You have recently taken up the hobby of designing your own furniture. You know you want to do something with glass, but you do not know what kind of glass you should use, and what kind of materials you can mix the glass with.
According to Furniture Glass | CM Glass, there are several types of glass that are considered the best by furniture makers. Knowing a bit about each will help you decide what kind of glass you should use.
Tempered Glass
Tempered glass is known as safety glass. It rarely breaks, but if it does, it will not break into pointy dangerous shards, the way that other glass would. Instead, it will break into smooth round pieces. Shower doors are almost always made from tempered glass.
Tempered glass is just regular glass that goes through a heat treatment to make it four times stronger than other glass. The glass is heated to a temperature of 1000 degrees. It is then cooled very quickly.
It will take the inner layers of the glass far longer to cool than it will the outer layer. The outside of the glass will compress, while the inside of the glass stays tense. This makes the glass very strong. Tempered glass can make a beautiful coffee table top. Inventive designers will often make end tables with tempered glass terrariums in them. It is often used as a base for lamps. Tempered glass captures light and color very well.
People often complain about glass coffee tables being dangerous. People will not see them, crash into them, and break them. A table made of tempered glass is thicker and easier to see. It will be hard to break and cannot hurt you if it does.
Clear Glass
Clear glass might not be as strong as tempered glass, but it can be an inexpensive addition to a piece of furniture. If you want to display certain collectibles that you have but are afraid of tiny hands knocking them over, you can build shelves with glass doors.
Clear glass looks can also be used as an inexpensive nightstand table top. Paint a clock, target, or spinning wheel on a glass table top for an inexpensive and humorous touch in a college dorm room.
Bevelled Glass
A single pane of glass that is cut at a less than 90-degree angle is called beveled glass. Beveled edges look like small ridges on glass. It is used for decorative purposes. You will often see mirrors with beveled edges.
Stained Glass
Stained glass has been used by interior decorators for everything from windows to cabinet doors and table tops.
Artists create beautiful designs using stained glass. The glass itself is created by using metallic salts. In some cases, artists use other dyes or paints. An artist will generally start a design by drawing a cartoon outline and filling it in with individual pieces of glass to make a picture.
Although it was once used strictly for churches and other religious structures, modern-day artists use stained glass to add flair to homes and offices.
The artist Louis Comfort Tiffany gained fame by making lamps from stained glass. Although a real Tiffany lamp costs thousands of dollars, you can make a lampshade out of stained glass that will add flair to any space.
Making furniture is a skill that takes time and patience. If you have a great idea for a piece of glass furniture, but you do not have the time or the skill, you may want to commission a furniture manufacturer to make it for you.