Custom White Glass Table Top with Mermaids lit by LEDs

We recently fabricated several White Glass Table Top with Glass Mermaids at our Tampa, Fl Studio. We always have at our disposal numerous remnant materials ranging from Textured Glass Countertop to White Glass. We enjoy juxtaposing the opaque vs translucent properties of these which can be combined into imaginative ensembles and enhanced with a multi-color LED strip lights to further highlight the textured glass.

In Clearwater, Fl we have a client Kaia Bowls where we were engaged to provide them with our white glass countertops and some textured glass vertical walls for their beautiful interior remodel. (Their food is beautiful too.) Their clients are mostly foot traffic beach-goers, and in a highly competitive area for food,  they wanted to catch the attention of passing vehicle and foot traffic.  We pitched our idea and drafted a nautical themed set of tables for them with a partially exposed Mermaid as the textured glass portion against a backdrop of White Glass. Our Waterjet was employed to cut these glass elements so they would nest inside the white glass, thus allowing for the LEDs to be placed along the bottom and illuminate the glass upward. This type of design lends itself to strength of the table as well since the intermittent slices leave much of the integrity of the table intact. Our custom white glass table tops are practical for an evening get-together as well since they provide infinitely adjustable, gentle illumination for night dining. Our LEDs are adjustable many ways: 8,000,000 colors, and 0-100% brightness…all from your smartphone or iPad via Bluetooth.  These are visible in the day, but at night are a real attraction. They white glass table tops are non-porous and very easy to clean while staying cool in direct Florida sunlight.  There are infinite variations of this ensemble design as shown below in previous installations. The pieces can be mated horizontally, or as in the case of the white glass table top with Mermaids,  vertically integrated.

Future combinations will be be forthcoming to include islands in countertops, sea life, etc. Stay tuned!

Thank you for reading. If interested in composing your own custom white glass table top ensemble, give me a call at (813) 784 5211….or   Jeff@DowningDesigns.com

White Glass Table Top with Mermaid Profile in Glass

White Glass Table Top with Mermaid Profile in Glass

White Glass Table Top with Mermaid Profile in Glass

Textured Glass Countertop mated with concrete Countertop

Glass Countertop inset into concrete Countertop

The post Custom White Glass Table Top with Mermaids lit by LEDs appeared first on Downing Designs.

source https://downingdesigns.com/white-glass-table-top-mermaid/

Design Considerations for an Island with a Glass Countertop High Bar

Many clients love the look of a Glass Countertop atop their Island Countertop. We enjoy the look too and have featured this  in a display in our Glass Design Center in Tampa.  We fabricate our Glass High Bars to be “floated” and cantilevered above the lower countertop. We do this with two support  brackets only…leaving a clean, contemporary look. As with any kitchen remodel,this needs to be done thoughtfully, and planned with scale models depicting the actual layout.  Our Glass Countertop over White Glass is our favorite combination and is depicted in the above picture. The flowing textures of the Glass High Bar are the perfect complement to the pure white glass countertop, and allows shadows to dance on its surface with thoughtful down-lighting.

This blog attempts to help you plan for each accessory and combine it into a dazzling ensemble for your kitchen or restaurant bar.

We must examine and plan for each of the following:

1. Cabinets. Since the average Glass Countertop High Bar weighs 300-350lbs,we must have sturdy cabinets. If we are to have a sink and a faucet in between the Glass High Bar, we must have the room. A practical minimum width for the Island is 36″ of cabinets. See drawing to examine the details.  Everything  (sink, faucet, glass high bar) must coexist in your island space, with room for access to clean the faucet, a sturdy front sink countertop piece, and the brackets to have a sturdy footing. See the pictures of the construction of our Island augmented with 2×12’s fastened very securely to the boxes style cabinets. Make sure to support the bottom of the cabinet augmentation with at least 5 well-fitted wood supports to disperse the extra weight this side of the island will carry.
2. Lower Countertop.  This material must be strong enough to endure the stress of a 350lb piece, set upon only 2 brackets, that is 175lbs per bracket.  We have succeeded in 100% of our installation by ensuring that the lower countertop has no pre-disposed tendency to crack. Fissures in marble,granite and onyx exist (however microscopically) and are starting points for deeper cracks down the road with stress. If this is the case, please use an underlayment fitted in between the walls of your cabinets to bolster your weak countertop material. We must drill several holes in the lower countertop for the threaded rod and  LED wiring to pass through.
3. Bracket positioning.  For a ~125″long high bar, we position our support brackets about 20-24″ inboard from each end. The final position will depend upon what is underneath. We use a 3/8″ threaded rod threaded into the bottom of our support brackets. This requires a hole in your lower countertop, to pass this through. From the underside we attach as wide a washer (typically 4″ square) as we can to disperse the torque. We do not want to have these washers and nuts too close to the ribs of the cabinets in order to tighten them securely.
4. LED power. The LED wire (1/4″ diameter) attached to the LED lighting strip will pass through the bracket and the  lower countertop. From there we need to attach it to 110v power outlet. If no power supply can exist, we can add a rechargeable battery pack that will last for days.
5. Down Lighting. The LED makes a terrific light for Glass Countertops. When we add dimmable LED downlights that cast tight shadows upon the lower countertop and floor…it is SPECTACULAR!  You may have limits as to where to place the downlights,but it is our strongest recommendation that you add these to your ceiling to make your Glass Countertop High Bar a real show-stopper when your guests arrive for parties. We love the SORAA LED lights and they have been widely adopted by many Museums for their color purity,low energy draw, many aperture widths (10, 25, 36, 60 degree spot light). We use the 10 and 25 degree spots in our Glass Design Center.

Glass High Bar placement showing faucet holes and sink

 

Glass countertop high bar support brackets mounted

Glass High Bar installed…NOTE shadows upon floor from downlights.

high bar width and length…off ewalls…in or equal to end of lower wlak around it

 

 

source https://downingdesigns.com/design-considerations-for-an-island-with-a-glass-countertop-high-bar/

Best Glass Countertop Kitchen and Bar Top Sink Options.

When choosing sinks for your glass countertops, we recommend you discuss with us how you want your glass to look. With a Glass High Bar, its easy since you do not see down into the kitchen utensils, or bath toiletries. For these we recommend back painting the glass to an opaque status. You can also use laminates atop your cabinetry. We recommend  Chemetal #791 Natural Brushed Aluminum laminate atop the cabinets to enhance the shadows under our glass.

With under-mounted sinks there will always be a large gap to fill between the textured glass and the top of the sink rim. Without back paint, the glass will show the silicone seam…not pretty!  We present 2 beautiful kitchen and bar sink options  for your kitchen countertop. They are:

• Beautiful, well made, come in a variety of sizes, and are reasonably priced
• Self-Trimming and very simple to install…which many apron front sinks are NOT.
• Protective of the glass against breakage or chipping.
• Ideal for traditional, contemporary and modern kitchen designs

Top-mounted and Apron-front sinks solve a tricky issue with glass countertops that under-mount sinks do not. They protect your glass from abuse!

Under-mounting sinks on glass counters leads to a very time-consuming installation process…which is why we typically do not to  recommend under-mounted.

A simple, elegant solution involves the use of Ruvati Top-Mounted Bar Sink and/or Kohler’s  Vault Apron-Front Sink

Installation of these sinks is easy and creates very clean lines. Kohler has great “how-to” videos on their site that walks you through the process. It takes less than 30 minutes to install, and can be done by anyone.

As you can see it eliminates the front countertop…this is SMART! Apron-front sinks also solve a much more critical issue: The front edge of most sinks is a thin countertop piece. Do the math…if a typical cabinet box is 24” deep, the countertop is normally 25.5” deep. If the sink is 20” deep, this leaves only 5″ of countertop…divided by two for front/rear leaves only a fragile 2.5” wide countertop piece in the front and rear of the sink. And the rear piece will be drilled for a 1.375″ faucet hole, and maybe air-switches, soap dispensers, etc. Not good. Cabinet fronts are usually nothing more than a non-structural decorative trim element. Disaster looms if you should press down too hard on the front countertop piece. The counter will crack and need to be replaced with a matching color/pattern. Apron sinks are also much better at taking the impact from pots/pans reducing the risk of chipping an exposed glass surface on the front. We like these sinks so much I installed them in my own home, and suggest that they be given your highest consideration when shopping for your kitchen  glass countertop sink.

When using LED’s along the backside of the glass, any sink is going to prevent the light from illuminating the front glass piece…creating a dark piece of glass. By using an apron-front sink we eliminate that imperfect situation. We can also place an LED around the perimeter of these sinks to cast lighting outward, eliminating dark spots. In some island pieces, this may be the ONLY lighting option available, and is a simple, elegant solution.

For glass countertops with bar sinks the Ruvati 15″ Bar Sink is perfect.

When using these sinks in the middle of our glass countertops, they allow us plenty of room to have structurally thick pieces fore and aft. This is critical to glass countertops in busy homes. We use a technique of adding an additional LED and controller to the front of the sink and adjust the lighting brightness so that it is very close to the brightness of the rear LED.

With our Bluetooth controlled LED strips, this is a very simple operation, and creates a visually seamless look where sinks must be integrated into the glass countertop. See below from 2 of our installations

Ruvati Top-Mount bar sink with LEDs

Ruvati Top-Mount bar sink with LEDs Outdoor KitchenContact:   Jeff Downing     8813-784-5211             email:   Jeff@DowningDesigns.com

Ruvati Bar Sink In Glass Countertop

I appreciate your time reviewing these sink options for glass countertops. I hope that our vast experience with both Ruvati and Kohler has assisted you in your decision making process.

Jeff Downing   (813) 784 5211     Jeff@DowningDesigns.com

 

source https://downingdesigns.com/two-great-kitchen-sinks-for-glass-countertops/

Videos of Glass Countertop Installations.

How to Retrofit your Island with a Glass Countertop High Bar.

Many clients are interested in adding a Glass Countertop High  Bar to their existing kitchen island countertop. This is relatively easy to do if you pay attention to some simple rules and gotchas to avoid disappointment. Too many hideous looking support brackets are being sold as contemporary solutions, and they end up taking away from what should be a sleek, beautiful glass high bar, with nothing  to disrupt your hands, dishes, glasses, or vision from enjoyment.

Before jumping in, always create a scale plan and think about the following…see pictures of what we are trying to avoid at the end of this article.

1.  Will the current lower countertop and cabinets be able to withstand the weight of you high bar? If you choose a 129″ x 20″ x 1.5″ high bar as many do, this will add approx.  350lbs of glass to the island. Depending upon the support scheme, this may cause an issue.
2. How many supports will be needed to distribute the glass countertop high  bar weight evenly? This depends upon the structure again and the look you desire. At Downing Designs we create custom cantilevering supports for our glass countertops. These are elegant and have a smart engineering component that distributes the weight over a 12″ x 1″ length, without drilling the glass. If you choose individual metal standoffs,  you will have to drill several holes in the glass to ensure it is locked down at the rear and front. This is never elegant nor minimalist when you have to rig the glass with so mush superstructure that you lose sight of how simply beautiful is the glass.
3. Make sure that the supports for the glass are in concert with the thickness of the glass. There is a reason we get away with (2) supports for a 129″ x 20″ x 1.5″ glass high bar top…its THICK!  You could never do this with 1/2″ or 3/4″ glass.  Sooner or later it will crack under stress, and the risk of injury from broken glass is high.
4. Backpaint or no backpaint? That is important to consider if your supports are simply not pretty and need to be hidden. Backpainting glass precludes the transmission of light through the glass which can add an element of great drama to a setting.  If the support is a knee wall, then the cap atop the knee wall needs to be finished well. Low profile caps are then used sparingly to secure the glass high bar from shifting.
5. LEDs. Do you have glass countertops with LED’s attached to them?  If so you will want to make sure that the wiring is as hidden as possible. At Downing Designs, we cleverly hide the wiring by pre-drilling a hole in one of our support posts, and then running it through the lower countertop. Only the last 1-2″ of wiring is exposed at the rear of the countertop. Its as minimalist as can be.
6. Where should the supports, sinks and faucets be placed? It depends upon the design of the high bar, the position of the sink and/or faucet, and the ribs of the cabinets underneath. If we are to secure supports, it is wise to distribute the torque they will exert by using large washers…2-4″ square is best. You cannot place these supports in line with the cabinets ribs without having to do a lot of wood work to secure them. This is why we look to the cabinet drawings for initial placement ideas…and keep holes at least 3 ” away from cabinet ribs.

In the hands of experienced professionals, glass high bar retrofits do not need to be daunting…you just need to let us walk you through the process.

Thank you.

Jeff Downing (813) 784 5211

1. 

   Low Profile Caps to attach glass high bar to a knee wall

   

   Glass High Bar with 2 supports. 129″ x 20″ x 1.5″

   

   You will hit your knee on this unnecessarily HUGE bracket

   

   Reminds me of Sherwood Forest with so many supports

   

   With so many elements on this top, how can I sit 4 people?

source https://downingdesigns.com/how-to-retrofit-your-island-with-a-glass-countertop-high-bar/