Glass shelves provide an elegant, functional addition to your space when you want to upgrade your bathroom, patio room, bedroom, or living room. Also known as floating shelves, glass shelves come in different sizes and thicknesses based on the weight of items you plan to store. In addition, you could install a freestanding option or part of a conventional shelf system for customization.

Read on to discover the benefits of glass shelves and the factors to consider before purchase.

Benefits of Glass Shelves

Glass is a solid choice for shelves thanks to its maintainability, availability, and other benefits, as discussed below.

Easy to Clean and Maintain

Other than occasional sanitation, glass shelves don't require any other expensive maintenance. For example, you don't have to repaint or refinish glass shelves to keep them looking superb. This fact makes maintenance straightforward.

You should take a few minutes to clean your glass shelves with a soft, clean cloth and quality glass cleaner, but glass rarely stains. So, you get a brand new look after you clean, and your shelves continue to look fantastic for years.

Versatility in Interior Design

Glass shelves pair well with your current home's interior design aesthetic. Whether your home has an ancient, modern, or blended design, glass shelves still make an elegant appearance. Because glass shelves come in different design options, you'll likely find one that meets your current design needs. 

You could use glass shelves in all home areas. For instance, a storage area in your bathroom or a display area in your sitting room. Lastly, glass doesn't go out of style, so your glass shelves won't become obsolete.

Durability

Glass manufacturers make many glass shelves from tempered glass, whose durability properties are similar to wooden shelves. Like glass shower doors, you can increase the thickness of your glass shelves. A thick and tempered combination holds a considerable weight and resists impact. What's more, glass is immune to warping, rusting, and rotting.

Eco-Friendliness

The manufacture of glass results in minor emissions, but experts consider the process almost harmless to the environment. You can recycle glass; hence your glass shelves will create fewer carbon prints as the shelves don't end up in landfills. Also, glass consists of readily available sand as the main raw material.

Factors to Consider Before You Buy Glass Shelves

Glass shelves are a wise investment, but you have to go for the best type that suits your needs to make the best out of your investments. To get value for your money, consider the below factors.

Glass Quality

Go for high-quality material to enjoy value for your money and avoid frequent repair or replacement costs. Tempered glass provides the best quality option because the heat treatment during manufacture reinforces strength. As a result, you get durable glass shelves that are resistant to abrasion and breakages.

Thickness

While no standard thickness is required for glass shelves, the weight you want to hold determines the suitable thickness. If you are unsure of the right thickness, you could use a glass weight load calculator. The thicker the glass sheets used to make your shelves' slab, the more durable your shelves will be.

Safety

You wouldn't want your shelves to break and cause injuries or damage to items stored. Standard glass isn't very strong and breaks into sharp pieces, which threatens your household's safety. On the flip side, tempered glass withstands high temperatures and breaks into pebble-like pieces, so you are less likely to get a cut when tempered glass breaks.

Shape

The shape of the wall section where you want the shelves installed determines your glass shapes choices. For example, if you want to put the shelves in a bathroom corner, you could go for corner shelves. But, if you choose a triangular-shaped glass for a corner, you will likely underutilize your wall space.

Conclusion

If you want glass for shelves or other home or commercial areas, trust the experts at Monterey Glass Specialists Inc. You will get a wide variety of glass options ranging from boat glass to safety and plate glass.