Italian restaurant that can evoke true images of Italy with backlit brilliant scenes of the rolling hillsides in Tuscany, gondolas in Venice, and the vineyards of the Piedmont region. It creates a colorful and memorable experience for guests, one that enhances the evening.
7. Partitions
Partitions are yet another clever way for stained glass to update your home or business. They can section off spaces in an elegant spa or upscale hotel. They can create a unique design element in a master bathroom, perhaps separating the tub and shower area from the toilet or vanity. They can also be installed with light to create a dazzling effect, even in spaces that don’t have access to natural light.
8. Business Signage
Nothing gives a business a more personal touch than that of a customized stained glass sign with your logo on it. A custom designed stained glass sign for your business not only advertises your location but it makes for a stunning accent ideal for bars, pubs, restaurants, salons, shops, bed and breakfasts, ice cream shops, country clubs, and more. Your stained glass sign can have your logo, your business name, or even just be an artful accentuation that pairs well with your business. There are many ways to explore this possibility and have a unique stained glass piece built to suit your needs.
9. Pool and Spa Side Features
Create an epic space for luxuriating in your home, master bath, or professional spa. With water-themed stained glass pieces, you can have them inset into water features, backlit with light to make for a splendid retreat. Imagine soaking in a tub that has a stained glass waterfall built into the marbled wall with a light shining from behind it. It’s unique and memorable, plus it evokes a relaxing feeling everyone will want to enjoy.
10. Suncatchers and Window Hangings
No matter where you live, you can incorporate stained glass into your space with a simple suncatcher. These are smaller stained glass pieces that can be hung in any window. If you rent an apartment, you can enjoy the beauty of stained glass with a suncatcher. It will also bring cheer if you have a window in your office, giving you a chance to daydream of dolphins, birds, mountain scenes, or whatever ignites your inner fire.
Window hangings of stained glass tend to be bigger, and though they take a little more care to mount, they are easy to install in just a few minutes. These are ideal for when you can’t expense replacing your windows with stained glass features or you plan on moving and don’t want to leave your treasured stained glass pieces behind.
Window hangings can be used in bathrooms to heighten privacy, in kitchens to add personality, in master bedrooms to add more light and love, and so many other places.
Stained glass can truly be artful in any application. You can have anything you dream up created into a customized design just for you, or you can choose from a portfolio of ready-made designs, or even request one in the size of your choosing. It’s such a gorgeous way to have something made just for you, something that will always retain its value for years to come.
The ways you can use stained glass in any location at home or in a business are also very versatile. Think about how stained glass can bring light and art into your spaces and let us bring your visions to life!
