Where can I add stained glass besides the front door?

The front door is where most people start, and for good reason. It's the first thing you and everyone else sees, and a leaded glass panel there changes the whole feel of a home. But it's far from the only place stained glass belongs. What usually happens is that once a homeowner puts one panel in, they start noticing openings all over the house that could use the same thing. Here's where leaded glass tends to work beautifully beyond the front entry.

Transoms above doors and windows

The transom is the horizontal panel above a door or a window, and it's one of the most natural places for stained glass. It sits up high, so it catches light and adds colour without affecting your privacy or how the door works below it. A lot of Toronto homes were built with leaded transoms over the front door originally. If yours has been replaced with plain glass, putting a leaded panel back is one of the simplest ways to bring the character back.

Sidelights beside the front door

Sidelights are the tall, narrow windows on either side of a front door. They can be designed to match the door panel as one composition, or done on their own if the door itself doesn't have glass. Because they run alongside the entry from top to bottom, they're also one of the spots where privacy matters most, which is worth keeping in mind when you're choosing the glass.

Interior doors and room dividers

Stained glass doesn't have to face the street. A leaded panel set into an interior door, or into a wall between two rooms, lets light pass between spaces while still giving each room some separation. This works especially well between a kitchen and a living area, or in a home office where you want borrowed light from the rest of the house without the room being wide open. If you've got a room that's changing its purpose, an interior panel is a lovely way to give it its own character.

Stair and landing windows

The window on a stair landing is often plain and overlooked, but it's one of the most seen windows in the house. You pass it every time you go up or down, and it's frequently visible from the front hall. A leaded panel there becomes a quiet focal point that catches the light and moves colour through the stairwell as the day goes on.

Kitchen cabinets and built-ins

Leaded glass in the upper doors of a kitchen cabinet, a pantry, or a built-in hutch adds a handmade detail to a room that's usually all hard surfaces and straight lines. It's a smaller use of stained glass, but a beautiful one, and it's a nice way to bring some craft into a kitchen without committing to a full window.

Bathrooms and bedrooms

Anywhere you want daylight but not sightlines is a good candidate. Bathrooms are the obvious one, but bedrooms and any ground-floor room facing the street benefit too. With the right textured glass, you keep the light and lose the exposed feeling. That's a whole subject on its own, and one of the most practical reasons people add leaded glass in the first place.

Hanging panels, if there's no opening to work with

If there's a spot where you want stained glass but no suitable window to build into, a hanging panel is the answer. I can build a leaded panel sized to hang in front of an existing window, secured with trim so it reads as part of the wall, or as a freestanding piece. It's also a good route if you're renting, or you simply don't want to alter the original opening.

The best way to figure out where stained glass will work in your home is to walk through it together and look at the light and the openings you've got. I offer free consultations for homeowners across Toronto, including The Junction, Baby Point, High Park, Roncesvalles, The Annex, Rosedale, Parkdale, and Dovercourt, and I'm always happy to point out the spots you might not have considered.