How to Increase Light Play in Your Transom Window

A lot of homes have a transom window or windows and they seem too high for shades or too high to look out and enjoy the view.  Some look straight to a neighbor's house or through their window.  There is a great solution to providing privacy if needed and also a way to increase light play and have glass textures and colors dance around the house:  Architectural Stained Glass.

The above image shows a transom window that is on the second floor of an entryway and from different angles one can see different neighbors. 

This is after installing a stained glass window which I designed and built.  This adds so much more light play, playing with background colors, bending the light differently to create a lot more interest in the space. 

Here is an image of the window from the exterior.  Fun to see it lit up from the interior.

Detail of the bevels which were hand made with color pieces beveled and bonded on top of the clear bevel. 

I can be reached at Isaac@isaacdsmith.com or 509-280-6344 to discuss with you different options for your home or office.

Design Inspiration for Your Bathroom Window

The following example can be applied to any window in your home, in this case I am showing designs from the last project I did which was a bathroom window. 

When I first saw the space and spoke with the client, we spoke of the different elements within the space such as the circles and other elements in the tile work, I noticed how she decorated the space with bamboo, I also was looking beyond the window to what was outside.  She discussed how she wanted some privacy because of a house with a window that the occupant could possibly see in.  She also did not want to obscure all areas of the window so she could see the trees and other natural things beyond the window.

 

I listened to what her concerns were and she was open to different design concepts. 
In looking at the space I wanted to tie in the natural components of the trees/bamboo leaves and the way they flowed and to also tie in the circular elements of the tile work. 

I presented a couple of designs:

Both designs had a nice flow and I used the "branch" lines to help incorporate the circular elements within the bathroom.  She loved both designs and leaned more toward the left design.  We discussed different types of glass, where to give privacy and where to allow her to view the trees outside.  The final result turned out wonderful!  She loves the piece and it has added a lovely piece of art as well as being  functional in the sense that it gives privacy yet still adds light to the space.

I incorporated a lot of beveled glass to manipulate the light and add more definition and depth to the piece. 

This was a challenging project and resulted in a fun and elegant piece!