Illuminate Your Home With Glass Shelves

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Nothing beats glass shelves for improving the décor of your room, especially for the new generation of houses. However, these shelves may not go too well with old houses that mostly employ wood for interior decoration. There are different varieties of glass used for the purpose and an appropriate selection adds the luxurious décor of the room housing glass shelves.

Factors to Consider Before Choosing Glass Shelves

There is no doubt that the installation of glass shelves would suit any kind of décor and add to the looks of the room in which these are installed, yet there are a few important points that you need to consider before going ahead with your plan of fixing glass shelves in any of the rooms of your home.



Existing décor of your room: Glass shelves certainly impart a different touch to any modern home. You should be able to visualize the kind of appearance the room will acquire after these shelves have been fixed in one of the rooms. You should take into consideration the present décor of the room to be provided with stylish glass shelves.

Display items: Another important factor to be considered while installing glass shelves is the kind of materials you would like to display therein. You should know that if the items to be stored are heavy you’ll necessarily require tough and sturdy brackets that can put up with the weight of the items needing storage. One popular option for using these shelves is in the bathroom, as these can easily be cleaned and moisture content in the bathroom can’t harm them. Wooden shelves as you know can’t last log in humid atmosphere.

Position of the shelves: One should be extra careful in deciding the positioning of glass shelves. Though shelves made from tempered glass are strong, these should be fixed in a safer place, lest the entire shelf along with its contents should fall down. You may opt to have glass shelves designed to have rounded corners that further avoids the chances of an accident.

Elegance of Glass Shelves: The advantage of glass shelves is they facilitate storage of items not used very frequently and keeping the clutter away, thus giving the place a neat organized look. Many of the decorative items like mementos and delicate vases can be beautifully displayed in glass shelves. You also get these shelves that are provided with a mirror at the back wherein you can see the reflection of the stored item, making the display all the more fascinating.

The popular varieties of glass used for the purpose of making shelves include colored glass, tinted glass, and etched glass. You may choose one that would best complement the décor of the room and also add to the beauty of the items contained in it. Bathrooms look great with glass in shades of blue and green.

The black tinted variety of glass shelves is ideal for TV stand. There is a very large variety of glass shelves available and you’ll find it worthwhile to be online and survey what all is available before finalizing your requirement.

One of very exclusive design of glass shelf comes by way of a floating glass shelf, which gives the impression of having been suspended in the air without any visible support. The other popular styles include glass shelf on a trolley, corner shelf and kitchen shelf, each designed to remain functional.

Some of the shelves are designed to include a combination of glass with wood or iron to give them a very exclusive look. Needless to add, the most helpful feature of glass shelves that adds to their popularity is the ease of their maintenance and cleaning that keeps them shining all the while.

Glass Shelf Brackets - Pretty And Affordable

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Glass shelves give the feeling of being suspended in air with the contents and thus present a beautiful sight, though they can’t hold much.

One often finds glass shelving being put to good use in bathrooms, any other shelving my not remain so healthy in the hot and humid conditions of the rooms. But these can certainly be used in other rooms, for instance in the kitchen. Transparent jars with contents of different colors kept in glass shelves in a corner of the kitchen or the empty space above the kitchen door solve the dual purpose of additional storage while adding to the color of the a couple of family pictures and give a personal touch to that room.



To maintain the beauty of glass shelves, you should use appropriate supports for them. Especially designed glass shelf brackets are available for the purpose. Such supports go to complement the beauty of glass shelves. At the same time take care not to use glass shelf brackets for supporting other heavier shelves unless recommended by the manufacture.

You can easily distinguish glass brackets from the rest, being lighter, fragile and at times specially made smaller than their counterparts in other materials. It’s not difficult to imagine how a large bracket might mar the looks of the shelf itself, as it dominates the scene in the room. Moreover, using it to support a delicate item like glass, is a waste of materials because it can function better and looks better with other shelving meant to hold heavier items, unlike glass that is generally suitable for display or storage of lighter items.



Rails or chips make the smallest brackets for glass shelves. They hardly project out from the wall and often made from chrome because of its shine that goes to merge with shining glass giving a very balanced effect. You fix them on the wall and then put shelves on top. There are no screws that pass thru the glass to keep the shelf in place. In stead, they use special purpose screws that have a flat head that pushes down to grip the glass in position. The specifications of such screws are defined by the thickness of glass and the weight it is expected to hold. But, the use of these small brackets is limited to small glass shelve, which are lightweight and may not hold any heavier items.

In case you intend keeping heavier items in glass shelve, you should be using standard glass brackets, which also help to avoid sagging of glass. These are standard brackets that project out from the wall for providing support to shelve. These are different from the normal brackets employed for supporting wooden shelve, being longer than the width of shelve. Since glass can easily slide down the metal, the brackets are provided with a raised foot at the end or given an extended lip to keep shelve in place.

There is a large variety of glass shelf brackets available in market. While choosing one, keep the décor and budget in mind while keeping in mind the kind of support needed for your glass shelve.

The Future Of Glass Shelves

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Shelves almost form a part of furniture in any household. They are very convenient for storage of household items. Though generally used for displaying a collection of decorative items, these can be used for storing a variety of items. Apart from providing an extended storage, they add to the décor of any room.

One feature associated with the use of shelving is that it helps you to reduce clutter in office and at home, thus keeping your items organized for easy and fast retrieval whenever needed. Those carelessly thrown around items like books, magazines, DVDs, shoes, socks, carvings, picture frames and other items lead to the formation of clutter and give a very disorganized look to the rooms. And, if you are lucky to have kids at home, the volume of clutter simply gets enormous. That’s because children are not, and perhaps can’t be expected to have the inclination to keep things arranged. Now, shelves help you organize clutter to give a neat presentable look to your room. Generally, these are made from wood or glass.



Wooden shelves are most popular and you may hardly see a house without one. One main reason for their popularity is their reasonable price. Wooden shelves are cheaper as there is abundance of wood in nature. Another feature that makes them popular is that they blend with the rest of the furniture, most of which is generally made from wood. On visiting any house the first thing that you see is wooden table, chairs, or some kind of a seating arrangement made from wood. Wood being a softer material can be crafted easily to pleasant looking different designs.

Another characteristic of wood that encourages its patronage is its durability. Wooden shelve are capable of withstanding heavier weights. One often sees it being used as bookshelves. Some of the other heavier items that are generally housed in wooden shelve are computer, TV and even flowerpots, other than the lighter items of the kind of magazines, photos and small electronic equipment.

It’s rather unfortunate that despite deforestation being an alarming issue, man continues to cut trees for making wooden items of daily use. Though environmentalists continue to condemn the use of wood for making such products, because it leads to deforestation, there seems to be no respite from wooden shelves being made or patronized.

However, despite the characteristic advantages of wood, glass shelves are being patronized for certain reasons. Its strength is one such feature. To enable glass for being used for the purpose it is tempered to give it strength so that it can withstand heavier weights. This quality of glass is different than the normal glass that we use for so many other applications. You would have surely notices that any glass item being used for domestic purposes is broken; it splatters into hundreds of tiny pieces that prove dangerous at times. But, toughened glass doesn’t behave that way on being broken. It just crashes to a few big pieces that remain almost together. That facilitates the use of this glass for making shelve, for even in case of accidents, those in its vicinity remain safe.

And, look to the convenience of cleaning glass. Its maintenance is minimal. All you need to do is just wipe it with a piece of wet cloth or a sponge and it retains its original shine and brightness. Whereas, wooden shelving needs more effort for maintenance and are prone to being infected by pests and termites, and may need painting too. Clearly, glass shelving is advantageous for your use, as well for Mother Nature!

What's Better - Glass Shelves Or Wood Shelves?

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Availability of a vast variety of shelves in different materials and designs make it difficult for a buyer to decide which one to buy and why. In this article we’ll make a comparative study of the two most common materials used for making these shelves: glass and wood.

Wood Shelves

Most wood shelves that we see today are not really made from solid wood. Invariably they are made from a solid core of compressed wood or plywood, at times referred to as engineered wood. These are then finished with paint or veneer. Such shelves are quite cheap as compared to those made from real wood. They are light weight and stronger than real wood. The better variety of such shelves is covered with a thin sheet of natural wood, usually veneer. These coatings with veneer, if applied professionally, imparts the looks of a natural wood to the shelves, but remember the core is not made from the same wood. So, the positive feature of these shelves is that apart from being economical, they help preserving natural trees by making use of recycled materials.



That does not mean real wood shelves from veneer are not available. Those beautifully crafted wood shelves in solid veneer are definitely available in rich wood colors, but then one should be willing to pay a hefty price for those.


Glass Shelves

Glass shelves are different but just like wood you should know the type of glass that has been used for making it. While considering glass shelves, you should go for that quality of glass that would not get chipped off or shattered so easily. Any way a glass shelf is bound to break on getting dropped, but a variety of glass known as tempered glass is not broken into millions of minuscule pieces. Further, it won’t get cracked or chipped off on getting knocked. Glass that has been heat treated, has almost double the strength of an ordinary glass.



Another factor that imparts strength to glass is its thickness. A thick standard glass is definitely stronger than a thin tempered glass. The technology employed for making glass and its thickness determines its strength and therefore weight-bearing capacity. It will be a smart idea to know its strength while buying a shelf.

You decide which will better suit your requirements.

Now that you have had a bit of exposure to the materials most often used for shelves, the next step will be to understand what suits you most. Study your requirements of a shelf in the light of following:

1. How loaded are these going to be?

If you are going to use them for keeping large or heavy items, wood is better to handle heavier or voluminous items, say a row of books. Of course, you get thick and strong glass shelf but you are taking a small risk. It will be quite impractical to weigh each and every item you are going to keep in a shelf. You won’t have to worry a bit if you are using wooden shelf and be sure that they will hold the weight.

On the other hand if you intend to have a display of items like trophies, framed photos, vases or a collection of some other memorable items, glass is an ideal material for it draws attention to the contents it is holding than the shelf itself.

2. Where are you going to place them in your home?

Glass shelves are excellent for being fixed in the kitchen. Imagine how convenient it will be clean a glass that has gathered grease. Wooden shelves are likely to have stains even if you manage to get rid of stains. Cleansing agents do not affect glass but are not healthy for natural wood. Likewise, you will have problems with wooden shelves in your bathroom because of water content and the spill over of other toiletries.
You sure would welcome wooden shelves in your living room for the warmth and personal touch that they bring in.

3. Who is going to access these shelves?

It’s a pleasure to have growing kids at home, but you just can’t avoid accidents all the time. It’s not only the damaged glassware but what if the splinters of glass hurt a child!

Unfamiliar Glass Shelves Facts

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If you are considering having new shelves or changing the old ones, you would be better off with glass shelves. No doubt that these present an appreciable look, there are a couple of things that you should consider before really investing in them.

There are many techniques of manufacturing glass with each one imparting different characteristics to the final product. One such variety of glass is tempered glass. It offers better tensile strength and would not give in even when you place something heavy on it.

Thus, glass shelves made from tempered glass are better and safer for housing your TV or stereo and even the computer or its connected accessories.

A very helpful and unique feature of toughened/tempered glass is that it does not get broken into tinny shrapnel that could cause a serious injury to an occupant of your home. In stead, it shatters into small fragments, thereby making it safer. Because of this characteristic it is the only kind of glass that is used in windows of passenger vehicles. Other popular applications include glass furniture like tables, doors and shelves.

Another aspect that you must consider for glass shelves is their placing in home. It is safer to keep these shelves away from the reach of growing children. That way it helps to protect your shelf with its content as well the children from possible injuries in case of an accident. Make sure that such shelves do not obstruct the passage of opening or closing of a window or a door. Its transparent nature offers an excellent medium for display, be it a home or a commercial establishment. If these precautions can be taken a tempered glass shelf is clearly the best way to display your hard earned trophies and family photographs in the living room.

While talking of placing of such shelves, it comes to mind that they are very useful for being used in the kitchens. One advantage is that you can see all the containers thru the shelf, which makes it easier and faster to remove the required one in a jiffy. Another helpful application of using them in the kitchen is that these can so easily be wiped off as not to leave any stains, just wipe it off with a damp cloth and it is shining again. So your kitchen always looks clean and sparkling.

Go ahead and try a few glass shelves at appropriate places in home, just keep in mind the characteristics of glass and the items to be stored therein.

Glass Shelf Transforms Interior Design

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You would have surely experienced that over the last few decades packaging of any item or even an event has taken precedence over the contents. Be it a book or a personal gift, its packaging has to be very attractive to attract the attention of the receiver. The same idea in its extended form applies to our personal dwellings too. That's why people find it necessary to maintain a living room.

Your living room reflects your personality, taste and life style. And so it becomes your duty to give it a nice pleasant look by suitably maintaining it in an appropriate manner. That's easier said than done, as it is huge task in itself. Apart from furniture and other essentials of any living room, you are expected to take care of a lot of accessories including stationery and decorative items. The first important and worthwhile step in that direction is to get rid of all the unnecessary items. You may dump those items in your store or a garage. Rest of the selected items can neatly be arranged in plastic, wood or glass shelves.



As most of the furniture for seating or dining arrangements is made of wood, the first choice of any householder will be to have wooden shelves to continue to maintain uniformity. However, while searching for an enhanced sense of unconventional beauty and designs we find that that glass furniture is giving a new dimension to better designed homes. Glass furniture is being increasing used these days, as it has been observed to make the living room experience exceptionally good. Let us find out how glass shelf became so popular.

One very obvious reason is that glass just looks beautiful. Though, for generations we have been having wooden furniture, an amalgamation of glass and wood is a pointer to creativity that is more appealing to human mind and eye. To gauge the popularity of glass as a medium for interior décor, just turn the pages of any magazine on the subject of interior decoration. Differently designed glass shelves have given a new dimension to present day designing of interiors.

All around technological developments have facilitated the manufacturing of a variety of glass that is used as an aid to furnishing. This glass needs to be stronger and better looking than the glass that finds so may applications in our daily lives. Over and above the technicalities, it has to look beautiful and designed for being pleasing to the eye.



Invariably, tempered glass is used for interiors, particularly for shelving. Tempering of glass may easily be compared to annealing of metals. The technique and process employed for tempering softens it, thus making it less brittle and more suitable for wider applications. If such glass gets broken, you won't find too minute pieces, which are cumbersome to get rid of. Instead, it breaks into fewer large pieces that remain in contact without releasing scattered small pieces that may harm you on getting mixed with food or drinks. The availability of this glass in varying thickness enables it to bear heavy load of say, your thick books or decorative display items that are often there in most of the living rooms.

Advanced architectural and structural developments coupled with manufacturing techniques and processes have enabled developments of glass shelves capable of bearing even heavier items of the kind of a complete music system and other heavier electronic appliances.

Glass Shelves And Decorative Options

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Glass shelves are very helpful in providing a touch of sophistication to a space. Glass in itself is beautiful and imparts a larger appearance to space surrounding it. Lighted glass shelves and the objects that they contain complement and highlight each other. While glass shelve imparts additional grace to its contents, the contents on their part add to the brilliance of the container.

Lighting

Glass items like vases, porcelain collectibles and even silver-toned framed pictures on the glass shelves will look magnificent on being illuminated by white or colored lighting of an appropriate intensity. The beam of light may strike the interiors or exteriors of the object to suitably enhance its beauty. This may call for a bit of a trial to get the desired effect. Likewise, certain spaces may be lighted up to get a soothing feel.

Tinted Glass

Glass shelving need not be in that traditional clear color that we most often see in homes. You may have a tinted glass with a sight hint of color that adds a subtle touch to the space. The glass could be imparted with a strong color to have the appearance of a stained glass for a more striking look.



Mirrors

Addition of mirrors at its back or above glass amplifies its effects on the space. Mirrors reflect light and a suitable positioning gives an enlarged impression to a room. A mirror in an inset makes it look deeper. One of the latest trends is to have a bold frame around the inset shelf to make it look like a picture.

Alternative Material Accents

One of the best features of glass shelving is its capacity to enhance the characteristics of other materials it gets associated with. Taking advantage of that why not provide a pretty wood edge around the front and sides of the shelf. Molded metal available in a variety of finishes can provide a very distinctive modern look to the shelf.

Etching And Pictures

Etched glass shelves at a low height present an altogether different element of interest to the viewer and draw better attention to the material on top of it. You may have an etched border on the front and around both the sides of the shelf. Or have a picture etched into the center and include a few candles at the top to highlight the artistry. A glass shelf can also be made to hold pictures just by sandwiching the images between two matching pieces of glass.



Shape, Size, And Cuts

As glass can be cut to any size and given shape, it is a favorite media of designers. Imagine having an open wall with an oval shaped shelf and a flattened side rather than the conventional rectangular shape! This custom work can be great, especially if you want to make floating bar shelf.

In case you are interested to get rid of conventional rounded edges or frame to have a shelf in plain geometrical designs, you could do that also to get a more modern or rather a futuristic design that is already getting popular in America.

Provision of a glass shelf in any room of a home or an office can make a significant difference to the surroundings. Its unblemished transparent characteristics in conjunction with a variety of other materials and ideas can be exploited to compliment the decor of any room. Glass shelves need not remain undistinguished items in a room.