Glass & Mirror

A selection of specialist antiqued mirror and gilded glass finishes available for bespoke projects.

Most decorative glazing begins with float glass, the clear sheet glass produced by floating molten glass on a bed of liquid tin. Standard float glass carries a faint green cast that becomes visible at the edges and across larger sheets. Where colour neutrality matters, we specify low-iron (extra-clear) glass, which removes most of that tint and reads closer to true clear. It is the usual choice for back-painted panels and for glazing set against pale or neutral joinery.

Tinted glass is float glass coloured through the body in bronze, grey or green. The tint deepens with thickness, so the same glass reads lighter in a thin pane and darker in a heavier one. Textured and patterned glass carries a rolled surface relief that diffuses light and obscures the view through it. Fluted and reeded glass, with its repeating vertical ribs, is a common choice for cabinet fronts and screens where privacy and a sense of movement are both wanted.

Back-painted glass carries a colour applied to the reverse face and sealed there, leaving the viewing face clean. The colour can be matched to a RAL or NCS reference, and low-iron glass is preferred so the painted shade reads accurately rather than shifting under the green of standard float. The result is a hard, wipeable surface with depth that a painted board cannot match.

A mirror is glass with a reflective metallic coating, usually silver, applied to the back and protected by layers of paint. Clear silver mirror gives a true, bright reflection. Where a warmer or quieter result is wanted, the mirror can be made on tinted glass: bronze mirror reads warm and gold, grey (smoked) mirror reads cool and muted, and both soften a reflection that clear mirror can make too stark in a furniture or panel setting.

Antiqued mirror, also called distressed or foxed mirror, is produced by removing or chemically reacting parts of the silver backing so the surface reflects unevenly. The effect ranges from lightly speckled to heavily clouded, with the spotting, veining and edge wear that older mercury glass develops over time. Because the ageing is applied by hand, no two panels are identical, and the degree of distress can be specified to suit the scheme. Antiqued mirror is decorative rather than functional: it is chosen for the quality of its broken reflection, not for a clear image.

Related gilded treatments sit alongside the mirror range. Verre eglomise applies metal leaf, typically silver or gold, to the reverse of the glass for a soft reflective ground, and leaf can also be laid over tinted or weathered glass for a more worked, irregular finish.

Glass is processed to suit where it sits. Annealed (standard) glass is fine for cabinet glazing and decorative panels that are not at risk of impact. Toughened (tempered) glass is heat-treated to several times the strength of annealed glass and breaks into small blunt granules rather than shards, which makes it the right choice for table tops, shelving and any surface that could be struck or sat against. Laminated glass bonds two panes with an interlayer that holds the glass together if broken, and it is used where a panel must stay in place after damage, such as some balustrades and overhead applications.

Antiqued and back-painted glass cannot be toughened after the decorative face is finished, because the toughening furnace would destroy the coating. Where strength and an antique effect are both required, the glass is toughened first and then antiqued, or the antiqued panel is laminated to a clear toughened backing. We confirm the right route for each panel during specification.

In practice the material is specified for splashbacks, cabinet and wardrobe fronts, display and bar shelving, decorative wall panels, screens and table tops. Edges are polished, bevelled or left as cut to match the surrounding detail, and panels are cut to tolerance and drilled as the fixing requires. Clear and back-painted glass wipe clean and resist heat and moisture, which suits kitchens and bathrooms. Antiqued mirror is best kept away from constant standing water, as moisture can lift the backing over time, so it is usually specified for vertical and decorative settings rather than wet horizontal surfaces.

It can, away from the immediate wet zone. The clouded backing is sensitive to standing water and steam over time, so we usually keep it clear of the area directly behind a tap or hob and recommend clear toughened or back-painted glass for those positions.

No two will be identical, since the effect is applied by hand. Panels are produced together and to an agreed degree of distress so they sit as a family, but the individual clouding and spotting will vary. That variation is part of the finish.

The reverse face is painted to a RAL or NCS reference of your choosing. We specify low-iron glass for colour-critical work so the shade reads true, and we can prepare a sample on the intended glass before the full run.

We work with all glazed surfaces, and this includes mirror, and in particular, antique mirror. Quite often we will work directly with suppliers of these specialist finishes an co-ordinate with them when a project requires these.