Developing a Design for a Custom Window:

Designing a custom window.- This is an exciting and fun process of starting from an almost infinite number of delightful possibilities to the final selection, execution, and installation of your custom panel or window. Enjoyable stops along the way include: choosing a design; choosing the glass (kid in a candy store time); to bevel or not to bevel; making the window (our job); and installation (where the paper drawing comes down and the wonder and magic of stained and beveled glass enters your home or building forever).

First step: Where? All the possibilities: front entry, front door, sidelights, transoms, any other doors, bathrooms, stairway window, cabinets kitchen or bath, and a myriad of other places limited only by your imagination. Want privacy and lots of light? No problem. Don't want to lose the view but frame and enhance it? No problem. Want to welcome guests to the elegance and splendor of your home? Our glass is perfect.

Alright. you've decided to enhance your home with beautiful beveled glass sidelights around your front door. The first step is to measure the windows as well as you can (don't worry, this is only for discussion purposes). Measure the horizontal and vertical dimensions of the siteline: this is from side to side & top to bottom of the glass you can see. If a ledge or rebate, where the panel would fit is obvious, measure that as well. Photos of the site are always helpful. Any ideas you may have of color, design, price etc... are valuable starting points. Perhaps you have a folder of windows you've seen in magazines or papers. Gather all of these things and make an appointment with Karen at the studio. At Sunflower Glass Studio you can see a number of large windows, as well as many photos of past commissions. We have an extensive library of our own drawings as well as many other source materials for you to see. Our best resource, however, is Karen, who can gracefully walk you through the design process, avoiding the many pitfalls along the way. This is the most important and challenging part of the process. It is also the most fun.

So! The vision is clear. The inspiration has occurred. You leave, knowing that Karen will begin on the drawings for your job, When the drawing is ready it's either mailed to you or you revisit the studio. Usually we pick glass at this point. If Geoff hasn't been out to measure the site and figure out the installation, we'll set that up now as well or you can get your own measurer/installer to take the true measurements of the window. We are then ready to start construction of your window. We will give you a time frame of how long the window will take to make and also if there is a back-up of work in progress before your job. We will then call with an installation date or talk to you about shipping it.

Pricing varies greatly depending upon the complexities of the design, types of leading and various extras like beveling, sand carving, frames, or crating. Generally the pricing runs per square foot. Simple geometries can start at $85 - $115 a square foot. Curlicue designs run at an average of $125 - to $150 per sq.ft. Botanicals are usually very complicated with small details which make them the precious pieces of work that they are. These designs can run $175 - $225 depending upon the details. Bevels are an added pricing at $2.00 a linear inch. These designs are hard to ball-park since we need to know the inches of bevels before the price can be determined. The average pricing can be from $275 - $450 per sq. ft. We also add a design fee to the job depending upon the hours of work and also a percentage to cover the glass and lead involved.

We have always tried to maintain fair, reasonable pricing for the work we do. We try to keep costs down but we do live in New Jersey and support a family. We will try to work within a budget if it is at all reasonable, simplifying a design to the budget. For the past twenty-five years we have strived to keep our quality high, our designs unique and detail as intricate as we can. Our desire is for a long lasting, beautiful piece of art glass for you and your heirs to enjoy forever.

	SUNFLOWER Glass Studio
				(877) 658-5400 • Contact Sunflower Glass Studio