DECOR IN GLASS

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31335, 4 April 1967, Page 2

DECOR IN GLASS

You still cannot throw stones in glasshouses—but that is about the only concession you have to make. Glass is he longer a delicate substance to be treated with gentle eare, but a building and furniture material in its own right

Unlike paint wood or wallpaper, it does not peel, discolour, scratch or graze. With routine cleaning, and barring accidents, it will be as good in twenty years as the day you bought it You do not have to look through glass either—roughcast types are ideal for shelves or the tops of tables. A sheet of reinforeed glass, either plain or opaque, can be

used to form an entire door to bring brightness and interest to an otherwise dark room or corridor.

Opaque glass blocks—they cost a little more than a packet of cigarettes—can be used to enormous effect all over the house. They fasten together by a simple bolting system and can be built into panels, even walls, and moved around with comparative ease.

They can be used as a base for a glass-topped coffee table; made into an interesting rectangular container for plants; and put between glass shelving to form a bookcase. They can also be made Into windows, utilising all available light but keeping out un-

sightly views. One person used them to build an extra window in the children’s bedroom, letting in light from an adjoining landing. A word of warning: ordinary window glass is not suitable for jobs where it is required to bear much weight —shelves, table tops and so on. For this, you need plate glass with the corners rounded and the edges smoothed.

Your builder will tell you what sort of glass you need for a specific job. And if the glass needs cutting or drilling, let an expert do it—not your husband. The sketch shows glass used as a building material.