Downing Designs: Custom Glass for a Kitchen Island in Clearwater, FL…a very interesting case study

We love clients that bring us their creative ideas and engage us to bring their custom Custom Kitchen Island glass high bar to life.

Freida was one such client. She had a very defined idea about an organic shape and the way the textural flow should flow inside the piece. We digitized her sketch and waterjetted her outline exactly as she wanted…in cardboard first. This cutout was placed in our kiln sand bed where we scribed the outline. The texture for this piece was done in her presence, and after much give and take we were satisfied with the texture for this unusual piece.

The 1.5” thick glass top was fused and annealed in our oven for 5 days. We then took the template and placed it atop the oversized fused glass, and scribed exactly where the waterjet would cut. We then hand-polished the curvaceous edge to perfect optical clarity with a soft roundover all around. No CNC machine can equal the quality of hand-polishing…especially with textured glass. The resulting edge allows the client to peer inside the glass…it is magnified, and an exceptionally interesting view to behold.

The plan called for a three-legged support system, partially atop her kitchen island to a height of 42”.

We had our stainless steel fabricator create (2) 3.5” diameter steel tubes that were 40” tall, and (1) that is 4” tall. Upon these the glass would be secured. Three holes were waterjetted in the glass high bar for the Low-Profile Stainless Caps. The long posts were ruggedly secured to the floor, and the short leg through the island countertop.

Carefully shooting the floor with our laser-level made short work of a complex 3-D siting.

The glass was set in place. The result was magnificent. Soon after it was set, the sunshine beamed through her window and illuminated the glass in an exceptionally beautiful and unexpected way. Quite a stirring moment indeed.

We have attached a few pictures of this dramatic piece.