Glass is a material that has long been used in all kinds of structural applications. In spite on its fragility, glass is known to be robust and strong. In the right hands, with the right balustrade components and fixings glass can be used for just about anything.
Unsurprisingly, homeowners are now finding that glass is a material that offers them much more than simple glazing in a window and that they too can have glass staircases in their home. Technological advancements in glass have come on a long way in recent years. As a result, the ability to create toughened glass at a lower costs started to decrease the cost to the customer. Other technologies improved too. For example, layered, tempered glass although strong tended to take on a green tint and was not what everyone wanted. But now, glass is truly colourless.
How to use glass as a staircase material
With its sense of grandeur and opulence, glass can add a distinctive look and feel to a property but, how much you use it and where will depend on your budget.
Glass Staircases – Treads
There has always been strong trend for minimalist, modern design in a home and there is one material that ticks all the boxes. Glass as a result, is a material that is used in all kinds of interior designs but the latest trend is to use layers of tempered glass as stair treads.
Initially, this design was considered a feature that was only for use in a home where children and infirm were absent but, manufacturing techniques and technologies now mean that glass treads are virtually non-slip.
For those that worry about the treads shattering should anything be dropped on them, their fears are laid to rest with a glass tread more likely to chip than shatter.
Glass Staircases – Components
Glass treads are not for everyone, and no surprise when you see the eye-watering budget busting price that they can come with. This doesn’t mean, however, that you need to miss out on glass altogether in your staircase.
Glass is a versatile material that sits well and compliments all kinds of materials, including the new kid on the block concrete. Concrete is a material that we are most used to seeing as driveways and so on, but its industrial feel is now being included in many properties in all kinds of different ways.
Relatively inexpensive and easy to use, polished concrete can have a shine that brightens any home, and with colour and acid treatments can be made to look like marble.
So, polished concrete stair treads, matched with minimalist glass balustrades could be an option for your next project…
All Images of glass staircases below by architects and designers on Design for Me – Click the image to see their full profiles.
Glass Balustrades
For those who enjoy glass, the use of toughened glass balustrades comes as no surprise and well within budget too. However, a common issue is that the minimalist appeal of glass has been somewhat lost in the frame that has been needed.
Handrails and so on, made from wood or metal, despite its beauty, may not have been the finish that many people were looking for. However, with strong but minimal components, glass balustrades look stunningly minimalistic.
If you have any questions about achieving the looks above, please get in touch with our helpful contacts at balustradecomponents.co.uk. To get even more stair inspiration, visit our Pinterest board below!
Emily, Design for Me
Follow Design for Me’s staircase ideas board on Pinterest.
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