One of the first images which comes into most people’s minds when they think about glass worktops is of frosted glass, usually clear or with a very slight green hue, and under lit by LED lighting. This sort of glass worktop is commonly seen in some of the more fashionable kitchens, as well as in places such as hotel receptions and some bathrooms of top hotels. Certainly the image is one of luxury and quality, and for most people the very idea of having glass worktops like these in their home is hardly worth considering. Yet there’s a twist.
Because the secret is that glass worktops and glass splashbacks needn’t be the preserve of the rich and the elite – they’re actually very affordable. After all, which is likely to be more expensive – glass or granite? In many cases glass can prove to be a more affordable choice, although of course just how affordable will depend very much on the features you choose to have included.
But here’s another point worth mentioning, because when people think of glass they tend to think only in two dimensions. Glass, so people seem to assume, has to be flat. They think of things like the windows in their home, for example, or perhaps their glass chopping board. Yet they conveniently forget the fact that glass windscreens in cars are never flat, and are very curved. Not to mention glass ornaments, wine glasses and the many other uses to which glass is put.
Naturally these are all different types of glass, but essentially it still all comes down to superheated sand. It really just depends on what additional compounds you add to the mixture, and how you prepare, form and cool it. Toughened glass is widely used in a whole range of different places, and when it comes to glass worktops this glass is very tough indeed.
After all, you don’t worry about cracking or scratching a glass chopping board or glass food preparation board, yet this is very often very much thinner than the glass worktops currently available, which may be anything up to 9mm in depth. That’s considerably thicker than the windscreen you sit with your face just inches behind whilst travelling at 70 miles an hour.
So glass worktops and glass splashbacks need not be constrained to the world of two dimensions, and can be crafted to include curves, grooves and features such as drainage channels or cooling racks. The glass itself can be frosted, which provides a clean, cool and diffused effect, especially when used with LED underlighting, or you could choose to have transparent glass. This in turn can be either colourless, providing an ice or water effect, or coloured, by either having the glass itself stained or fitted with an opaque coloured backing.
Lighting certainly makes a huge difference, and of course glass worktops are able to reflect and refract all available light in a wide range of ways, helping to dramatically increase the overall lightness and sense of space in the kitchen. This is ideal if you have a smaller kitchen, and this is one of the reasons why glass worktops represent the ideal solution for those who have a more modest budget.