Gorgeous Glass Window Shutters [Project 9]

Upon returning from Calgary [helping my wonderful sister move into a beautiful home], I was quite delighted to see this at the small window in my living room.

[Well, the pieces of glass weren’t there — I put those there to check out colours & sizes.  🙂 ]

Beside taking care of my dog, Reddie [my redneck carpenter] cut, routered & screwed in the wood framing for the glass shutters.  He designed his own sliding mechanism with some plastic sheeting from Lee Valley.

The 1″x3″ that the shutters slide on is sanded almost as smooth as silk, so the panels glide easily with a slight push.

After a few test runs when the glass was installed, Reddie attached a 1″x3″ in front, top & bottom, which hides the sliders.

Although I’d originally thought this glass would be all blues & white, it turned out I already had enough sheets to fill 4 of the 6 frames — IF I used the leftover orange from my headboard.

It’s such a gorgeous colour with a light ripple in the glass that leaves an interesting pattern on the floor.  How could I resist?

The orange colour does go well with the 5’x8′ rugs [$30 each] we added — from Kijiji [used] &  Home Hardware [new].

Bonus — the shutters’ colour-block style of glass sheets with wood frames is replicated in the graphic nature of the used rug.

So, what colour of glass to buy for the remaining two spots?  I needed something that would tie the orange & blue together.  And since the white glass has an iridescent sheen, in some lights it appears to have a yellow/reddish glow:

I really liked the yellow I had used in the headboard — with its white & orange-red streaks throughout — so it was off to Glass-Smith to get another medium sheet of it.

😎

I paired the yellow glass with the blue for a mixed colour look.  I absolutely love it.  The shutters are definitely the focal point in the living room — as well as outside in the evening.

Hmm, what colour should I paint the outside shutters?

The stained glass artist in me was at first a little uneasy with simply using pieces of glass without sections requiring lead & solder.  But now, I quite appreciate the simplistic design which allows the beauty in the glass itself to be juxtaposed with the beauty of the wood.  😆

The shutters complete my ‘Wall of Glass’ which includes the two corner bookcases finished in Beautiful Start to Large Glass Wall & Double Corner Bookcases Expand Space.

Beautiful wall art, privacy screen, & glare protector.

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This is a simple DIY project — most of the work is in measuring for both the wood & the glass.  If you’re not sure about cutting glass sheets, the glass store will gladly cut it to your specifications — saving you $$ in glass wastage.

For me, I’m happy to have the extra glass pieces for other projects.  😎

** Update AUG 31st  **  I’m working on a tutorial as we make our next set of window sliders — subscribe or grab the RSS feed to be notified of all posts.  **

Vanessa Dawne Studio of Design

Functional glass & wood art on Vancouver Isle

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