Do your cabinets need a little something to set them apart? Are you looking for an update in your kitchen or laundry room that won’t break the bank? If so, frosted glass cabinet doors may be what you are looking for. The style, which is commonly used to create visual interest and to add privacy to exterior or interior doors, can also lend a beautiful stylized look to your cabinets.
What is Frosted Glass?
Glass is called frosted when it has been made opaque or semi-transparent instead of the traditional “clear as glass.” It still allows in light, but the effect is tempered. Industrially, glass is frosted by etching it with acid or by sandblasting. It is also possible to do at home using a number of methods ranging from permanent or temporary, from spray paint to glass adhesives.
3 Types of Frosted Glass
If you purchase glass that has been frosted industrially, it was likely done in one of three ways:
- Sandblasting—Sandblasted glass is created by spraying sand over a glass surface to lightly roughen it and slightly diminish its transparency. The method is the roughest of the three and has a greater risk of being slightly less uniform in its frosted appearance.
- Acid-etching—Acid-etched glass is made exactly as its name suggests: by using acid to etch the surface of glass. The treatment gives a more heavily blurred semi-transparency than sandblasted glass, but unlike its counterpart, it has a smooth and uniform texture.
- Satin—Satin glass uses either method (sandblasting or acid) to yield a barely frosted appearance. Satin glass will only slightly blur anything on the other side, instead of completely obscuring it.
Why Choose Frosted Glass for Your Cabinets?
There are a number of reasons to choose frosted glass for your cabinet doors, and they all come down to preference. The design choice offers privacy, which may not seem as much of a priority on cabinet doors as it does on a shower door. When you put frosted glass on cabinet doors, they don’t provide privacy in the usual sense. Though the interior of cabinets do not usually hide for modesty’s sake, frosting your cabinet doors is a good way to minimize the clutter of cabinets that regular glass doors reveal while still conveying a sense of openness in a room.
They also reduce glare, so if you are concerned about the amount of light reflected back into a room—or even into your cabinets and causing Grandma’s china to fade—frosted glass cabinet doors might be the way to go. The many different styles create visual interest, adding texture and offering the option to design the frosted area. Do you want the whole thing frosted or just the border? Perhaps you’d prefer a frosted motif that is echoed throughout the room’s design.
Frosting cabinet doors is an excellent way to give a room a new look without an extensive remodel. It is also cheaper than completely replacing cabinets and a lot less disruptive to the daily routine. It’s even possible to do it yourself.
How Do You Frost Cabinet Glass?
No matter what type of DIY method you plan to use to frost your glass cabinet doors, you must first clean the glass. The next step is to cover any wood, the cabinet body, and anything else you don’t want to frost. If you are only frosting a section of your glass pane, stencil out that shape and cover everything else. As you work, wear protective gear. Wear gloves and protective eyewear no matter which method you use.
Removable Adhesive
This is the easiest way to give your glass a frosted look. Frosted contact paper works like vinyl or other temporary stickables: cut to size, peel off the paper back, and stick the frosted window film directly to your glass cabinet doors, being careful to avoid air bubbles. This is a good method if you are not sure you want permanently frosted glass.
Spray Paint
This method to frost glass works like any other spray paint: may sure to cover any surface you are not frosting and lightly spray on the paint from an aerosol can. You control the opacity by the number of layers you apply. Be sure to protect your eyes when using this method.
Etching Cream
Etching cream is a permanent method to frost your glass. It eats into the glass in a way similar to professional treatments. This method may be the best for making small, controlled designs, but be careful to keep the cream from touching your skin, and test a small patch of glass before working on larger areas.
Frosted Glass Cabinet Doors with Out of the Woods Cabinetry
If you are looking for the perfect professionally frosted glass cabinet doors for you, look no further than Out of the Woods Cabinetry. Our installations are painless, and our product beautiful. Give a call to take a look.
