Glass blocks entered the scene with the industrial revolution.
Glass bricks as they are sometimes called bring a touch of contemporary atmosphere to our homes, a touch of modernity in areas where stone tries to maintain a more rustic ambience. They can be transparent or translucent, clear or colored, but they always play with light.
Whether you use glass blocks for a wall or even a partial wall, to enliven a fireplace or to create a simple separation, it can add a different appeal, a different look, even a different way to let in the light but keep your privacy.
A glass block is made up of two half blocks bound together by a heating process, with air trapped in the middle. This construction method makes them ideal as an insulation material, both protecting your room from heat gain or loss, and from noises.
They allow for light filtering and give small rooms a larger feel and appearance.
Care for glass blocks is easy, if used in a bath and steam is settling on them, simply use a sponge to wipe them clean, if in another area a little dusting once in a while or a light wash, as you would any other window, will do the trick.
It does not matter if your home decor is primarily wood, metal, stone, or even concrete, glass blocks fit with all materials.
What can you do with glass blocks?
They are esthetic and bright, decorative or discrete, you can use them anywhere you want.
In the kitchen : you could make an entire glass block counter that might become the central decorative element of the area. Bright colors, motifs or other types of tiles can be used with the glass to enhance your construction.
In the bath, you can create a glass block shower that will be distinct from the other areas in the bathroom, giving privacy yet allowing light and space to flow. A glass block wall can be built between a bath and a bedroom, giving you the feeling of a larger area yet separating the two.
Glass blocks windows can be substituted for regular windows, letting the outside light come in without offering any opening to the outside. Outdoors they can also be used on a patio as a wall or to decorate. Possibilities are only limited to your imagination.
You can visit a few sites and get more ideas of what has been done with decorative glass blocks
