When designing a new home or renovating your current one, you have the opportunity to make critical decisions about the various surfaces in your home. One basic decision involves choosing what types of materials these surfaces should consist of.

Consider glass when sorting through your options. Your windows and mirrors don’t need to be the only glass feature of your home! Other glass surfaces can add a sense of luxury to your house in ways you may not have considered. Examples to keep in mind include (but aren’t limited to) the following:

Glass Railings

Does your home feature an elevated deck or patio (or do you plan on installing one)?

If so, you naturally need some barrier at the end of the deck to prevent people from falling off. Remember, this is typically a legal requirement. However, the wrong barrier can detract from your home’s curb appeal by preventing people from seeing parts of it.

That doesn’t need to be the case! A glass railing system can serve the same purpose as any other type of barrier without obstructing the view. Additionally, glass railing systems can be used for staircases or as substitutes for traditional fences.

For instance, maybe you want to block off a section of your yard for a small enclosed garden, but you still want people to be able to see the garden even when they’re not within the enclosure. In this case, a glass railing system could provide the ideal solution.

Glass Shelving

Glass shelving is often used in stores for many reasons. Versatility is one. Glass shelving can blend in with virtually any design style. It also isn’t as noticeable as other types of shelving, ensuring the items on display aren’t overlooked.

Glass shelving can offer the same essential benefits in your home. Use it in a kitchen, home bar, or anywhere else you want to display items.

Wind Walls

Fencing doesn’t always serve to mark property lines, ensure privacy, and promote compliance with laws regarding such potentially dangerous property features as pools.

Sometimes fencing can also protect less-than-durable features of a property from wind damage. Depending on where you live, it may be necessary to install such a barrier.

Unfortunately, traditional fencing can obstruct views. This is another reason to consider glass instead of another material. Glass wind walls protect your property without visual obstruction, serving  a purpose very similar to that of glass railing systems.

That said, a wind wall may not surround a property entirely, the way a fence would. It can instead surround a pool area and similar spots where wind can otherwise cause damage or make a mess.

Wine Cellar Doors

If you’re a wine-lover fortunate enough to have a cellar dedicated to your collection, you know that many types of shelving and wine storage can prevent you from clearly seeing your bottles when you go down to make a selection.

This can prevent you from easily finding what you’re looking for. It also makes it more difficult to truly impress guests when you bring them down to the cellar to see your collection.

Thus, you might prefer wine cellar doors. Like glass shelves, they’re versatile and practical, matching most design styles while also helping you both display and find wine bottles more easily.

Keep these points in mind when designing a home! Glass is an ideal material for many surfaces and features beyond windows and mirrors. Just make sure you hire trusted local professionals to install your glass surfaces.