Intrigued by glass cabinet fronts? Us too!

Intrigued by glass cabinet fronts? Us too!

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Intrigued by glass cabinet fronts? Us too!

Intrigued by glass cabinet fronts? Us too!

Kitchens seem to age faster than the rest of the house. Maybe it’s because we spend so much time in the kitchen, or maybe it’s because the kitchen is one of the hardest-working rooms in the house. In any case, updating the kitchen is on just about everyone’s to-do list.

One quick, easy way to refresh kitchen cabinets is by laminating them with glass, or Plexiglas™. Glass just works well in the kitchen. It’s easy to clean, requires no special care and can add an elegant touch to a space. As an added bonus, it can open up a space – a plus for small kitchens.

You can use glass or Plexiglas™ in the kitchen to similar effect. Glass can be cut into virtually any shape and comes in whatever size you’re looking for. Plexiglas™ has the added benefit of being lightweight. If you’re working with solid cabinetry, and you just want to update the fronts, using a lightweight piece of glass to laminate the fronts may work out well.

If your cabinets are older, or not as rugged as they used to be, Plexiglas™ can give you much the same look minus the weight of glass. Both glass and Plexiglas™ bond easily using silicone adhesives, and they can be painted in virtually any color, using a paint like Glassprimer™ glass paint.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is easy to apply to precut glass or Plexiglas™, but it’s also rugged enough to stand up to cutting after the paint’s been applied! You can get exceptional coverage for about $1 per square foot, so it’s economical as well.

In addition, Glassprimer™ glass paint bonds permanently with both glass and Plexiglas™. It will not chip, fade or peel once it’s cured, which means it will stand up to whatever you’re dishing up in the kitchen!

Whether you intend to backpaint backsplashes, countertops or cabinet fronts, Glassprimer™ glass paint is your go-to decorating choice in the kitchen. If you’d like more information about decorating with Glassprimer™ 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: Jenny Addison, via Flickr.com

Glass Countertops Can Add Upscale Touch

Glass Countertops Can Add Upscale Touch

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Glass Countertops Can Add Upscale Touch

Glass Countertops Can Add Upscale Touch

If you’re looking for a way to elevate your kitchen’s game, consider adding glass countertops. Glass is an ideal medium for use in the kitchen, whether you put it on the walls or counters.

Glass countertops sound expensive, and perhaps even a bit dangerous, but you can get specially crafted thick glass that’s intended for use as a counter or bar surface. Make no mistake about it: glass countertops are heavy, so you’ll need to have a very sturdy base to hold them up.

You can buy glass for countertop use in thicknesses of 4″ or greater. Glass is ideal for countertop use. It resists scratching and doesn’t fade. When tempered, it can tolerate significant changes in temperature, and it’s impervious, so it won’t absorb bacteria and other unpleasantries that you’re likely to encounter in the kitchen.

Glass can be cleaned up with virtually any household cleaner and can be sanitized easily. In slab form, you don’t have seams to worry about, so grout failure, discoloration and staining don’t come into play. The glass surface itself is also unstainable.

You can back paint glass countertops very easily, using a product like Glassprimer™ glass paint. Simply apply paint in the color of your choice, and choose the number of coats that will achieve your desired saturation. Once the paint has cured, flip it over, install it painted-side down and you have a working surface, ready to go!

The paint is ideal for kitchen duty. It won’t peel or chip like ordinary paints will. The kitchen is a high-humidity environment, so paints (even wall paints) typically delaminate, chip and fade with regular cleaning. You won’t find that with Glassprimer™ glass paint because the paint actually bonds permanently to the surface of the glass. It’s also highly UV-resistant, which means it won’t fade, even in direct sunlight.

If you’d like more information about glass countertops, or using glass paint in the kitchen, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Nancy Hugo, CKD, via Flickr.com

Glass design trends: Outdoor rooms

Glass design trends: Outdoor rooms

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Glass design trends: Outdoor rooms

Glass design trends: Outdoor rooms

If you haven’t heard of outdoor rooms, that’s ok. You’ve certainly seen them. They’re spaces that blur the boundaries between a home’s interior and its exterior. Outdoor rooms may make extensive use of glass – big glass – and create a space that’s both livable and lovable.

Connecting with the outdoors is desirable, no matter what climate you’re in. Outdoor rooms may incorporate arbors, or they may use or extend a home’s existing structure. They often feature large, operable windows and doors that cover an entire non-load bearing side of a home.

Glass is ideal for outdoor rooms

Outdoor rooms may accommodate a variety of activities, but entertaining is certainly high on their to-do lists. They may feature kitchens, relaxation spaces and lots of fresh air and sunshine.

Outdoor rooms need to be rugged enough to tolerate sun, rain and seasonal weather, so materials that can stand the test of time are favored. Natural materials like stone and wood fare well in outdoor room designs. Manmade materials, like pavers, glass and concrete also work well in outdoor spaces.

Just because a material is natural doesn’t mean it can’t be decorated. The great outdoors can be brutal, so you’ll need materials that can stand up to the things that Mother Nature dishes out. Glassprimer™ glass paint is an ideal coating for outdoor projects.

While Glassprimer™ glass paint is designed to work with glass, it also works well with other impervious materials like stone and metal. In addition to durability, Glassprimer™ glass paint offers incredible UV resistance. That means your colors will stand up for years, even in direct sunlight.

Glassprimer™ glass paint bonds permanently with the surface it’s applied to, so it won’t chip, fade or peel, even in direct sunlight or high humidity. Because the paint is rugged, it also cleans well.

If you’re looking for more inspiration for your outdoor room, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Ben Freedman, via Flickr.com

Printed glass in interior design

Printed glass in interior design

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Printed glass in interior design

Printed glass in interior design

There’s no doubt about the attractiveness of glass in interior design. Nothing opens up a space like glass. In addition to making spaces look larger, glass distributes natural light better and more effectively than any other building material.

One consideration when decorating with glass is balancing the need for openness with the need (or desire) for privacy. Whether you’re decorating in a commercial space or a residential one, the need for privacy is absolute at certain times. In short, clear glass isn’t always desirable. At the same time, painted glass may not be what you’re going for, either.

One excellent compromise is printed glass. Printed glass has been used for a long time in commercial spaces, for both interior and exterior options.
Initially, a silkscreening process was used to create “printed” glass. Silk screening uses a screen mesh to apply ink to the print surface. Areas of the mesh are blocked selectively to create different shapes or to apply multiple colors.

Screen printing has been around for more than a thousand years, and can be used with inks and paints. The technique can apply color to both hard and soft surfaces, including glass.

Silkscreen printing has its limitations, though. Consumers and retailers alike prefer photorealistic images, which silkscreen printing isn’t really good at creating. Photorealistic printing is better achieved with UV-inkjet techniques that deposit colored inks onto the surface of the glass.

UV-inkjet printing doesn’t require any special heat or chemical curing process, which makes it less expensive than other forms of glass printing. In addition, UV inkjet printing is highly durable, a plus in a commercial environment. UV inkjet printing allows commercial consumers to reproduce colorfast branding and logo information on glass inexpensively and without the pixilated look of silkscreen printing.

UV inkjet printing isn’t just reserved for commercial environments. In residential spaces, UV inkjet printing can quickly and inexpensively produce patterned glass surfaces for use in bathrooms, kitchens and throughout a home. Glassprimer™ glass surface molecular activator can help ensure that printed inks bond with the glass to improve durability and performance.

If you’d like more information about how you can use Glassprimer™ glass surface molecular activator in a glass printing project, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass surface molecular activator or Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Rob Borgman, via Flickr.com

Open up to glass interior doors

Open up to glass interior doors

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Open up to glass interior doors

Open up to glass interior doors

If you’re looking for a clever, elegant way to open up a space in your home, consider installing glass interior doors. Glass interior doors significantly improve light transmission throughout the space, and make a small space appear larger.

Glass interior doors define sophistication

Glass interior doors don’t work for all applications, but you can purchase both frameless and framed glass interior doors for your space. Most glass interior doors aren’t made from clear glass. Instead, you’ll find a number of frosted or etched, silkscreened or printed glass interior doors that look amazing and fit into most design themes.

Although glass interior doors seem like they’d be most at home in a modern interior design, you can find them throughout all major interior design trends.

French doors, for example, are often made of glass or feature significant amounts of glasswork when used in interiors. The glass can be clear, frosted, beveled or even colored. True French doors are wood framed and include glass panels.

Single hung doors can successfully incorporate glass panels. They can be used in virtually any interior space, but may be most at home in the “public areas” of a living space. Glass doors may be used to close off a dining room, pantry or laundry area, but they can also be used successfully in bedrooms, closets and offices.

Frameless doors are definitely modern in character. Frameless glass interior doors can be used virtually anywhere to make a dramatic statement. Frameless glass can (and should) be tempered for use in high traffic areas, and in areas like kitchens and bathrooms. Frameless glass can also be etched, frosted, painted or printed to increase the amount of privacy while still permitting significant natural light transmission.

Glass interior doors can also be successfully used as “pocket” doors, or suspended from a top rail to slide across a doorway. In many cases, a top-hung door is printed, painted or silkscreened to provide privacy in bedrooms and to disguise closet storage.

If you’d like more information about decorating with glass interior doors, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint for use with a glass interior door or for any other glass painting project, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Feather River

Mosaic glass tiles are trending in design

Glass tiles are trending in design

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Mosaic glass tiles are trending in design

Mosaic glass tiles are trending in design

Glass in all of its forms is going strong as a design trend. The latest entries in glass decorating include glass tiles, patterned tiles and mosaic tiles. There’s nothing new about mosaics, or even patterned tiles. They’ve been around for hundreds (and in some cases, thousands) of years. But homeowners are incorporating them into their kitchens and baths.

Whether you go for glass on the floors, walls or even the ceilings, glass tiles are a hit in a big way. If you’re not good at laying down a bed of mortar, or don’t have the patience to line up little tiles, consider creating a back painted surface instead.

Back painted glass is easy to make, easy to install and easy to maintain. You can use back painted glass on the wall as a backsplash or just an interesting surface. You can also use it to reface cabinets or create beautiful countertops.

Glass is easy to clean and it’s impervious to bacteria. That makes it a natural choice for heavy-duty areas of your home like the kitchen and bathroom. If safety is a concern, you can use tempered glass, which is heat- and shatter-resistant. You can also get thick glass custom-cut for use on countertops.

As an added benefit, you can enhance the already-dramatic appearance of glass through lighting. Worried about color? No problem there, either! Glassprimer™ glass paint is specially formulated to adhere to glass surfaces. Paint one side of the glass using your favorite color, and once the paint is dry, flip it over and install it with the unpainted side facing outward.

You’ll get an exceptionally easy-to-make and easy-to-care for surface for your home that will perform flawlessly for years. Making back painted glass is an ideal do-it-yourself project that requires no special skills and ordinary supplies!

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

Photo Credit: Claire Thompson, via Flickr.com

Incorporating glass bricks into your plan

Incorporating glass bricks into your plan

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Incorporating glass bricks into your plan

Glass bricks in the Michigan State Capitol floor

Glass bricks are common, yet they can impart an extraordinary look to a space. Glass bricks were first developed in the early 1900’s as a way to add light to industrial manufacturing spaces. They’ve been used continuously since that time in a number of innovative ways.

Glass bricks are versatile

Glass bricks are right at home in the trendy industrial look, owing to their industrial origins. You can use glass bricks to create a room divider or replace an existing window. The benefit of using glass bricks in windows is that the bricks will allow nearly full transmission of natural light, while preserving privacy. This is a great solution for urban spaces where having a window doesn’t equate to having a view!

Glass bricks are also a great solution for bathroom and basement windows. Again, these are spaces where light is welcome, but full view may not be. Standard glass bricks come in nominal 8″x 8″ dimensions. “Nominal” means that the bricks are slightly smaller, but when they’re set in the recommended 1/4-inch mortar, the finished size of the block and mortar are 8″ x 8″. You can find glass bricks with smaller and larger dimensions, usually available by special order.

Glass bricks have an R-value of about 1.75-2.0, which puts them in the same range as thermopane windows. Glass isn’t known for its heat insulating ability, but you won’t gain much by going with standard windows.

Unlike regular window glass, you can use glass bricks to make both interior and exterior walls. Used inside, glass bricks can be found in room dividers and walls to allow natural light to penetrate a dark, interior space. They can also be used to create privacy in bathrooms, offices, conference rooms and other similar spaces. Glass bricks also have some sound insulating qualities, thanks to the brick’s hollow interior space. Used on exterior walls, glass bricks can create more attractive, light filtering windows. They can also be used in structural spaces to create exterior walls.

Glass bricks can also be used to create walkways and floors. When lit from below, the glass bricks can create dramatic floor space in both interior and exterior applications.
If you’re looking for some additional glass decorating inspiration, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Mitten State Photog, via Flickr.com

Incorporate Glass Into Outdoor Kitchen

Incorporate Glass Into Outdoor Kitchen

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Incorporate Glass Into Outdoor Kitchen

Incorporate Glass Into Outdoor Kitchen

If you do a lot of summertime entertaining, an outdoor kitchen is probably high on your list of desirables. Outdoor kitchens have become exceptionally popular, and offer some dramatic advantages. Since your food prep space is outdoors, you’ll need to select materials that can take what Mother Nature dishes out.

Glass is a natural outdoor choice

Some surfaces are obvious choices for an outdoor kitchen. Impervious surfaces like glass and ceramic should be first considerations. These materials will not only perform well and endure, they’ll also look very natural among your other material choices. Natural wood, stone and brick are also likely choices for use in your outdoor kitchen.

The placement of your outdoor kitchen is important. Most outdoor kitchens are located near the house, to minimize the cost of running plumbing and electricity to the kitchen fixtures. In addition, you may be able to extend the existing roofline of your home to incorporate your outdoor kitchen into your home’s profile.
If you don’t intend to locate your outdoor kitchen next to your home, you can find other places that are suitable to host your outdoor kitchen. Other activity centers – like swimming pools, gazebos or beach fronts – can provide the ideal location for an outdoor kitchen.

Regardless of where you locate your outdoor kitchen, your choice of materials should reflect your outdoor hosting needs, and the reality of your outdoor environment. If your outdoor environment is predominantly sunny or very humid, you’ll need highly durable materials that are UV-resistant and weather resistant.

Whether you choose glass, stone or tile for your countertops, Glassprimer™ glass paint can help! Glassprimer™ glass paint is specially designed to work with hard-to-coat materials like glass, metal and stone. Glassprimer™ glass paint bonds permanently with glass surfaces, to provide a durable, UV-resistant coating that will perform beautifully for years.

If you would like more information about Glassprimer™ 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: Media Director, via Flickr.com

Glass trends for bathrooms

Glass trends for bathrooms

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Glass trends for bathrooms

Glass trends for bathrooms

If there’s one room in the house that needs frequent updating, it’s the bathroom. No matter how good you are to your bathroom, it takes a beating. The water, humidity, cleaning and just plain use really take a toll on the bathroom. Here are a few glass trends to keep your eye on when planning your next bathroom remodeling job.

Usually, the materials we use in home construction aren’t meant to get wet. That poses an automatic problem for bathrooms because the bathroom is all about water! Because it’s impervious, glass is an absolute natural choice for the bathroom. Whether you’re talking about tiles, countertops, shelves or shower doors, glass is your go-to material because it can take whatever you dish out.

Glass trends taking shape


The most recent trend in bathroom materials has been stone. Stone is an awesome surface choice, but there are just some things that stone’s not good at. (Ever try to shine a light through stone?) Stone gets all A’s in durability, but it can be porous, which poses a problem in a water-happy place like the bathroom. Keeping stone surfaces sealed and clean can be a chore.

Glass, on the other hand, doesn’t absorb any organic materials, so it can be wiped clean over and over. It also doesn’t stain, so cleanup usually requires ordinary household cleaners and sanitizers.

Glass tiles come in a variety of colors. If you’re feeling particularly daring, transparent tiles look great on the walls, or on backsplash duty. You can also use glass tiles in the tub surround, on the walls or on the floors.

Traditional tiles are square or rectangular, but shaped tiles are coming on strong. Hexagonal shapes, subway tiles and patterned tiles are all making a pitch for use in the bathroom.

One benefit of working with glass in the bathroom is that it blends well with other materials. Whether you’re aiming for a natural look using wood, or a sleek and sophisticated one that uses granite or marble, glass is versatile enough to complement a wide range of other materials.

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

Photo Credit: Debtex70, via Flickr.com

Kitchen remodels that retain their roots

Kitchen remodels that retain their roots

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Kitchen remodels that retain their roots

Kitchen remodels that retain their roots

When people talk about kitchen remodeling, they almost invariably say that they’re “getting a brand new kitchen.” Remodeling can be a big undertaking, but it doesn’t always have to involve a complete renovation. You can get a lot of mileage from kitchen remodels that retain their roots.

Secrets to successful kitchen remodels

The median age of housing stock in the United States is currently 35 years. That means 50% of the houses in this country were built before 1981. That’s figure is important because it explains the size and strength of the remodeling market. The remodeling market is estimated to be worth about $76B annually in the US, and with the average remodel weighing in at $28,000, that means more than 2.7 million American homes get kitchen remodels each year.

Extensive kitchen remodels can be expensive. The majority of kitchen remodels in the US cost between $25,000 and $50,000. Typically, people report either under-budgeting or overspending on remodels. Those hoping to spend less than $10,000 reported the greatest gap between what they’d planned and what actually happened.

A house design typically reflects the period in which it was built. The most effective kitchen remodels, therefore, take into account the design of the rest of the house. If you live in an older house, you may be wondering what you can do to update your kitchen without compromising the original design of the home.

For example, older homes weren’t designed with an open floor plan. Rooms were discrete divisions within the home, usually defined by walls. If you want to apply an open floor plan to an older home, you’ll need to determine whether the walls between rooms are integral to the structure. If so, you may not be able to remove them safely.

One way in which you can improve the effectiveness of kitchen remodels is by using materials that are “true” to the time period in which the home was built. By using (or re-using) original materials, or by incorporating materials that would have been used during the home’s construction, you can help ensure that your remodeling work will harmonize with the rest of the home.

Older homes made extensive use of wood, tile and glass in their original designs. In part, these materials were plentiful. They were also durable. Choosing to work with these materials in your remodeling design can help make “new work” feel at home in a new design.

Colors can also help incorporate remodeling work into an existing space. Using colors that harmonize with each other, and match color palettes that were in use at the time of original construction.

Successful remodeling delivers useful updates. That may mean introducing new appliances, new wiring, or an entirely new layout to accommodate the way people use their kitchens today. Kitchens are very public places, but they’re also work spaces. They have a job to do!

Glass is very much at home in older spaces. It can be used effectively in backsplashes, surface coverings, cabinet fronts and countertops.

Thanks to Glassprimer™ glass paint, it can also be painted any color. Glassprimer™ glass paint bonds permanently to glass surfaces, and provides exceptional resistance to UV radiation.

If you’re looking for some glass inspiration, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Nancy , via Flickr.com