This week’s article, we’re moving past the shell of a space, the floors and walls to the furniture. Furniture, the essence of the space, it is one of the areas where one expresses  their preferences.

With technology constantly improving production methods and creating possibilities of having more and more innovative furniture, Glass furniture in particular has become a very popular element in he interior of various spaces.

Glass offers a great range of possibilities. Its aesthetic appeal and durability makes it an easy choice when it comes to using it for furniture pieces. Obviously, there are limits to this statement!

When there is a small space that needs to look larger and more open, glass is always a good option because of its transparence and light quality. Glass is commonly used to represent a feeling of cleanliness and purity. Not to mention, there is very little that can’t be matched with the use of glass within an interior. To top that, glass is easily changed with colours that could be permanent or always added on in future with the use of films that can create a different feel such as frosted,  glossy finishes and even gradient patterns.

To the technical parts of it, the glass furniture differs in quality and thicknesses depending on the use of the pieces. As mentioned in an earlier article, float or ‘annealed’ glass is not to be used for any furniture as it breaks into dangerous shards.

Some common faults with glass used for furniture pieces:

• Incorrect glass types,
• Incorrect  glass thicknesses,
•  Contact with other hard materials such as stones, metals, or other glasses might cause damage,
• Lack of support for the weight of the glass; glass is Heavy!

The most common use of glass in furniture is as glass tops for tables, coffee tables, and desks. they provide a clear surface that is very thin, with clean and appealing look. Apart from tops, glass is used greatly for cabinets which allow us to see the contents without having to open everything. There are also lots of cabinets that have been created wholly in glass to provide a very simplistic and elegant look. How about chairs, you may ask? In fact, it is quite uncommon to make chairs of glass, mostly because it will be just too cold uncomfortable feel and look. Also the strength of glass can be a challenge. Yet, that hasn’t stopped the few to try!

For certain spaces there are key points that should be looked at carefully before using glass furniture. When considering using glass furniture for spaces heavily used, keeping the surfaces clean of fingerprint can become a full time job!

Glass sinks, if you like them  note that  the water dries it leave water spots on the glass which need to constantly be cleaned to have the clean glass look. Although, glass is a good idea in the kitchen as a back splash of the stove or sink, since it is very easy to wipe of the water and grease. One thing to remember though,  the joints gather grease, dirt and mould and need careful cleaning and attention.

With ongoing innovations and technologies, glass can be curved and mould into anything to give the desired effect. Glass can be used in almost any space and allows you to be creative, the sky is the limits as to how you can use it to make you interiors look very simple yet quite elegant.