Glass Top Dining Tables – Pros and Cons

Glass-topped dining tables convey elegance and style and can transform the whole look and feel of your dining room. Although glass can be a delicate material, it has advantages that set glass tables apart from other table types.

In this post, we discuss the pros and cons of custom glass top dining tables so you buy the one that best suits your needs, budget, and preferences.

Evaluating the Pros and Cons of a Glass Top Dining Table

The stylish appeal of dining tables with glass tops is not the only reason why homeowners prefer them. Below are a few other reasons why they are much sought after.

Pros

Contemporary and Elegant Look
A glass tabletop complements almost every modern interior design theme. It adds an elegance and formality appropriate to a dining room. You can combine glass with wood, leather, high gloss, chrome, and other glass furniture items to create a balanced look. As manufacturers offer a variety of tinted glass hues, it should not be difficult to find the shade you want.

Increased Visual Appeal 
Investing in a beautiful glass table adds visual appeal to your dining room. It accentuates the colour, design, and beauty of the base material (metal or wood) which takes your interior décor a notch higher. Because of its transparency, glass never overshadows your room’s charm. Glass tables should be paired with good-looking dining chairs to make them fully visible. An eye-catching area rug under your table will give your dining room a unique look.

Luminescence
Glass is known for its transparency and the way it distributes light in a room. It instantly brightens a room and gives the space a lighter vibe. If you have a small dining room that does not receive sufficient natural light, a glass table can be a great addition as it makes the space look bigger and wider.

Versatility
Glass dining room tables come in a wide variety of patterns and styles compared to other table materials. Some glass tables come with different base materials such as wrought iron, wicker, chrome and wood. As glass is not always colourless and clear, you can tint or frost it any colour you want. Moreover, glass can be cut into most shapes. Thus, you can always get custom glass tabletops suited to your needs and preferences.

Because glass top dining tables are versatile, you may incorporate them into different styles of home decor. They are not only great options for modern and contemporary decor but also for traditional and vintage homes.

Durability
Are you looking for a durable table for your dining room? Choose a glass table with a tempered glass top. This type of glass is manufactured at very high temperatures and cooled under conditions that make it highly resistant to breakage and scratches.

Environmentally-Friendly
This is one of the key advantages of a glass-top dining table. If the glass is damaged or broken, it will not add adds harmful chemicals to wherever it is disposed of. Plus, glass is easily recycled.

Easy Cleaning and Maintenance
It is very easy to clean and maintain a glass dining room table. Wipe it regularly with a damp cloth to keep it in good shape. If spills occur, a simple wipe is enough. Glass also does not tarnish or fade over time, so there is no need to use cleaning products to retain the its original shine.

Cons

Regular Cleaning
Glass is prone to dust, fingerprints, smudges and spills which detract from its beauty if not cleaned regularly. A little dirt or leftover food on a glass dining room table is pretty noticeable. Wipe away stainsright away so you do not have to work harder to do it later. Dissolve a small amount of baking soda in warm water and wipe the solution all over the tabletop. It is advisable to place hot food and beverages on coasters or placemats to avoid marks.

It Demands Beautiful Flooring and Home Decor
A dining table with a glass top requires good flooring because everything underneath is visible. Moreover, you need beautiful matching dining room chairs that leave a positive impression on visitors. If you don’t have great chairs, consider another table option for your dining room. This is less expensive than changing your flooring and interiors.

Dangerous
A glass dining room table can be a safety hazard for children and pets if it breaks. Sharp edges can injure passers-by, so, for safety reasons, it is best to invest in oval or round tables without sharp edges. A tempered glass top is the safest option as it is the least likely to break and cause accidents. Use coasters and placemats to hinder damage to the glass.

Expensive
Dining room tables and other furniture items made with glass are expensive depending on the kind of glass used. Tempered glass costs more than other materials but is an excellent choice as it is chemically and thermally formulated to prevent breakage. Glass tabletops come in many contemporary designs and styles but cost more than tables made of other materials.

3 Vital Factors to Consider Before Buying Custom Glass Top Dining Tables
Below are a few key factors to keep in mind before buying a dining table with custom glass tops for your home.

Design
These dining tables come in diverse designs, with the most common ones complimenting traditional and contemporary designs. Some homeowners prefer designs such as retro, transitional or rustic. Make sure you choose one that best suits your home’s decor and your lifestyle.

Shape
Although glass top dining tables come in multiple shapes, rectangular ones are standard. These offer additional seating and accommodate a large number of people. Oval and round tables with glass tops are also popular among homeowners.

Quality
Glass table tops come in different levels of quality so always choose your best-quality option. Most glass top dining tables are made from clear or glossy glass. The glossy ones are painted with pictures or lines, with the glass held on a very strong base made from marble, metal, wrought iron, or oak.

Prices
As mentioned, the prices of these tables depend on the type and quality of the glass being used. For example, a simple glass top dining table is less costly than a more luxurious one. The bases of luxury glass tables often employ sculpture made with jade, silver, or even gold. These artistic designs further enhance their costs.

These are the pros and cons of installing dining tables with custom glass topsention to the key factorsay attne for your space. If you are still unsure about choosing th you should consider when buying oin your Toronto home. Pe right glass table for your dining room, contact Academy Glass. We offer high-quality glass tables and other glass solutions for your home at the most competitive rates. Read our reviews to see how we serve our customers. Feel free to contact us when you need us.

 

About a year ago we purchased a new wooden kitchen table. Upon its arrival, I noticed that it didn’t have a thick clear coat like tables I’ve owned previously. My children are SUPER messy when they eat, especially with their cereal for some reason, so that means we have a constant mess on our kitchen table. Naturally, I started looking for a way to protect our new wood table from the mess. I searched around the internet a bit to see if you should use glass to protect a wood table, but didn’t come up with much information. I decided it would be the best solution anyway, ordered a custom piece of glass, and regretted it since day one. After reading this, you may still decide a glass table protector is right for your situation. I’m just here to tell you some of the reasons you might not want to go that route.

So let’s get straight into the “should you use glass to protect a wood table?” question.

I’ll answer that question with some other questions: Would you want a mirror as your tabletop? What would cleaning and maintaining that be like? Well, I don’t know if it’s just because the wood on my table is dark, but that’s what it felt and looked like to me. The highly reflective surface with the dark background means it shows every fingerprint, every crumb, and every streak even after cleaning it. I’ve got four kids that are constantly touching the table and putting dishes on it, which means my pretty table looked like garbage 24/7.

The only way to get it really clean was to use window cleaner, and even then it was still streaky and ugly. Some of this is on the surface, but a lot of it is also trapped underneath the glass that I couldn’t even get to for cleaning.

When the glass company first brought the glass over, they brought some clear spacers to go underneath. The spacers are supposed to allow airflow under the glass so it doesn’t ruin the tabletop. Well, that just made the top look even uglier, and the kids kept spilling stuff that would slide under the glass. I thought taking the spacers out would help, but it didn’t at all. No matter what I did, the food, especially anything liquid, still got under the glass. That spot on the left where the spill goes all the way to the edge goes under the glass, and the spot below it is actually under the glass. This happened daily with my kids.

Those wet spots mean I had to slide the heavy glass, carefully lift it, and clean and dry under it any time there was a spill. It was seriously the biggest pain, and sounds way easier said than done!!! And even after all that, the edges still had a constant supply of crumbs that somehow managed to make their way UNDER the glass! How does this even happen?! There were no spacers being used when I took these photos!

What did I do about it?

So I finally decided about a month ago that I’d had enough of fighting with this thing, and I’d rather have a ruined table. I took the glass off and gave it away on marketplace. I put a clear coat of something on it that I actually don’t recommend, so I won’t tell you what it was. Even though the clear coat I put on it doesn’t make it look great, it still looks a million times better than that stupid piece of glass that I had on it for a year. It’s so much easier to clean! Now we are using place mats and the the spills actually wipe up much easier. It’s not a perfect solution, but better than the glass.

What should I have done instead?

Bought a different table! Seriously though, I wish I had done a little more research and gotten something that had a better clear coat on the top to begin with. If you’re already stuck with a table that doesn’t have that, try looking up finishes you can apply yourself. I think I probably should have gone with a coat of polyurethane or varnish instead, but I was too irritated to research any more options. Glass for the table should NOT have been something I considered with my messy kids, so maybe it would work if you don’t have kids?? …but then you probably wouldn’t need to protect your table anyway, so maybe it should just never be an option.

Have you tried glass on a wood table? Did you love it? Hate it? Think I’m crazy and my kids are slobs? One or both of those might be right. Anyway, leave a comment with your suggestions and maybe we can collectively come up with a solution to have a nice looking kitchen table with kids. I’d love some other options!