IN THIS POST:
– Stained Glass Ideas
– DIY Stained Glass Tips
There are a lot of neat little tricks that can help you decorate your home and set it apart to wow your guests. Stained glass is a technique that involves colouring panes of glass or mirrors using patterns of your choice, and if done well, you can use stained glass in your home to boost the beauty and aesthetic appeal of your residence.
Below, we’ve shared some ideas on how and where you can incorporate stained glass into your home, and we’ll follow it with some DIY stained glass tips to help you create some delightful masterpieces to decorate your house.
How to Use Stained Glass in Your Home?
Here are some of the many objects that you can beautify by using stained glass techniques:
- Mirror frames
- Shower doors
- Doors & windows
- Room dividers
- Ornaments
Let’s discover how to stain glass each of these objects around the house. Please note that all of these can also be bought to order from the market if DIY is not the route you want to take.
Mirror Frames
Have a plain old mirror and want to add a personal touch to it to amplify its beauty? Consider a stained glass border design that wraps around the edge of the mirror and adds that touch of colour and creativity that you’re looking for. Floral prints work best for bathroom mirrors.
Shower Doors
Want a textured glass finish with a creative touch? Readymade shower cabinets with stained glass are great for adding privacy to glass walls and doors. You can choose to attempt this yourself, too, but it’s a large project, so we wouldn’t recommend it unless you’re really committed to it and have some skills with stained glass paintings for home décor. Avoid using other coloured elements in the bathroom if you’re opting for a brightly painted glass shower cabinet as a focal point of your space.
Doors & Windows
Stained glass was traditionally used to decorate glass panes on doors and windows of buildings, and while the times have changed, the trend has not. Moving towards more floral prints from the symmetrical and geometrical prints of a bygone era, stained glass doors and windowpanes are custom-made in factories as per your preference.
Similar to shower doors, we’d advise against taking a brush to DIY because the project can be tricky to complete with finesse. The best thing about stained glass windows and doors is that they filter light into your home in a myriad of colours when the sun rises, creating a unique living space. Plus, you can paint glass panels on interior doors, too.
Room Dividers
Have an open plan living and dining space and wondering how to decorate it? How about using a stained glass divider to not only define spaces but also add a beautiful and colourful work of art into your home? These dividers are made to order and offer privacy while also boosting the aesthetic appeal of the interior.
Ornaments
The ultimate purpose of stained glass is that it beautifies ordinary glass ornaments with a creative design. As such, several ordinary ornaments and objects can be embellished with a stain-glass effect, including lampshades, sun catchers, picture frames, and more. Stained glass is also ideal for decorating ceilings, kitchen backsplash, skylights, and other glass panels or mirrors around the house.
DIY Stained Glass Tips
If you want to use the above-mentioned stained glass painting ideas in your home but do not want to custom order the glass panels or purchase ornaments and decoration pieces from the market, you can use the following DIY tips to stain glass panes and objects around the house:
- Gather the right supplies
- Select the perfect pattern
- Trace the design
- Paint the glass
- Frame or hang the art
Follow the detailed steps mentioned below and start painting your glass frames and ornaments like a pro.
Gather the Right Supplies
The first DIY tip for staining glass surfaces is to collect the right materials at home to begin your project. The materials you’ll need include:
- A glass surface, which could be a flat plane, a glass ball, or a glass lamp cover
- Wet wipes
- Kerosene oil, locally known as matti ka teil
- Design patterns
- Glass paints, usually available in a set of 12 bottles
- Lead liners in different colours
- A cleaning rag, which can be any clean cloth you have around the house
- Paintbrushes in different sizes
- Tape, ideally paper tape
- Printer for printing the design
- Paper towels
- Painting palette
Select the Perfect Pattern
There is an array of designs available online. You need to choose a design based on the glass and the purpose you want to use it for. Mirrors will only require a framed design, while a glass painted wall art frame will need an elaborate pattern. You also have a lot of styles to choose from, starting from geometrical designs to floral prints, sceneries, animal images, and so on. Moreover, glass ornaments like sun catchers and lampshades have custom designs available online that fit the particular shape of the glass surface.
Once you’ve chosen the design you want to paint onto the glass, use a printer at home to print it out on a sheet of white paper. Make sure to stretch the design to fit the size of the glass before printing it. If you don’t have a printer yourself, you can get a print easily from any stationery shop located in your area that offers the service.
Trace the Design
Once you have the design on paper, you can paste it under the glass using tape. Make sure you remove any air bubbles or creases in the paper and that it lies flat under the glass. Tape it securely so that it does not move from its place as you trace the design using lead liners. Make sure to clean both sides of the glass using the wet wipes to remove any stains before you paste the design and begin tracing the pattern.
Lead liners are available in a range of colours and allow you to trace the design on the upper surface of the glass. Once the lead dries, it forms secure sections atop the surface in which you can fill the watery glass paints. Black is the most common colour available, followed by metallic shades of gold, silver, and bronze. You can choose whichever colour outlines fit your design and interior style as per your preference. Lead liners are commonly available in tubes and can be used as easily as a pencil or a cone of henna for creating a pattern.
Trace the entire design carefully. You do not need to trace it entirely in one stroke. Stop, pause, turn the glass at right angles as needed, and continue tracing the design bit by bit. Once the entire pattern has been traced, leave the glass to dry for about 8 hours. You need the outline to be completely dry before you add the paints to the surface. You can remove wet lead using paper towels, while dry lead can be peeled off the surface with your nails if you make a mistake.
Paint the Glass
Once the lead lining is dry, take out the paints and paintbrushes. Next, pour some kerosene oil into a glass jar or container before you begin, because glass paints are oil-based paints and can only be washed away using oil. Thus, you’ll need to wash individual brushes after you paint with a single colour using oil before you move on to the next colour to avoid mixing them.
Decide which colours you will use, set them aside, and figure out which sections of the design will feature the same colour. Then start with a single colour, using brushes of different sizes based on the size of the sections you’ve outlined on the glass. Smaller sections require smaller No. 1 or No. 2 brushes, while wider parts can be painted by using No. 10 or No. 12 brushes.
Glass paints are generally available in small bottles and can be used directly from their containers, as they are very watery and do not require mixing of any kind. However, you might consider using a painting palette if you want to mix two colours together to create a unique shade.
Once you’re done painting all the sections in one colour, dip all the used brushes into the oil and clean them by rubbing them and wiping them using the rag of cloth. Kerosene oil generally has a distinct odour and inhaling it in large quantities can be toxic, so we advise working in a well-ventilated area. Wipe all the brushes you’ll use next before painting with the next colour. If you add a colour into the wrong section by mistake, dip the cloth in kerosene oil and wipe the paint away before it dries.
Move from colour to colour in this way until the entire design is painted. Colour is one of the seven major elements of interior design, so contrast your shades wisely for the best effect.
Frame or Hang the Art
Glass paints dry fairly quickly, but it is recommended that you let your creative artwork dry for 24 hours before using it, framing it, or hanging it around the house. You’ll need expert help to frame a random panel of glass that you had lying around the house. Suncatchers have a ready hole punched into them that will allow you to thread a ribbon or rope around the ornament before hanging it into your window. Lampshades can simply be placed atop the lamp once dry.
Glass paints are relatively long-lasting and will not fade away quickly with time, but cleaning them with alcoholic substances might cause the colour to fade in places, so always wipe the stained glass surface using only a clean piece of cloth. Wet the cloth with water if dirt has collected on the design before you wipe the pattern and its outlines.
Be sure to throw away the oil-soaked rag and the oil you’ve used during the painting process and wash the jar or container thoroughly before using it for any other purpose. However, wash the paintbrushes properly with the oil before storing them and disposing of the oil, or else the paint will dry on the bristles of the brushes and ruin them for future use. Try to also dedicate these brushes for painting with glass paints, if possible. You’ll also need to use the oil to clean the painting palette if you have used one.
Stained glass is a fun DIY activity to do while you are stuck at home during the Coronavirus lockdown, provided you have the necessary supplies at home. There are also several ready kits available at stationery stores that allow you to create peelable stained glass. The method for those is to paint the entire design using the lead and paints provided onto a sheet of plastic. Once the paints dry, you can easily peel back the design from the surface of the plastic carefully to avoid tearing it and stick it to any glass, mirror, or tile around the house.
These are some of the best ways to use stained glass in your home and DIY tips to create your own designs for your interior. You can also check out some of the best ways to use mirrors in your home for an amazing design appeal. Stay tuned to Zameen Blog for more home décor posts. You can also reach us at blog@zameen.com with your queries and suggestions.
