Are you ready to upgrade your shower door glass, but not sure where to begin? While considering your options, it is useful to ask yourself several questions: How important is privacy to your shower enclosure? What is your aesthetic preference? How critical is a shower door that is simple to clean? For some people, functionality may outweigh aesthetics, while for others, it is critical that the artfulness of the glass door blend seamlessly with a pre-existing pattern or bathroom theme. Contemplate where on the spectrum your priorities might fall as you consider the following styles of shower door glass.
Clear glass
Clear glass is the shower door material you are most likely to encounter in any given traditional home. This glass is popular not only because it fosters the passage of light, promoting a feeling of openness, but also it is incredibly easy to maintain. Clear glass looks much like the glass in a window, but is actually quite a bit thicker. Because of its minimalist appearance, it does not distract from other features in the bathroom, and helps to show off surrounding tiles, inlays, or frames.
Low iron glass
Although clear glass is one of the most popular shower door material options, its manufacturing process can impart a slight greenish tint. For those who desire a door with greater clarity, low iron glass is a good choice. The reduced iron content translates into a colorless look, which allows greater transmission of light and creates the façade of a larger shower.
Frosted glass
Frosted glass is manufactured by acid etching or sandblasting one side of the glass panel to create a fine, artful texture. When the glass is frosted uniformly, it imparts a smooth and soft appearance, allowing filtered light to penetrate while providing a buffer of privacy. Frosted glass is often available in various colors, and might also contain a design or pattern using alternating frosted and clear glass.
Rain glass
Like frosted glass, rain glass presents a texture on one side of the shower glass, leaving the other side smooth. Patterns of crystal rain give this glass a unique decorative appearance, while functionally providing privacy. This popular style also functions to obscure fingerprints, watermarks, and other small marks typical of a shower environment.
Hammered glass
Hammered glass is another popular textured glass that presents consistent indentations on one surface, with the intention of evoking hammered metal. The glass texture has a decorative effect from outside the shower, while also creating a lovely pattern of light transmission when viewed from within the shower.
Tinted glass
Tinted glass shower doors may be dark and slightly opaque, in tones such as bronze, gray, or black, or it might come in more transparent and earthy tones, like aquamarine. Darker tints will promote privacy and allow less light transmission, while more earthy tints might complement aquatic themes or enhance marine motifs within the bathroom. Tinted glass is often a choice among people looking to create a visual barrier between the shower and the rest of the bathroom.
