Is tinted glass about to have its day in the sun? Or, come to think of it, its night in the glow of LEDs? Either way, it’s about to have a heyday in the unlikely realm of stair balustrades, and to a lesser extent, shower screens and pool fencing. All of these have long employed glass, often in frameless configurations to deliver a lightness of style unmatched by other materials.
If, as it seems, transparency is the goal, then why bring in tinted glass? Well, I’m talking about coloured tints – purple, teal, aquamarine, fuschia, acid green and what have you. Jellybean colours, essentially, are about to be all the rage for use in glass barriers, and it’s all about the colour blocking.
Got a swimming pool decked with blue tiles? You need a glass pool fence in a complementary blue, or perhaps a contrasting orange. Got a balcony overlooking your backyard fernery? You need a grass-green glass balustrade. Fitting for Melbourne residential and commercial properties alike, this trend truly suits any setting. If you’re an especially colourful sort, you can go hog wild and get the whole rainbow – I’m thinking floating glass staircase, illuminated at night a la disco dancefloor.
For commercial glazing applications, a more subtle approach would work, with a single colour being sufficient to make the all-important visual statement, perhaps in a more muted shade such as amber or moss. In any case, the more colour coverage the better, and commercial designers might consider using coloured glass as an architectural material in walls, ceilings and floors.
Another option is to use clear glass and illuminate it with coloured LEDs set into wall or floor brackets, giving a side-lit or under-lit effect and an ethereal look. This will be perfect for those distrustful of trends or in favour of minimalism, as the lights can be adjusted for maximum impact or complete invisibility.