Few glass-making techniques have a longer or more storied history in design and architecture than decorative leaded glass.
Leaded glass can be made to fit just about any style or décor. The decorative glass can be designed with floral, contemporary, art deco or traditional religious patterns. Color can be added, or you can have the simplicity of beveled glass.
Whatever the type, leaded glass will change the look and feel of your room instantly.
Stained
Stained glass has been colored by adding metallic salts. Staining glass as an art started in Rome and Egypt. The art flowered in the 12th century with the rise of the Gothic cathedral. Today only 10 percent of stained glass is used in churches and other religious buildings; the rest is used in residential and industrial architecture.
Stained glass is still made the way it was back in the Middle Ages and comes in various forms. For leaded glass windows, a lump of the molten glass is caught up at one end of a blow pipe, blown into a cylinder, cut, flattened and cooled.
Beveled
Beveled glass adds sparkle and shine to a room. Bevels come in many different designs, including standard shapes such as squares, circles and ovals. Rectangles are seen most often, such as the edges on a glass tabletop. A piece of 5-millimeter thick clear or blue chip glass has a 1/2 -inch-wide beveled edge. Clusters of beveled pieces are popular for use in sidelights, doors and transoms.
Etched
Glass etching took shape in the 1920s. It reduced the manufacturing cost of stained and beveled glass. Windows, doors and glassware can be etched. There are different techniques to achieve an etched look. Abrasive sand-blasting is a common technique to get a frosted look. And different types of acids can be used to create a pattern.
