So, I’ve come to the point in writing these blogs that I’m starting to feel repetitive – and I don’t want that!!
So to change it up slightly, while still keeping a strong focus on the glass, I’m going to tell you guys about MY personal favorite decorative and accent glass.
Because the blog is a safe space free from insinuated sales pitches… 🙂
Antique Mirror Bevel Tiles
The bevel antique mirror has quickly become one of my top favorites. It’s still new to us, but I absolutely adore it. Don’t get me wrong, flat antique tiles are AWESOME! But there is just something new and cool about the beveled tiles.
As you know, I draw a lot on the fact that the butted bevels create that faceted effect. I’m like a squirrel, anything shiny catches my interest. (I really want to try glow in the dark back painted glass just to see how it will turn out). That and the way that the beveled tiles pop out dimensionally I find far more interesting than the flat tiles. The bevels give them a little bit of life, ya know? It’s nice to see something not so stagnant.
Back Painted Glass
I’m big on color. I like color, parting from the norm, and trying something new and a little daring. When I first started working here, back painted glass kind of blew my mind. I’d never seen it being used for any practical uses, only in art galleries or gift shops in the forms of intricately painted art works. And after trying to paint images on the back of glass I can tell you honestly that it is WAY harder than anything else and the artists who can pull it off are remarkably talented.
What I really like about back painted glass is how clean and bright it looks. It’s really something to see a color on the wall in comparison to it painted on the back of a piece of smooth glass. The glass not only turns the color to eternal gloss, but I find that it keeps that bright color that paint tends to lose once it dries and sits for a while. For those of you who are more familiar with drugstore nail polish rather than salon quality, you might understand this visual better. I feel like the color is cooler wet before it dries.
I’m also known for making small messes in the kitchen. No, it never gets TOO bad as I try to clean as I go along with meal prep, but I’ve definitely had my moments with a rogue blender, mixer, and forgetting something bubbly on the stove… not my proudest moments. But what I LOVE about the glass is that it always wipes clean. I may get tomato sauce on a towel or my shirt, but it wipes clean off the glass. Run away smoothie? Not a worry. Any of that on tile and grout? I might start to panic a little.
I also really love how custom back painted glass is. Any color you can possibly imagine can be painted on to the back of glass – it just leaves room for so many options. And that’s just solid colors. I’ve also become partial to two toned boarder painted glass, sparkle painted, and striped painted glass. Painting actual images in reverse on the back of glass is not an easy feat, so seeing some variations with back painted glass besides a single color is really, really cool.
It’s also one of my favorite things to experiment with at work. We play around with glass ideas a lot, but back painted glass is something that gives us a lot of freedom to work with.
Cabinet Glass
Now, I don’t have as much to say about cabinet glass as I do back painted ( I do recognize that I did go on a little rant there, but hey, I like it and think it’s cool), but cabinet glass does have some really sweet design patterns. Honestly, my favorite’s out of the cabinet glass aren’t the most popular ones. Don’t get me wrong, Seedy and Dense Seedy is nice, and so is just plain clear glass, but I just find them – simple? Everyone uses them.
My likes out of the less traditional choices include English Flemish, Baroque, Taffeta, and Ice Crystal.
They have some different textures from the norm, and I find that their patterns create more visual interest.
Wine Cellar
Do wine cellar’s count as accent glass? I’d say so because they 1) accentuate your wine, and 2) aren’t something you will find in every home. Glass wine cellars are a special breed when it comes to specialty glass design, and since I’ve been working at Builders Glass I’ve seen us create some amazing works of wine cellar art.
I’ve been lucky enough to go out into the field a couple of times and see these wine houses in person and I have never been disappointed. But my absolute favorite ones that make me jump for joy I have only seen in photographs, and they are the simplest wine cellar jobs that we do.
What? Simple is just my personal preference.
The first one is more of a wine cabinet that sits on top of a wood cabinet. The bottles float on the wall with pegs, and the glass works as a simple barrier, encasing the wine in it’s own personal bubble. It’s clean and classy, and I think it’s just one of the most amazing things that we have created.
The other one is another wine wall that isn’t encased in glass. Rather, we installed Vintage View wine racking, and inset Ultra Clear mirror between them and in all the spaces. The result was stunning. The ultra clear mirror and the wine racking went together seamlessly and the bottles look like they are literally floating in thin air. The illusion is so real and intriguing – when we first saw pictures of it, all of us in the office sat there analyzing it for a good ten minutes.
Now, you may be asking, “what about refrigeration on those two?” They’re not. I think the biggest misconception about glass wine cellars is that they HAVE to be refrigerated. Yes, wine connoisseurs will disagree with me about how wine must be kept at a certain temperature and all of the other technicalities, but I think it all really depends on the collector and the cellar. I’m not someone who drinks a whole lot wine – definitely not enough to own a collection. But if you are like some of my friends that don’t own wine stoppers because, “who doesn’t finish a bottle of wine”, I don’t think you need refrigeration. It all depends on how long your wine is going to sit. If you go through wine pretty regularly, I think a simple glass wine display would be perfect for you.
Framed Mirrors and Back Lit Mirrors
When I say “framed mirrors”, yes, frames are cool, but I prefer something a little more daring and diverse since mirrors tend to all look the same – and they really don’t have to.
Floating back lit mirrors are my all time favorites in the mirror world. Doesn’t matter if it is antique mirror, regular/ultra clear mirror, framed or unframed, back lit mirror rules. Back lit mirror framed in mirror is so much more interesting and bolder than just a hanging mirror, or a plain mirror mounted to the wall. I like the fact that a color can be introduced here. Most rooms and bathrooms I see tend to be color neutral because we want everything to “match”. But then you lose character and individual style. Adding a colored mirror frame really shakes things up.
Another cool framing option is bevel strips. Instead of a beveled mirror, bevel strips can be installed on top of the mirror’s surface. I personally prefer the look of the bevel strips because they frame off the mirror as opposed to just being attached to the mirror.
We also have a small collection of wood frames that adhere to the surface of the mirror that I am partial too, but not enough to go too in depth with.
Crackle Glass and Custom Counters
Never have I ever received so many phone calls about crackle glass – which is super exciting!!
Crackle glass tops and counters hold a special place in my heart, especially the new tops with the colored mirror. Again, it’s adding in a color where you normally wouldn’t find any. In our showroom we have a blue mirror crackle top on a dark wood base and it’s one of my favorite pieces in the whole shop.
The other is glass counter tops. Artisan glass countertops are so amazingly different from anything else that we have here because they are each pieces of art created by hand by an artist. Seeing glass that has fluid like designs or even as if it were a glass fossil piece with shells and palm fronds imprinted in the glass really creates a visually stunning piece and I never get tired of looking at them.
And when you back light them I can’t get over how cool they look when they glow. When they’re lit with LED lights, every detail in the glass gets illuminated. To me it’s magical and if I could pick anything to take home with me, this would be it.
Lit Mirrors
No this is not the slang term that the kids have been using lately, I’m talking about actual lit mirrors for your vanity. But yeah, they are pretty lit.
What I like about these mirrors is that the light is already built in to the mirror and it reminds me of this vanity makeup kit I had as a kid with light bulbs all around the frame of the mirror. The mirror itself is practical, and the light from the mirror is perfect for makeup vanities. The light shines directly on the face as opposed to from above or at another odd angel, so everything looks even.
These mirrors also have some pretty cool upgrades like built in TVs and dimmers. Everything about these mirrors scream high end and posh.
Ok, I think that if I keep going this blog might be five pages long, so maybe I’ll do a part two to this.
If you have any questions or would like to see our different displays of accent and decorative glass, stop by our showroom and get inspired!
