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A glass apron is a 99% ideal choice and an excellent alternative to tiles, porcelain stoneware, stone and other types of wall panels for the kitchen. If you are thinking about buying this particular type of apron, then, most likely, you have already heard that there are many varieties of kitchen aprons made of glass on the market: skinali, triplex, plexiglass, optiwhite, satin, enamel... Let's find out what these words mean and what else you need to know before going to the store.
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.
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.
Purpose skinned
In addition to the aesthetic design of the kitchen, the main role of the apron is to protect the wall surface from dirt. And they cope with this in the best possible way.
Anyone who often cooks in the kitchen knows how quickly the area of the wall near the stove and sink gets dirty from splashing water, boiling and frying dishes. And if you don’t wipe it off right away, the plaque eats in, dries out, and removing it becomes problematic over time.
The kitchen work area from the table to the upper cabinets gets dirty especially quickly. It is to protect this zone that the skins are intended. The surface of the panels is smooth, which makes it possible to easily and quickly deal with any type of contamination using wet cleaning and the use of soft, abrasive agents.
Advantages 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.
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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.
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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.
UV painting
Ultraviolet printing on glass using varnish is characterized by applying the design directly to the panel. The materials used allow you not to worry about the quality of the image; it can be washed. It does not require additional coating, but the cost of this method of applying the image will be higher.
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.
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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.
Panel sizes
- The height of the apron in the kitchen is usually small - from 40 to 90 cm. The height under the hood can be greater, but in this case this part of the apron is combined with some other material, since it is not easy to make panels of a complex configuration.
- In principle, the length of the apron can be up to 5 m, but in practice the length is limited to 2–2.5 m. This is due not so much to the weight of such a wall plate, but to the impossibility of delivering it to its place. As a rule, the height and width of corridors and staircases do not allow carrying such voluminous products. Therefore, for large lengths, it is recommended to choose a composite apron, and to tightly join the slabs when laying them.
The corner apron is made in the same way - from at least two parts.
The thickness of the glass reaches 6–8 mm. If triplex is used, the value will be larger.
The photo shows an apron design with a green wall.
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.
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.
Kinds
Modern manufacturers offer a large selection of glass splashback models made using advanced technologies. The most popular of them should be considered in detail.
Clear glass panels
They are matte or transparent. The advantage of a transparent panel is that it is practically invisible, it completely dissolves on the surface and is not noticeable. At the same time, such an apron perfectly fulfills its main function - it provides reliable protection from moisture and dirt to a wall covered with wallpaper, painted or decorated in any other way. Frosted glass does not create glare and looks more discreet.
Panels with photo printing on glass
Such panels are called “skinali”. Any image that the kitchen owner likes is applied to the back surface of the glass, this is done using a special technology. The special ink used in this process does not fade in the sun, is not afraid of high humidity and can easily withstand temperatures up to 120 degrees. There is only one drawback of such a panel - the pattern can quickly get boring, and then you will have to completely reinstall the kitchen apron.
Painted Colored Glass Panel
This surface of the kitchen apron looks very bright and stylish. If desired, you can choose a color scheme that fits perfectly into the interior of the room. To make colored glass panels, the material stemalite is used, a pattern is applied to the inner surface of which, after which the glass is thermally treated. This surface will last a long time, remaining colorful and attractive.
Panel with a pattern printed on vinyl decorative film
This option is quite budget-friendly. A pre-prepared film with a pattern is applied to the inner surface of the glass panel. The disadvantage is that the film can fade over time, peel off or wrinkle. However, if you choose quality materials, this will not happen.
Panel made of triplex (tempered glass)
This kitchen apron is a structure made of laminated glass with different thicknesses. The pattern applied to it is perfectly protected from any external aggressive influence, since it is reliably “baked” in the middle of the glass “sandwich”.
It will be very difficult to break such a panel, because even with a strong impact it will simply become covered with cracks, but will not crumble. The disadvantage of this option for arranging a kitchen apron is the high cost of triplex and its impressive thickness. In addition, it is quite difficult to cut it to fit all the existing roof rails and sockets.
Mirror panel
This kitchen apron looks very aesthetically pleasing, and it visually increases the size of the room. Since not every person wants to admire their own reflection while cooking, mirror panels are not often installed in the kitchen.
