Stained-glass windows in the interior are glass paintings that can successfully replace ordinary transparent glasses in windows or on doors. Compositions of colored glass were previously found only in cathedrals or castles. But now these decoration traditions are used for ordinary houses and even for apartments. The main thing to remember is that the use of stained-glass windows is not appropriate in all styles. For a modern interior, some adaptation of the composition is necessary.
For the kitchen, it is better to choose stained-glass windows with the image of flowers, birds, or other neutral drawings, for example, stained glass rose application. For bedrooms, you can use romantic compositions of stained glass templates, and in living rooms and hallways, abstractions are more appropriate. Stained-glass windows in the interior of an apartment or house are present in many photos of the work of modern designers, so there will be no problems choosing a suitable picture. Colored glass inserted into the front door of the house looks very exciting.
Stay with us, and we will tell you many interesting details about stained glass craft and how to make stained glass at home.
What are the Stained-Glass Windows?
The technique of making stained-glass windows has changed a lot over time, but in some cathedrals and ancient castles, you can still find compositions in the classical style. Modern technology allows you to create more sophisticated designs and elegant pieces of faux stained glass. The old stained-glass windows are somewhat rude, often hidden in the photo of these architectural monuments due to the excellent location of windows in cathedrals and castles.
Nowadays, several types of stained glass craft are widely used. Tiffany style stained glass windows are distinguished by elegance and lightness. According to manufacturing technology, a colored glass of the desired shape is wrapped around the perimeter with a copper membrane, and then fastened together with a special solder. The thinnest lines are applied with stained glass paint. The finished composition is in the profile, giving it strength, and the seams are covered with a patina.
The Fusing stained-glass window has several stages of manufacture. First, a pattern is applied to the glass, which is then laid out with colored glass. The finished composition is baked in an oven so that stained glass penetrates the base. The picture is a little embossed, and the design is quite thick.
Stained c is made of color modules where several glasses are interconnected and are enclosed in separate frames. Ready-made modules are inserted into a single housing and create the mosaic glass.
Etched stained-glass windows are obtained by burning a pattern on glass with special acid. It turns out a deep contour, which is then painted over. This method has gained distribution due to a more straightforward manufacturing method compared to classic stained glass windows or in the Tiffany style.
Another affordable way to obtain a stained glass pattern is to decorate the transparent glass with special paints and then cover it with a fixing layer. Such faux stained glass windows are often inserted in the doors of sliding wardrobes.
A stained-glass window membrane is made by gluing a layer to a glass with a pattern already applied to it. This option is quite common due to its low cost, which allows you to decorate windows or doors without any individual material costs.
The Effect of Stained Glass
Artistic stained-glass windows in the interior give the room a resemblance to the decoration of medieval castles, especially for stained-glass windows in the Tiffany or Fusing style. Such windows can be seen in the photo of many guidebooks and prospectuses about historical monuments. Passing light through stained glass fancifully plays on walls, furniture, and interior items. With the help of this decor, you can add new colors to the annoying furniture and refresh the interior of the room in a classic style.
It is worth remembering that the stained-glass window muffles the light passing through it. Therefore, do not place them in those rooms where daylight is necessary for work. At home, they can be inserted into the windows of the living room or kitchen, where zone lighting is still required for comfortable work. In a modern interior, stained-glass windows are often inserted into pieces of furniture or doors. For example, photos of colorful compositions of entrance doors can be found in many design solutions.
Still, in this way, you can hide from the all-seeing eye of neighbors. For example, two houses are too close to each other. Then the use of stained glass windows will help make the home more secluded and comfortable. Tiffany-style stained-glass windows are similar to painted glass, which makes them an unusual decoration element in both classical and modern styles.
Where Can Stained Glass be Used?
The most appropriate place for stained glass in the windows is the living room or hallway. The light is multicolored and diffused. Tiffany-style stained glass will look beautiful in the bathroom if it’s not a small window under the ceiling. In the windows of the kitchen or bedroom, it would be better to insert light glass that will add comfort to the room, but not steal the natural light.
If you want to transform the interior of the bedroom in a classic style, you should put a stained-glass window in the door. For a children’s room, a drawing with the characters of fairy tales or cartoons is suitable, and for the bedroom of the parents, you can choose a composition with flowers. Photos of stained glass options can be viewed in the catalogs of companies that are engaged in the installation of such a product. Or you can do it yourself and get a great experience.
In the modern interior of the house, stained-glass windows can also be successfully entered. They replace glass on the doors of cabinets or make countertops for coffee tables. Such replacements are more inherent in exclusive furniture. In widespread use, stained glass can only be found on the doors of a wardrobe or kitchen.
In addition to a residential building or apartment, stained-glass windows are often used in the halls of hotels, dining rooms of restaurants, and other similar premises. With their help, a cozy atmosphere is created, and at the same time, visitors are closed from the prying eyes of passers-by. In the classical interior of concert halls, stained-glass windows are present very often. It is due to their ability to make the room mysterious and create a festive atmosphere even in broad daylight.
Choosing a stained glass window for a kitchen, bedroom, or any other room will not be difficult if you know the features of each design offered in the modern market. A wide selection of stained-glass window options allows a person with even small incomes to give their home exquisite beauty and originality.
Practical or Beautiful?
Most people who decide to decorate their interior with stained glass elements ask the same question of how practical this product is and whether it is advisable to install it at home. You can find the answer to this question by listening to several designers whose tips relate to the use of stained-glass windows at home:
- It is not worth using stained glass art to decorate the floor, but this is more for spacious rooms because you can paint the bathtub in this way.
- Household interior items, such as lamps or countertops, will acquire additional functions and will not lose their relevance, so this is a big plus.
- If you use stained-glass windows to decorate the ceiling or niches, then you will effectively transform your room, giving it a touch of sophistication and pretentiousness.
Making Stained Glass with your own Hands
For this work, it is not enough to have theoretical knowledge; at the very least, you also need a huge desire to learn a new business. If you are interested in this activity, the first thing you need to do is to develop a sketch of the future drawing. To do this, you must comply with several requirements:
- All pictures and sketches must be drawn to their full height. To do this, take the appropriate size sheet of paper and cardboard or use exclusive stained glass templates.
- Draw on paper the contours of the future drawing so that you can see the separation of the image into separate zones.
- On a sheet of cardboard, indicate the color and material that will be used for work.
- If it is a stacked stained-glass window, then you will have to show the direction of the glass fibers and number the details.
Theoretically, it may look very complicated. However, with a little practice, you will gain enough experience and be able to create a genuinely enchanting picture in your mirror or window. Externally, a drawing on paper looks like coloring for kids; only in each zone, there is a figure indicating a specific color or texture of the material.
In addition to numbers, there may be arrows or other signs that should help to collect the picture and make your workflow as easy as possible. Over time, your drawings will be better, which will talk about your skills, only then you can confidently say that it is your favorite pastime.
Manufacturing Technology
To make a stained-glass window with your own hands, you need to determine its technology. But first, find a place for its location where it will be used: on a window, ceiling, lamp or glass painting.
Each specific case will have its own nuances of execution, so it is essential to decide on it at the initial stage. Outside the workshops, at home, you can make three types of stained-glass windows that are undemanding to special conditions.
This decor includes:
- Tiffany stained-glass window;
- membrane stained glass;
- jellied stained-glass window.
Unlike fusing, you don’t need sophisticated equipment and furnaces, and the workshop can be replaced with an ordinary apartment because you will not breed chemical and abrasive substances there. But let’s not get too far ahead, for a start, let’s figure out how to make a Tiffany stained glass window. Experts say that Tiffany has combined several design methods, which are an imitation of all classical techniques.
Creating Tiffany’s Stained Glass Window
For such decor, you need to create a sketch, according to which you need to prepare templates of the necessary parts from cardboard. Their contours need to be transferred to glass and pieces cut using a glass cutter. Then follows the grinding step so that the edges of the parts do not have nicks.
Along the perimeter of each element, it is necessary to attach copper foil, fixing it. After that, you can proceed to unite the whole picture, closely matching each item, collecting a kind of mosaic. The extreme elements must be fixed with small studs, and the joints of the foil should be treated with flux, soldered from one and the other side of the product, and installed in a prepared frame, made of metal profile. For fixing the stained glass to the frame, solder is used.
Each stage of manufacturing such a stained-glass window has its own nuances:
- When developing sketches, avoid acute-angled and S-shaped figures, it is better if they are smooth lines with beautiful, gentle bends.
- As the primary material, experienced experts recommend purchasing not whole glass, but a piece, at least until you gain enough experience in stained glass and glass cutting.
- For cutting, take a diamond glass cutter, and practice using cheaper material to handle them, this will save you from significant expenses.
- The manufacture of stained glass elements and the formation of a pattern must be carried out simultaneously, performing the work step by step. Only in this way will you be able to precisely select all the details and push them together as much as possible.
- To solder parts, you need to take a 100-watt soldering iron, the tip of which should be nickel-plated. And as solder, low-melting tin without rosin should be used.
- When soldering glass elements, avoid large grip areas to prevent cracking on the glass, then you will have to make the same element again.
If you wonder whether does acrylic paint work on glass, we can say that it is a good choice for some crafts, sometimes even more convenient than stained glass spray paint.
Creating Membrane Stained Glass
To make a membrane stained glass window, you will need less effort, since the technology itself is very simple:
- First, you need to clean the glass and place a sketch drawn in advance under it.
- Lead tape should lay the contours, and secure its ends with subsequent segments.
- When the whole drawing is applied, it needs to be rolled with a roller.
- Now you need to turn the glass over.
- Wipe and prepare the membrane elements along the outlined contours by gluing them to the backside.
- After this, you should take a special roller for the membrane, and again roll the surface.
- The joints of the membrane need to be glued with lead tape, exactly repeating the contours on the other side and again rolled with a roller.
- Readily stained glass should be wiped with any detergent.
If it seems to you that such a stained-glass window has an unfinished appearance, it can be decorated with various glass elements by putting them on the glue and placing on stained glass window hangings.
Making Jellied Stained-Glass Decor
For a jellied stained-glass window, you need to prepare a polymer contour, acrylic varnish, or a special paint for stained-glass windows. The work process consists of several stages:
- First, you need to make a sketch, which then should be placed under the glass.
- Alternatively, you can transfer the picture with a disappearing marker; there are no strict instructions on this subject.
- The working surface of the glass should be cleaned and degreased.
- According to the drawing, apply the sketch boundaries with a polymer contour, forming closed areas.
- When the circuit dries, you can begin to fill these areas with paint or varnish.
Conclusion: We can say that stained-glass windows, undeservedly forgotten a few years ago, are becoming in demand in our time. They not only decorate and revive our interiors but also make them more comfortable and spectacular. The great advantage of this decor can be considered the ability to use several techniques at home, without resorting to sophisticated equipment, which allows a person to admire a corner of luxury at home.
Please share your experience with us. Have you ever made stained glass window hangings or
stained glass picture frames?
Author’s bio: Leslie Simpson is an artist and designer, an expressionist of the modern in decorative arts. She specializes in art products from colored glass (stained glass, lampshades, jewelry), ceramics, stones, metals. Leslie is also a content writer and writes about home decor, so she has laser level reviews in her blog.