by Leroy York
Do you want to add some pizzazz to a dull door? If so, then you should consider installing an art glass door. Such a door can turn an ordinary space into one that is bursting with light, color, and patterns. Art glass has the seemingly magical ability of allowing light to enter interior areas while mesmerizing the onlooker.
What is so special about glass contained within architectural pieces? Glass is more than a clear piece of material. It can transform any interior space by using its light, color, and designs to enliven and open up interior spaces. Art glass is special because it can transform the architecture of a room—artistically. Here are some benefits of art glass for doors.
1. Glass art allows you to add texture
When you think of glass, you probably tend to imagine a basic sleek surface. However, by using a variety of methods you can create glass art with a traditional, delicate, or three-dimensional appearance. Use thin paper atop glass, mouth-blown glass or rolled glass to create these respective results.
2. Safety glass puts the "safe" in "safety"
It is difficult to read. The page is dark.
Yet he knows what it is that he expects.
The page is blank or a frame without a glass
Or a glass that is empty when he looks.
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)
When adding art glass to a door, it is highly advisable that you select safety glass. Laminating and tempering are the two methods that manufacturers use to create safety glass. Due to the extreme heat and quick cooling, tempered glass becomes 400% sturdier than standard glass. What makes this type of glass safe is that it grinds or dices when it breaks, thus preventing sharp pieces from becoming a safety hazard.
On the other hand, laminated glass includes a plastic interlayer that is attached between two sheets of glass. When this type of glass breaks, the glass fractures yet remains stationary, thus making it further safe.
3. Glass art allows you to control transparency
Different doors require different degrees of transparency. Thus, you can use techniques such as frosting, acid-etching, laminating, and patterning, to determine how much transparency you want your art glass door to have.
4. Stained glass is ornate yet pricey
When using art glass in doors, you may want to use stained glass, and then complement it with studio gallery lamp windows. In fact, stained glass or leaded glass remains one of the most commonplace types of art glass used today. While a factory assembly line or the mouth-blown method can create stained glass, one must create the glass’s design by hand. While stained glass can be quite attractive its high cost is due to the price of the materials required and the lengthy amount of time required.
I sometimes have the sense that I live my life as a writer with my nose pressed against the wide, shiny plate glass window of the “mainstream” culture. The world seems full of straight, large-circulation, slick periodicals which wouldn’t think of reviewing my book and bookstores which will never order it.
—Jan Clausen (b. 1943)
5. Patterned glass and laminated glass are versatile
A machine always produces patterned glass. Literally hundreds of patterns are available, allowing you to choose from a wide variety of design themes for an art glass door.
Meanwhile, laminated glass places a decorative layer or sturdy material between two sheets of glass.
When using a door with art glass in your home, you have several options. In fact, only your imagination can limit you!