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Architectural glass and Glassprimer™ glass paint

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Architectural glass and Glassprimer™ glass paint

Architectural glass and Glassprimer™ glass paint

Glass has been used in decorating and interior design throughout recorded history, but it fell out of the residential landscape during the post-World War II housing boom, when materials were hard to come by. Architectural glass has remained a staple in commercial buildings, in both interior and exterior applications.

Using Glassprimer™ glass paint with architectural glass

The use of architectural glass in buildings poses a challenge. By itself, glass isn’t energy-efficient. In the summer, glass tends to trap heat in buildings. That requires significant amounts of energy to make the building comfortable. In the winter, heat readily escapes. Just as in the summer, the low insulating ability of glass means increased energy use to make the building comfortable.

Nonetheless, glass has made a comeback in interior design, and in a variety of ways. Glass is an extremely versatile material, and can be shaped in a variety of ways, and incorporate a limitless number of textures. Using shapes and textures, glass makes an ideal material for doors, walls, partitions, furniture and countertops.

In some cases, it may be desirable to treat the glass to improve its performance, create additional privacy or even improve the energy efficiency of a space. Because of its nature, glass doesn’t typically take paint or other coatings very well. This limits your ability to modify the glass.

Enter Glassprimer™ glass paint. Glassprimer™ glass paint is specially formulated to bond to the surface of glass. This makes Glassprimer™ glass paint an ideal coating for surfaces like textured glass, which won’t retain applied films. With Glassprimer™ glass paint, you can apply a permanent surface coating to the glass that will remain beautiful for years.

Glassprimer™ glass paint reflects UV light, which reduces the amount of trapped heat in buildings in the summer, and allows the glass to better reduce heat losses in the winter. Glassprimer™ can help improve the overall energy efficiency of building windows. It also offers an option for decorating or improving architectural glass used in building interiors.

Glassprimer™ glass paint comes in virtually any color and can be tinted to match the color palette of any major paint manufacturer. It is also more cost-effective than acid-etched glass.

Photo Credit: Romina Chamorro , via FreeImages.com

Backpainted glass room dividers

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Backpainted glass room dividers

Backpainted glass room dividers

In the last couple of posts, we’ve looked at backpainted glass in the kitchen and the bathroom, but backpainted glass is at home in other rooms in the house, and even in the office! Glass is a simple, yet elegant building material and can be used for interior or exterior applications.

Backpainted glass room dividers for home and office

Glass room dividers are gaining in popularity. We don’t always (or often) think of doors as room dividers, but glass doors make beautiful room dividers. Glass room dividers can be stand-alone screens, hanging screens or they can be integrated into solid walls.

In commercial settings, conference rooms are often surrounded partially or completely by glass. Clear glass isn’t always desirable in the work environment. To minimize distraction and increase privacy, while still permitting light to filter through, consider using Glassprimer™ glass paint to create a frosted glass effect.

You don’t need to paint the entire glass panel to achieve the desired results. By painting just three-quarters of the panel, you can achieve the goal of creating more privacy without blocking incoming light. You can also incorporate designs, patterns or logos into the paint to enhance the visual appeal of the painted glass.

In a home setting, Glassprimer™ glass paint can allow you to incorporate glass into bedroom and bathroom doors, while still preserving privacy. You can also install frameless or framed glass doors between the kitchen and dining room to enhance the look and function of the dining space.

Home offices and studios are gaining in popularity. More people work from home today than ever before, so for some people, a home office is a necessity. Not all homes were designed with a workspace in mind, so in some layouts, you need to create a suitable workspace. Glass doors between a workspace and living space can create an appropriate visual and practical division.

Backpainted glass can be both decorative and functional. If you’d like more information about incorporating backpainted glass room dividers into the design of your home or office space, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Raumplus North America

Backpainted glass in the bathroom

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Backpainted glass in the bathroom

Backpainted glass in the bathroom

In yesterday’s post, I discussed the use of glass as a decorating material, and how it can be used in the kitchen. The kitchen in any home is one of the toughest environments. Rapid changes in heat and humidity, and exposure to UV light make the space a challenge. In addition, we’re likely to use some of the harshest cleaning chemicals on the surfaces in the kitchen, and constant exposure to water and water-based compounds mean that whatever you use to decorate the kitchen will have to be tough. If there’s any room that’s tougher to decorate than the kitchen, it’s the bathroom. In today’s post, we’ll look at how you can use backpainted glass in the bathroom.

Glass is ideal material for tough environments

The bathroom has many of the same challenges the kitchen does. High humidity is an absolute given. If you’ve ever tried to maintain a bathroom, you know that it’s one of the hardest rooms in the house to maintain, even under ideal conditions. Paint just doesn’t perform well in humidity. It tends to delaminate from any surface. Water-based paints are especially vulnerable to this condition, but most people don’t want to use oil-based paints in the house – and for good reason!

To put it bluntly, oil-based paints stink. And stink. And stink some more. They’re loaded with volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which not only smell bad, but also they’re hazardous to human health. That’s not the only downside. Oil based paints are prone to yellowing with age, and they don’t dry in high humidity. Oil based paints can take hours to dry to the touch. They are also considered hazardous waste, so disposal isn’t straightforward.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is different. It’s specially engineered to stick to glass, but it can also permanently bond with other surfaces, like Plexiglas™. In the same way you can use backpainted glass in the kitchen, you can use it in the bathroom. Because the bathroom doesn’t get quite as hot as the kitchen, and because there are no serious high-heat dangers, you could use regular untempered glass to create a beautiful backsplash for the bathroom. Tempered glass is stronger, and will give you some additional impact protection. (Tempered glass can break, though!)

The bathroom is a high humidity environment, so mold and mildew are right at home. Because Glassprimer™ glass paint bonds permanently to glass, you do not need to worry about encroachment from mold or mildew growing between the paint and the glass. Your backpainted glass will retain its beautiful, like-new look for years to come.

If you’d like more information about working with Glassprimer™ glass paint, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

You can also use glass countertops in the bathroom. Low-iron glass (Starphire glass) can be backpainted and mounted as a custom countertop installation. Glass countertops range in thickness from 1.5″ to 4″ (or more) and can create a dramatic, clean and elegant look in the bathroom. Just as in the kitchen, glass is easy to clean and sanitize, and is impervious to germs and biological agents.

Photo Credit: Joanie Cahill, via FreeImages.com

Backpainted glass in the kitchen

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Backpainted glass in the kitchen

Backpainted glass in the kitchen

Remodeling the kitchen isn’t a lightweight commitment, so designs, materials and colors all take on added importance. The look you create in the kitchen needs to have a timeless quality about it because redoing the kitchen doesn’t happen often! Glass is an excellent material choice. With it, you can create an elegant, enduring look that will stand the test of time.

Many creative uses for backpainted glass

Glass is easy to work with and can be used on a variety of surfaces, including walls, cabinets and countertops. It’s versatile, easy to clean and resistant to chemicals. It’s also easy to decorate. Using Glassprimer™ glass paint, you can backpaint any glass surface with virtually any color.

Glass makes the ideal material for backsplashes. You can use relatively thin, lightweight glass to protect walls above countertops and behind sinks. You can also use glass to protect walls around the stove, but for this application, you should use tempered glass.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is specially designed to make a permanent bond with glass. In addition, it is resistant to heat up to 350° F, and is resistant to UV light exposure. That means you can use it around the stove, and near windows. Glassprimer™ glass paint resists fading, delaminating, and cracking. When applied according to the manufacturer’s instructions, the paint is also backed by a 10-year warranty.

Beyond backsplashes, you can also use glass to resurface the door fronts for cupboards and cabinets. This is an ideal application for lightweight glass, but you can also use super-light Plexiglas™ to laminate door and drawer fronts. Glassprimer™ glass paint bonds permanently with Plexiglas™ to create a modern, lightweight and strong glass-like appearance.

You don’t often think of glass as a good material for countertops, but it actually is! You can purchase glass in a variety of thicknesses – up to 4″ or greater. You can use low-iron glass, which gives a pure white look, or standard glass, which has a green cast. In addition to backpainting glass for use on walls, cabinets and countertops, you can also use a variety of LED lighting to create different effects.

If you’d like more information about creating backpainted glass in the kitchen, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Yuichi Shiraishi , via FreeImages.com

Using glass block in interior design

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Using glass block in interior design

Using glass block in interior design

Glass block inspires strong feelings. People either love it or hate it. And it can be difficult to know what to do with glass blocks. As architectural items, glass blocks were first used in the years leading up to World War II in France. They were invented in France in the early 1900’s, but it wasn’t until machine manufacturing came along that glass block entered into regular use in architecture and interior design.

Glass block can be versatile

Glass block is attractive to homeowners for a number of reasons. First, they’re versatile. They are made in a number of uniform sizes, so they can be used to fill spaces neatly.

Thanks to their design, they’re also good at creating privacy. The glass surface of glass block isn’t uniform. Because there’s a relatively large gap between the sides of the block, it’s virtually impossible to see anything clearly through the block, but the block design admits light nicely. Glass block is also easy to maintain.

Put all of those qualities together, and you can create some nice options for bathroom and basement windows, and you can also use them to create interior space dividers.

You can use glass block to make a “privacy wall” anywhere in your home. Whether you’re trying to provide some “modesty space” in a bathroom or dressing room, or you’re trying to minimize distractions in a home office, glass block offers a versatile option.

Sometimes, you may “inherit” glass block, and you may not know exactly how you want to treat it. Glass block, like other glass surfaces, can be coated effectively with Glassprimer™ glass paint. Glassprimer™ glass paint comes in virtually any color, and can create a translucent or opaque, UV-resistant, moisture resistant coating that will stand up in the toughest environments for years.

Glassprimer™ glass paint will still allow light to penetrate the glass, but can create a fresh new look for glass block. It’s important to remember that Glassprimer™ glass paint is designed to create a permanent coating on the glass. Once the paint is cured, it cannot be removed. The paint doesn’t simply dry on the glass surface. Instead, it modifies the surface of the glass to create a permanent bond.

If you’d like more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Alfonso Diaz, via FreeImages.com

Frameless Glass Shower Enclosures

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Frameless Glass Shower Enclosures

Frameless Glass Shower Enclosures

One of the hottest trends in bathroom decorating is frameless glass shower enclosures. If you’ve ever seen sliding glass doors around a bathtub, you know that these aren’t new. Frameless glass shower enclosures aren’t like bathtub doors. Instead, frameless glass shower doors enclose a walk-in shower. They come in a number of layouts and can be customized to fit any space.

Frameless glass is versatile

As Baby Boomers age, they’re trading their traditional bathtubs in for walk-in showers. Bathtub related accidents account for about one-quarter of a million Emergency Room visits annually in the United States. Walk-in showers offer distinctive advantages, including safety and ease of maintenance.

Frameless glass shower enclosures can create an elegant, spa-like atmosphere in any bathroom. The enclosure can be customized to fit any space, and follow a few basic designs. For bathrooms with limited space, a pivoting frameless glass shower door can cover the entire width of the shower pan, or the door can be paired with a fixed panel to create a glass wall. In bathrooms with more space, a walk in shower can be designed to fit any space.

Steam doors are a variation of shower doors. Steam doors keep the steam in the shower area, and include vapor-proof gaskets and hardware. Steam doors always swing outward, so if you want to install them, you’ll need enough clearance in the room for a steam door. Standard shower doors can swing inward, so they’re a better solution for a small space.

Walk-in shower enclosures can feature glass on multiple sides, and are easily customized for any space. You can decorate the outside of the shower enclosure or other surfaces in the bathroom with Glassprimer™ glass paint to create a frosted effect, or add a splash of color. Even though glass paint tests well when exposed to water, we don’t recommend immersion for surfaces coated with Glassprimer™ glass paint. The paint will perform well, however, in the bathroom, and will withstand the humidity.

If you’d like more information about decorating with glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: , Kohler

More glass decorating ideas

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More glass decorating ideas

More glass decorating ideas

In yesterday’s post, we discussed decorating with glass. Glass can certainly open up a room, and if you have the budget, creating glass walls, installing skylights and glass room dividers will do just that. When you don’t have a big budget, you can still take advantage of glass decorating to expand your space.

Glass furniture is the natural go-to glass decorating idea, and you can really accomplish a lot with glass. Here are a few thought-starters.

Glass decorating throughout the house

Turn the tables. You can incorporate glass tables into a number of rooms in your house. Put a glass table in your dining room and create a whole new look. A glass table makes a elegant statement. You can find glass dining tables in several sizes, and with a wide array of bases. To create the illusion of space, pair your glass table with light colored walls, floor coverings and upholstering on the dining chairs. Use soft lighting and avoid dark-colored woods whenever possible. If you have the room, add a glass china cabinet in the dining space. If not, consider some well-placed wall-mounted or free-standing glass shelves.

In the living room, a glass coffee table and glass end tables can give you more “visual” space. Glass furniture in the living room can also serve another purpose. Since glass doesn’t hide anything, having it around tends to reduce clutter, which also helps to sustain the illusion of space.

Express your shelf. Glass shelving can create a more open feel wherever you set it in the house. Freestanding shelves can add a dramatic flair. Wall mounted glass shelves can create interesting visuals. Glass shelves in the bathroom will require additional housekeeping, but they can add much needed “small storage” in a tiny space. Choose your shelf items carefully to avoid knickknack overload.

You may want to use tempered glass in the bathroom (and the kitchen) to improve strength and safety.You can also decorate glass to add a personal touch, using specialty coatings like Glassprimer™ glass paint. If glass isn’t in the budget for decorating the kitchen, consider using Plexiglas to cover cabinet doors and base cabinet fronts. It can recreate the look of glass at a fraction of the cost. You can also paint Plexiglas using Glassprimer™ glass paint. It’s a great way to add color and texture to your kitchen.

If you’d like to know more about Glassprimer™ glass paint, check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Tonelli Design

Decorating with Glass

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Decorating with Glass

Decorating with Glass

Decorating can be intimidating, especially if you’re not comfortable with mixing colors and materials. If you’ve got small quarters, the ideal approach opens up the space. In most cases, you can’t really add square footage, so you’ll need to adopt a strategy that visually opens up the space you’re working with. Decorating with glass is one way to open up your space.

Many possibilities for decorating with glass

Nothing makes a space look bigger than natural light, so “opening up a space” that you can’t truly expand may involve adding or enlarging windows. You can also open a space by adding a skylight. Doorwalls, glass walls and glass enclosures can also allow you to open your space cost-effectively. Converting a porch or deck into a glass-enclosed sunroom may help give you a little more seasonal floorspace and a ton of natural light, even if your sunroom isn’t considered “living space.”

If adding or enclosing space with glass is not in the cards, decorating with glass can still help open your space. Because you can see through glass, it tends to make spaces look larger. Glass tables, glass shelving and even glass staircases can create the illusion of space. Paired with light colored walls and creative use of natural light, glass can make a small space look quite comfortable!

Lighting is important when decorating with glass. If you’re working with a small or windowless space, consider using full-spectrum LED lighting to create the appearance of daylight. Supplement dark corners, shelves and countertops with LED light tapes to chase away shadows.

Decorating with glass doesn’t always have to mean significant construction or major modifications to your floorplan. You can use glass accents effectively to create a minimalist effect. Upholstery in natural or neutral colors, light-colored floors and light colored wood can also complement glass decorations, glass room dividers and decorative glass panels. The use of glass tiles, mosaics and glass accessories can help visually open a space.

You can use glass paint to create accents or complement your color scheme. Glass paint can be tinted to match any color from any major paint manufacturer, and can be an economical alternative to more expensive stained or frosted decorative glass.

If you’d like more information about working with glass paint, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Christian Kitazume , via FreeImages.com

Mimic stained glass with glass paint

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Mimic stained glass with glass paint

Mimic stained glass with glass paint

If you’ve gotten a glass paint project under your belt (a backpainted backsplash, maybe?), you might be wondering about other opportunities to incorporate glass paint into your decorating scheme. Glass paint is very versatile, and while it was designed to work with glass, it can also be used on other surfaces, both interior and exterior.

Glass paint makes it easy to mimic stained glass

If you’ve fallen in love with the look of stained glass, you may be tempted by the idea of creating your own stained glass. Stained glass is an art form that has evolved over more than 1,500 years. Silica is the primary component of glass, but it melts at only very high temperatures. Early glassmakers knew that by adding certain components, they could lower the melting point of the silica, which made it easier to make glass. By mixing different metallic salts with the raw materials for glass, artisans produced glass with different colors.

As the technique evolved, clear glass was painted with different colors, stains and dyes and then kiln-fired to bond the color to the glass. Perhaps not so well known is the fact that many stained glass pieces incorporate paint. For the most part, details in stained glass pieces can only be achieved by painting and firing the glass. Stained glass can be fired a number of times during production. Not surprisingly, true stained glass is really expensive!

You can use Glassprimer™ glass paints to mimic stained glass. Backpainting is a great technique to mimic stained glass panels! Applied in thin coats, Glassprimer™ glass paint dries to a translucent finish, which allows the light to shine through. Glassprimer™ glass paint has the added benefit of offering superior UV-light resistance. That means your finished piece will stand up to direct sunlight without fading, peeling or cracking.

Glassprimer™ glass paint bonds permanently to glass. Glass paint also works well on Plexiglas. If you don’t want to permanently alter the surfaced of a window, you can create a Plexiglas panel that you can bond temporarily to the glass. Because Plexiglas is so durable and versatile, you can easily create backpainted Plexiglas panels that sit in any window. When you want to return the window to its original state, simply unmount the Plexiglas panel!

If you’d like more information about decorating with Glassprimer™ glass paint, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Kerem Yucel, via FreeImages.com

Working with recycled glass

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Working with recycled glass

Working with recycled glass

Glass is one of the most common – and most versatile – decorating materials available today. Glass hasn’t always been abundant; initially, all functional glass was crafted by hand, and formulations sometimes contained materials (like lead) that aren’t suitable for daily use. Today, most glass is mass produced. Only a small fraction of total glass production is hand-crafted. Because it is so commonly available, glass is frequently discarded after use and ends up in the landfill.

Recycled glass is strong, versatile

That’s unfortunate, because glass is easy to recycle and reuse. Glass recycling is an environmentally friendly process because glass can be recycled endlessly, and introducing crushed glass into the manufacturing mixture allows glass manufacturers to use less energy what’s required to manufacture brand new glass.

Recycled glass possesses the same strength that new glass does, which means that the recycling process does not degrade the glass in any way. In addition, recycling makes economic sense, since it costs less to recycle existing glass than it does to create new glass. Recycling glass into glass manufacturing allows the glass to be created at a lower temperature, and extends the life of the glass-making equipment. As you can see, there’s very little downside to recycling glass!

You can use recycled glass as a decorating medium throughout your home, as well as in commercial applications. Glass can combined with other materials including resin and cement to create surfaces like countertops, or it can be reformed into 100% glass. Typically, glass countertops are custom fabricated and are at least 1″ thick, but can be fabricated at a thickness of 4″ or more.

Using glass as a countertop material opens up a number of decorating possibilities. Glass countertops can be backpainted with Glassprimer™ glass paint in virtually any color. They can also be illuminated with LED lights to create dramatic effects.

Custom glass applications aren’t limited to kitchens. You can also use glass countertops in the bathroom, the bar or in outdoor entertainment areas. Glassprimer™ glass paint offers superior durability and UV-resistance, meaning that it won’t fade, peel or delaminate, even in the toughest environments.

Glass is an exceptional, versatile decorating surface that remains beautiful, even with everyday use. If you’d like more information about working with glass paint, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .
Photo Credit: Nancy Hugo, via Flickr.com