Replacing window glass with stained glass?

[Anonymous]

I have a long horizontal rectangular window over my staircase. I need to do something to cover it - it looks directly in our neighbors house, and provides a view of our second floor where people walk from bathroom to bedroom. It does let in a lot of light and I'd like to keep the light. I've considered shutters, curtains and blinds, but because of the window shape and placement none really work for me. I don't love frosted glass. I was wondering if it was crazy to consider replacing the windows with stained glass? Would that look weird? Or is there some option I'm missing? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

It's not 1980

[Anonymous]

Do you have a historic home? If not I would think this is strange

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you have a historic home? If not I would think this is strange

Thanks - that's what I'm worried about. The house was built in 1895. I used to rent a house built around the same time that did have a stained glass window and I thought it was beautiful, but I have no real sense of whether it would look odd in my house or not. When I think about the window I don't think anything would look right covering it though - I'm at a loss.

[Anonymous]

Asna stained glass artist, my recommendation would be to have a piece made to fit the window and then insert it on the inside of your window. That way your existing window will protect it from the elements and if you want to change it our you can remove it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you have a historic home? If not I would think this is strange

Thanks - that's what I'm worried about. The house was built in 1895. I used to rent a house built around the same time that did have a stained glass window and I thought it was beautiful, but I have no real sense of whether it would look odd in my house or not. When I think about the window I don't think anything would look right covering it though - I'm at a loss.

IMO stained glass could be appropriate for this situation, especially if you try to somewhat match the historical time frame of the house.

[Anonymous]

I love stained glass so I think you could make it work. You may need to work to find something in the right colors and pattern to match your décor. Instead of replacing the window glass I would look into having a custom piece made that will fit the opening in front of the actual window. That way you don't need to worry about loosing the quality of the window (temperature/sound) and in the future resale value.

Even if you didn't do colored stained glass you could do it with patterned/ textured glass. This would keep the amount of light coming through but still block the view.

[Anonymous]

Thank you - I like the idea of a piece that can be fit over the existing window. I hadn't considered textured glass, but will look into that too. I appreciate all the input!

[Anonymous]

Home Depot/Lowes sell temporary stick-on window film in many patterns, including stained glass. We use a frosted version of this for a window right next to our front door where blinds don't work due to the sharp nature of my dog's teeth... I know that you don't want frosted glass, but the reason that I suggest this is that you could get this stuff and put it on your window for a few weeks to give it a try--make sure that you really do want something like stained glass before you make the plunge. It may block too much light that you didn't realize you relied on before it went away. Or you might love it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Home Depot/Lowes sell temporary stick-on window film in many patterns, including stained glass. We use a frosted version of this for a window right next to our front door where blinds don't work due to the sharp nature of my dog's teeth... I know that you don't want frosted glass, but the reason that I suggest this is that you could get this stuff and put it on your window for a few weeks to give it a try--make sure that you really do want something like stained glass before you make the plunge. It may block too much light that you didn't realize you relied on before it went away. Or you might love it!

Here's a link to the window film that we use next to our front door. We have had it up for about 2 years now and it hasn't fallen off yet. There seem to be several stained-glass options, some that look great, some that dont. Regardless, testing this out first I think would be a good first step before installing a permanent stained glass window. It would suck to install a stained glass window, hate it, and then feel stuck w/it since you paid for it and went to the trouble of having it installed (the way I know I would think).

http://www.homedepot.com/b/Decor-Blinds-Window-Treatments-Window-Film/N-5yc1vZarc3

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Home Depot/Lowes sell temporary stick-on window film in many patterns, including stained glass. We use a frosted version of this for a window right next to our front door where blinds don't work due to the sharp nature of my dog's teeth... I know that you don't want frosted glass, but the reason that I suggest this is that you could get this stuff and put it on your window for a few weeks to give it a try--make sure that you really do want something like stained glass before you make the plunge. It may block too much light that you didn't realize you relied on before it went away. Or you might love it!

Here's a link to the window film that we use next to our front door. We have had it up for about 2 years now and it hasn't fallen off yet. There seem to be several stained-glass options, some that look great, some that dont. Regardless, testing this out first I think would be a good first step before installing a permanent stained glass window. It would suck to install a stained glass window, hate it, and then feel stuck w/it since you paid for it and went to the trouble of having it installed (the way I know I would think).

http://www.homedepot.com/b/Decor-Blinds-Window-Treatments-Window-Film/N-5yc1vZarc3

Thank you so much for this!

[Anonymous]

I did this in a previous house of the same vintage of yours and it looked fabulous. I'm sorry I can't recommend our artist as it was in another state, but I think this is absolutely worthy doing and much better than any stick-in alternatives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did this in a previous house of the same vintage of yours and it looked fabulous. I'm sorry I can't recommend our artist as it was in another state, but I think this is absolutely worthy doing and much better than any stick-in alternatives.

So you replaced the whole window rather than have an insert created? Do you mind sharing how much it cost. I know the cost is variable based on size of the window and where the work was done, but a ballpark would be helpful. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did this in a previous house of the same vintage of yours and it looked fabulous. I'm sorry I can't recommend our artist as it was in another state, but I think this is absolutely worthy doing and much better than any stick-in alternatives.

So you replaced the whole window rather than have an insert created? Do you mind sharing how much it cost. I know the cost is variable based on size of the window and where the work was done, but a ballpark would be helpful. Thanks!

In my case, we replaced the window glass in an existing window frame. The drawback to this is as a PP said: it was exposed to the elements and is difficult to clean. For our next house, we had a frame built for the glass and mounted the frame to the window frame.

I don't remember exact cost but will try to find it. I do remember it was highly dependent on the complexity of the design. We might have spent $1500 on one window and $500 on another.

Also, at some antiques stores you can find stained glass windows from other houses and have them mounted in yours. I expect you'd have the best luck finding these in places that have a lot of old houses (e.g., Baltimore vs. Chantilly).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did this in a previous house of the same vintage of yours and it looked fabulous. I'm sorry I can't recommend our artist as it was in another state, but I think this is absolutely worthy doing and much better than any stick-in alternatives.

So you replaced the whole window rather than have an insert created? Do you mind sharing how much it cost. I know the cost is variable based on size of the window and where the work was done, but a ballpark would be helpful. Thanks!

In my case, we replaced the window glass in an existing window frame. The drawback to this is as a PP said: it was exposed to the elements and is difficult to clean. For our next house, we had a frame built for the glass and mounted the frame to the window frame.

I don't remember exact cost but will try to find it. I do remember it was highly dependent on the complexity of the design. We might have spent $1500 on one window and $500 on another.

Also, at some antiques stores you can find stained glass windows from other houses and have them mounted in yours. I expect you'd have the best luck finding these in places that have a lot of old houses (e.g., Baltimore vs. Chantilly).

We wound up doing this for three windows but I have price info for only one: $1225, for a moderately complex design.