Last Updated on January 11, 2024
Home is where the heart is.
But it’s also where we spend the majority of our lives. In fact, according to research, we spend approximately 62% of our waking hours at home, up from 50% before the pandemic. Passing so much time between four walls can seem like quite a daunting prospect, but to us, it simply emphasises the importance of creating an environment that not only meets our functional needs but enhances our overall well-being too.
Consider, for instance, the layout of your kitchen. If it has been well-designed appliances will be ergonomically easy to reach – flanked by ample storage space – which makes the process of creating your favourite dish a straightforward one. But how can this space improve your wellness? How can it contribute towards positive mental well-being on top of its optimized functionality?
The world of architecture provides plenty of answers, but there is one particular feature that stands out above all others, able to aesthetically enhance your design, connect one space to another while providing privacy, and invite an abundance of beneficial natural light from one side of your home to the other.
We are, of course, talking about interior glass walls.
30 years ago, these structural elements belonged exclusively to the realm of commercial development and open-plan office space. As their design developed, however, and our understanding of how natural light can benefit us progressed too, glass walls were quickly adopted by residential architects who were keen to take their designs to the next level, delighting clients wherever they went.
To understand the reasons why you might consider adding interior glass walls to your home, it’s important to define exactly what they are.
What is an interior glass wall?
An interior glass wall is a floor-to-ceiling piece of structural glazing that has been deployed to separate one internal space from another. Unlike traditional brick-and-mortar or plaster walls, an interior glass wall allows light to permeate between rooms and can be customized to meet your aesthetic and privacy requirements. You can choose to incorporate switchable glass that can change from opaque to transparent at the click of a button, allowing for its use in sensitive areas such as bathrooms or bedrooms.
Having defined what an interior glass wall is, it’s now time to look at the reasons why you might choose to incorporate one or more into your renovation, restoration or building project.
What are the reasons for adding interior glass walls to your home?
There are lots of benefits to installing glass walls in your home. We’ve chosen just six that we think are the most compelling.
Increased natural light
Natural light is very good for us; it helps our bodies to produce vitamin D, optimizes our natural circadian rhythm, improves our sleep pattern, helps us to be more productive and contributes towards our overall well-being.
In short, exposure to natural light makes us happier and healthier.
But there is a danger with many homes that one side will be bathed in glorious sunlight, while the other is gloomy, maybe even oppressive, blocked off from the UV rays by opaque walls and doors.
Installing interior glass walls removes these obstacles – or at least reduces them – improving the consistency of sunlight throughout your home. Imagine waking up in a sunlit bedroom, passing into that ergonomically designed kitchen to make your cup of coffee and sitting down to drink it in a north-facing living room, all the while accompanied by sunshine. It’s an idyllic picture and one that has driven architects to create some seriously sublime spaces.
As well as being good for us, natural light – transported by glass walls – can also enhance the true colours of your furnishing and interior design choices. It can also help us to see otherwise hidden patterns and textures, and even make a space feel far larger than it really is.
Ask any architect what the most important features of a project are, and they will likely respond with ‘ an abundance of natural light’. For them, internal glass walls are their friends.
2. A sense of openness
We, as humans, are social animals, but we’re also quite complicated. On the one hand, we like to feel connected to those around us, evolutionarily recognising strength in numbers and often depending on our interactions with others for our well-being; but on the other hand, we also appreciate space, enjoying the escape that comes with spending time in another room, engrossed in a particular hobby or pastime.
With the addition of interior glass walls, we can very much have our cake and eat it too. We might sit by ourselves in the living room, for example, lost in a popular paperback or enjoying our favourite band’s latest album, but we can also look up and see our loved one in the next room, appreciating time in their own space without the audio from one activity spoiling the experience of another.
3. Modern aesthetics
The clean lines and minimalist design of interior glass walls create a captivating contemporary backdrop for your modern living. These pieces of structural glazing contribute simplicity to your home, naturally enhancing the impact of colourful furnishings and other decorative choices, allowing these to take centre stage.
What’s more, by keeping things simple and effective, you prevent your home renovation, restoration or building project from appearing tired and dated in 20 years’ time. Instead, by incorporating glass walls, you promote a sense of timelessness ensuring that your decor is as popular today as it will be in decades to come.
4. Energy efficiency
Long gone are the days in which glass is considered an energy-inefficient building material. In our modern era, thanks to technological advancements such as double or triple glazing, low-emissivity coatings, thermal bridges, and innovative framing materials, this architectural solution is as efficient, if not more so, than traditional bricks and mortar.
If you’re worried about warmth leaving your home a little too easily in a fully open-plan layout, glass walls can provide a perfect solution, giving the impression that the space is much larger than it is, whilst also trapping warm air in winter and letting it out in summertime. These walls look great aesthetically, but so too will your energy bills at the end of each month.
5. Versatility
If you were to ask us what the best thing about interior glass walls was, we would have to say their ability to complement any property from any era. A modern apartment, for example, lends itself perfectly to the contemporary nature of floor-to-ceiling glazing, whereas a rustic farmhouse benefits from the contrast between old and new – almost as if you are breathing new life into an existing space.
But why are glass walls so versatile? Well, the reason is likely to be one that we’ve already seen in this blog post; interior glass walls are simple and sleek, encouraging other design elements to come to the fore. Glass walls don’t necessarily want to take centre stage – they’d much rather your rough cut stonework that is a central element of your farmhouse restoration, or your mustard seating area that characterizes your modern apartment took that role instead.
6. Increased property value
Studies have shown that the addition of a unique feature can increase the value of your property by as much as 10 per cent. Furthermore, one of the most popular features that buyers are looking for is reportedly an open-plan space kitchen-dining-and/or-living area. For the reasons that we have already explored in this blog, it should come as no surprise that the addition of interior glass walls can impact the value of your home.
If a buyer is viewing six houses back-to-back, one with traditional bricks and mortar or plaster walls is likely to blend in with the others when they have their debrief at the end of the day over a glass of wine. Your home, the property with internal glass walls is going to stand out, potentially putting it at the top of their list and influencing their offer considerably.
Conclusion
Whether you want to boost beneficial natural light, enhance your energy efficiency, or increase the price tag of your property, interior glass walls are a great way to achieve all of these things and more. While we could wax lyrical about their impacts all day long, we believe the reasons to incorporate structural glazing are crystal clear.
