Apron requirements
Based on its purpose, a kitchen apron should have the following characteristics: not attract dirt and dust, easy to clean, have a long service life, not be afraid of moisture and detergents, light rays, and look beautiful.
Kitchen apron made of panels
This apron is the most budget-friendly, the service life is short, and the aesthetic characteristics are also not high.
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Apron made of natural or artificial stone - This apron is the most expensive option, has excellent performance characteristics and is indispensable in the design of a modern interior.
Apron materials
Historically, it was made from ceramic tiles. But choosing tiles of the required color or pattern is quite difficult; very often it was necessary to equip this area with just white squares and decorate the surface manually.
Therefore, other materials began to be used to decorate the work area: PVC wall panels, metal.
But tempered glass is more popular.
Design possibilities of glass wall panels
Existing technologies make it possible to process glass in a wide variety of ways, both to give it improved strength and wear resistance, and to obtain decorative effects.
Frosted glass with lighting of different shades looks interesting. By sandblasting, used to obtain a matte surface, a pattern can also be applied to the panel. In the photo you can see how sophisticated the patterns on glass are, which can never be achieved on a plastic apron.
Clear wall solutions are useful when finishing a main wall with mosaic, luxury plaster or other material that can be very expensive to restore or repair. Expensive wallpaper can also be hidden behind glass.
It is important that the wall has no significant differences so that a transparent apron can be installed. The use of hardened material allows you to extend the service life of both the screen itself and the expensive finishing of the kitchen wall along the work set
Interestingly, sometimes they try to achieve the same effect with a more economical material - transparent plastic, but such an interior and work area in particular do not look as elegant as using glass.
- Stained glass windows made using different technologies look exclusive. For a kitchen work apron, you should choose the most proven solutions, for example, fusing, in which the details of the pattern are sintered. However, wall stained glass windows made by pouring paint will not be as resistant to heat and frequent washing.
- The surface of the tempered glass for the kitchen screen can be painted in any color. When organizing lighting, even monochromatic solutions look sophisticated.
- Mirror wall solutions look stylish, as can be seen in our selection of photos below. But they require constant maintenance in perfect cleanliness, since the slightest drops of both fat and water are noticeable on them. You can use a mirror glass mosaic to decorate the backsplash, but caring for it is even more difficult than ceramic tiles due to the presence of a large number of seams.
Aprons with a photo image have become a popular solution today. Wall panels from any material are produced with a photo: plastic, MDF, chipboard and even wood, although it is decorative in itself. But glass provides completely different design possibilities for applying images to the apron.
In the photo there is a natural motif on the skinaliAdvantages of a glass apron
In addition to the general requirements for an apron, glass products are a completely environmentally friendly material, they are particularly decorative and unique, they are combined with all other finishing materials, and you can use such an apron immediately after installation.
It perfectly reflects light rays, so the kitchen will be bright and light, and the space with such a product will visually increase.
Tempered glass cannot be accidentally broken and has a long service life.
A glass apron with photo printing allows you to create any design at the request of its future owner. The transparent surface will perfectly show the finishing of this area, making the apron an almost invisible surface.
A glass apron will allow you to provide additional illumination of the work area without unnecessary problems.
Note!
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Practical glass is easy to clean with plain water and is not afraid of liquid detergents. A surface with a pattern can make droplets of water and fat almost invisible.
The glass apron can be made in one piece, without seams.
The simplest glass splashback will cost significantly less to install than most other surfaces.
Advantages and disadvantages
Let's look at the advantages and disadvantages of a glass apron.
| pros | Minuses |
| Thanks to modern cleaning products, glass is easy to care for. | Expensiveness of the material. A glass panel is more expensive than tiles or chipboard. |
| Installing a glass splashback will take very little time. | The product requires dimensional accuracy. Its installation is carried out only after installing the headset. |
| Skinali allows you to realize any design ideas thanks to a huge selection of shades and patterns. | The apron is made to order and takes time to produce and deliver. |
| The glass surface looks light and unobtrusive, so it will fit perfectly into any modern interior. | The glass panel looks out of place in classic and “rustic” styles (country, Provence, shabby chic). |
You can learn more about its characteristics from this video:
Disadvantages of a glass apron
Making kitchen splashbacks from glass requires careful measurement of not only the height and length, but also the holes for sockets, pipes and other communication elements. It will be almost impossible to cut anything out later.
It is better to entrust the installation of the apron to professionals; before installation, the wall will have to be carefully leveled.
Note!
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All dirt will be clearly visible on the glass, so the product will have to be washed almost daily. Although a clean kitchen has never harmed anyone.
How to choose?
When choosing a glass apron, you should pay attention to some details:
- If you need a laconic and stylish apron to protect the wall, you should use a transparent panel that does not catch the eye. The glass surface will help protect wallpaper or paint when you don’t want to overload the kitchen interior with various textures.
- The standard height of the product is 60 cm, but there are manufacturers who can make the product of any size and shape.
- The panel can consist of several sheets or one solid one.
- The product is fixed either with special fasteners using through holes (transparent products can only be installed in this way), or with liquid nails.
What else you should pay attention to when choosing a glass apron, you can find out in this video:
Matte aprons
Frosted glass can be smooth or textured. An excellent design for a matte apron will be various patterns applied using sandblasting techniques.
In this way you can make inscriptions or patterns, simple drawings.
Note!
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Aprons with photo printing
Kitchen aprons made of glass with photo printing have become the most popular type of wall decoration for the work area. In this case, the selected image is drawn with special paints on the back of the glass.
The 3D effect will help make the image three-dimensional and alive, visually increase the space of the room, and create the effect of a panoramic window.
Illuminated apron
The glass apron will become even prettier and lighter with additional lighting.
To do this, LED strips are laid around the perimeter of the product. Such devices will not consume a lot of electricity, but will provide an unusual design.
Ribbons can be white or have different colors. The colored ribbons can be changed as desired, giving the kitchen a slightly different mood each time.
You can control the backlight with a regular switch, touch sensor or remote control.
LED strips are installed in a special profile or glued to the bottom of wall cabinets. If transparent glass is used, the LEDs are installed in a wall covered with a panel.
What kind of glass can I use?
Among all types of glass, the most suitable for finishing the kitchen work area are tempered glass and triplex. We will talk about them in more detail in separate subsections.
Regular wet glass is not recommended. If you break it, there is a risk of serious injury.
Tempered glass splashback
Its production technology has made it possible to create an impact-resistant material that will not crack or burst if heated.
Even if damaged, broken glass does not pose a danger: it crumbles into non-sharp pieces that cannot be cut on.
Tempered glass panels can also be installed in the gas stove area.
To achieve certain decorative properties, manufacturers subject the material to additional processing.
- By enameling it is possible to obtain a uniformly colored glass panel.
- By applying photo printing or vinyl film with an image, it is possible to obtain skins.
There are also other, less popular varieties of tempered glass.
- Optiwhite – tempered bleached glass. Ordinary tempered glass has a slightly greenish tint, which is especially noticeable against a light background. Bleaching allows you to get rid of extraneous casts, but this procedure makes the material twice as expensive.
For a light apron, choose Optiwhite glass.
- Frosted glass (satin) has a matte surface. Not the most practical material for the kitchen, because... very troublesome to care for.
See also a useful video about the pros and cons of a tempered glass apron:
Triplex
This option is ordinary silicate or tempered glass, glued in several layers. Between the layers there is a transparent or decorative film (including with any image), which holds the fragments in case the surface is damaged.
This option is inferior to the previous one, because has the same characteristics, but costs one and a half times more.
Cheap analogues - plexiglass or polycarbonate
For finishing the apron - the worst options. Essentially, this is the same plastic that quickly fades, gets scratched, and can become deformed over time with constant temperature changes.
They do not look as noble as natural material.
The only attractive factor in choosing acrylic glass is its low cost.
Installation of a glass apron
Installing such an apron is a troublesome and difficult task. So it is better to entrust this work to professionals. Not only are they responsible for the integrity of the coating, but they will also install it perfectly evenly and ensure the tightness of the apron space.
The advantage of glass will be its installation after the kitchen has been completely finished, so that the beautiful completion of the renovation will coincide with the completion of the installation work, and you can begin to use the home catering unit. The process itself will take an hour and a half, which is much faster than tiling.
There are three options for attaching a glass apron: using special fasteners, profile systems, or liquid nails.
The first option does not require leveling the wall and will be the most reliable method, but will slightly worsen the appearance.
The second method will allow you to place the wires without additional gating of the walls, but will require high-quality rough finishing.
Liquid nails will be the most unreliable, but fastest way to attach a glass apron.
A glass apron will perfectly complete the decoration of the kitchen and can become the most charming element of kitchen decoration. This will be proven by a photo of a glass kitchen apron.
