Glass fronts for the kitchen: what are they and how to care for them?

Modern types of glass make it possible to embody the most original design solutions in the design of kitchen furniture, facilitating the structure as a whole and emphasizing its grace. The facade of this material fits perfectly into the classic style and high-tech.

Kitchens with glass fronts are common. And this is no coincidence. Glasses for kitchen facades have the following advantages:

• they are resistant to high humidity and temperature extremes that regularly occur in rooms where food is cooked and washed dishes;
• products of modern glass production are very durable and can be safely used for kitchen sets;
• glass can be combined with solid wood, MDF, aluminum, and other materials used to create modern kitchen furniture;
• from the point of view of environmental friendliness, glass is very beneficial, because it does not have harmful substances in its composition, which is especially important where food and dishes are stored;
• thanks to the use of glass in furniture, the kitchen space itself seems more spacious and lighter, and the facade is more elegant;
• furniture design options using various types of such material are very diverse.

There are also disadvantages to using glass for the kitchen facade:

• if the doors from it come into contact with the dishes in the cupboards, a characteristic sound is heard; often it seems frightening, as there is a feeling that something is broken;
• high-quality glass used in decoration, as well as the accessories necessary for its installation, significantly increase the price of furniture;
• glass doors are easy to stain, fingerprints are visible from afar;
• if the facade is based on an aluminum profile, over the years it ceases to shine;
• if inexpensive glass is used in the construction of the facade, it is easy to break it, while being injured by flying fragments.

The industry offers a variety of glass types with different physical characteristics. For kitchens, it is better to use the most durable options, especially in the lower part, where there is a possibility of impact or other physical impact, capable of damaging the surface of the outer side of the furniture is especially high.

To form the front of the headset, the so-called float glass. This is a common material that is also used for glazing window openings in houses. It cannot be called particularly reliable, but it is inserted into the doors of wall cabinets.

Sometimes use acrylic coating (also for doors at the top of the headset). Glass of this type is easy to use - it is easy to divide it into fragments of the desired size, bend it to achieve a special decorative effect and apply drawings to it.

Laminated glass can be used. This increases the strength of the material. In addition, after lamination, the glass surface becomes translucent.

The toughened glass is more durable and reliable. The specially processed material becomes very viscous in its structure, which ensures its durability. Even if he takes a sensitive blow, he will not split into many traumatic fragments, but crumble with a bunch of small parts with blunt edges.

It is no coincidence that it is used for the manufacture of side and rear windows in cars. The advantage of such glass is its resistance to heat. So such a facade will not suffer from the proximity of a preheated stove or oven.

Triplex glass is particularly durable. It is multi-layered. Glass does not break due to the fact that the layers are glued to a special polymer film. In extreme cases, it only cracks. Windshields for cars are made of triplex.

But the likelihood of a disaster in the kitchen is negligible compared to what happens on the road. And even if something extraordinary happens here, the triplex will not fly to pieces.

Glass structures are attached to the facade in different ways. The pieces of material can be in an aluminum frame or attached to a wooden base, chipboard, MDF like window glass. This design option is called framework.

In another design, the pieces of glass panels can act as independent elements of the facade, directly performing the function of doors. Their edges are polished and framed with a metal profile.

Glass opens up a lot of creativity when it comes to creating a facade design in a kitchen set. Easiest to use transparent glass with "uneven" surface, as well as painted or coated with a matte layer. Dim inserts will be appropriate in rustic kitchens.

For a particularly trendy, modern look, you can use a local illumination of the facade. It will give glass surfaces a unique shine and iridescence.

There are more sophisticated methods for creating interesting designs.

• The glass can be sandblasted. Due to this, a matte ornament appears on a transparent surface, or, on the contrary, on a matte background - transparent silhouettes.

• To emphasize the classics, you can use stained glass... Ideally, this is a combination of multi-colored glass elements in a frame. But this approach makes stained glass facades very expensive. Therefore, stained glass paints and contours are most often used, with the help of which the image is created on the cabinet doors.

• You can achieve an interesting decorative effect thanks to UV printing on glass... The image does not fade over the years, while the kitchen looks unique.

The choice of a glass kitchen facade is due to several factors.

• Room decoration style. If, for example, the kitchen is decorated in a classic style, it is appropriate to use traditional frame structures with transparent glass or painted in light colors. For a high-tech or avant-garde style, the use of frosted glass fragments in the kitchen, emphasized with the help of special lighting, is more suitable.

• Dimensions. If the kitchen is small, the glass facade will avoid the impression of being cramped: the furniture will not look too massive. Choose simple façade solutions with straight lines. Curly delights in such a space are not the best idea.

• Features of the functional content of the kitchen. If the kitchen also performs the function of a living room, here you can use different types of glass inserts, allowing you to visually divide the room into different functional zones. The unifying element in this case is a bar counter with a transparent table top.

Taking care of glass surfaces in the kitchen is easy. There are special care products for them. It is not difficult to apply the product and wipe with a rag.

Another thing is that the glass facade cannot be left unattended for a long time. In the kitchen, it is invariably covered with dust and splashes from water and grease. That's why regular maintenance is a guarantee that glass surfaces will always remain shiny.

The transparent glass on the kitchen set is very demanding. Everything should be in perfect order behind him. But beautiful dishes behind such doors look like at an exhibition, pleasing the eyes of the inhabitants of the house and guests.

The image on the glass doors of the upper tier of the kitchen makes it unique. The bright colors make the furniture memorable and eye-catching.

Smoky glass on the front of the kitchen makes the structure much lighter and at the same time creates a blurry effect. Thanks to this, the most ordinary things behind glass "turn" into decorative elements.

The kitchen, unpretentious in its configuration, is transformed thanks to the stained-glass window. Additional lighting emphasizes all the advantages of this design.

Thanks to the glass, illuminated from the inside, the headset looks futuristic. Those who like to feel like passengers of a starship from the future with the help of such a design can make the appropriate decorations in their own kitchen.

Embossed door glasses hide the contents of the cabinets and make the kitchen look larger.

For more information on glass facades, see the next video.