Everyone has heard of stained glass, but when we mention beveled glass as another option, we are frequently met with a puzzled expression. Let’s first explain just what beveled glass is, and how it’s made.
Beveled glass is a thick piece of glass with an angled edge cut around it. It used to be quite popular for ornamental mirrors, or you might remember your grandmother’s blue glass coffee-table top as having a beveled edge. The bevel creates a prism effect when the light hits it—sunlight or lamplight—and it refracts the light, casting delightful rays of color about the room.
Here at Scottish Stained Glass, we use beveled pieces of glass, joined together in patterns, to create a beautiful window panel what will illuminate a room. Beveled glass is frequently put together in designs with frosted glass.
Of course, once upon a time glass had to be beveled by hand, but today it is done by machine. These beveling machines grind the edge at the precise angle, then smooth it out so there are no scratches or rough edges.
According to the site AnswerBag.com, it was during the Victorian Era that beveled glass lamps, chandeliers and mirrors gained popularity. This happened when craftsmen realized that copper could be substituted for the more expensive (at that time) lead in creating beveled glass.
Using beveled glass in a design has several advantages over colored stained glass. First of all, it will match any color scheme, and continue to match even if you give your home a whole color overhaul. Second, it gives a classy and classic look that will not clash with any prospective buyers’ color schemes, should you at some point decide to sell your home.
Beveled glass is traditionally popular in sidelights, front door panels, transoms (check out our transom gallery for many beautiful examples of designs incorporating beveled glass), kitchen cabinet doors, and bay windows. It lets the light through and enhances it with its prism effects.
Customers have called our beveled glass designs “magical.”
The pieces of beveled glass that make up the design are still held together with lead caning in between each piece, hence the name “leaded glass.” Colored glass and clear beveled glass can be combined for truly spectacular effects. Clear beveled glass and frosted glass is another popular combination. We’d be delighted to work with you to create a unique, one of a kind beveled masterpiece for any area in your home, office, or retail space. Bevel in the bathroom? Why not? Bevel in the boardroom? Absolutely!
Whether you have an idea for a beveled glass window in your home, or you’d like our designers to come up with something designed especially for you, please give us a call. We offer free consultations (in the local area) and our designers will show up with so many ideas, it might just blow your mind!
Servicing all of Colorado in the Denver Metro Area, Boulder, Evergreen & Summit County:
303-766-3811
Nationwide:
1-866-846-5758 (Toll Free)
