Home Decor: Free Stained Glass Design Ideas

Stained glass can be used in a variety of ways, from windows and doors, to lampshades, to decorative hangings. Here are some free stained glass designs and pattern ideas to compliment your home decor.

Stained glass can be used in a variety of ways, from windows and doors, to lampshades, to decorative hangings. Design ideas for stained glass can come from a variety of sources, including your own inspiration. The most common jumpstart for inspiration is to think of where the stained glass is going to be placed. For instance, fruit designs would fit well for a design inset into kitchen cabinets. A door panel may reflect either what it is opening into, or, what it is closing out. Picture the entry to a bookstore on a busy city street. A stained glass design filling the door could be a depiction of a mouse with book in hand, sitting in a quiet corner. This could be very enticing for the busy businessperson walking by, tempting them into the serenity of what lies behind the door. Alternatively, it could be a scene of skyscrapers visible from the inside. This bookstore sits on a tree lined, quiet town's street, the skyscraper scene giving inspiration to the book purchasers within, reminding them of the big world beyond.

Designs on smaller items, such as lampshades, could also be inspired by their surroundings. Ask yourself what style of background the item is going to be placed. If the item is of a more personal nature, such as an inset into a hand mirror, consider the person who is going to be the owner. Do they have a favorite color, item, style? Could these be incorporated into the design? A simple notebook is necessary when creating any designs, but more so when trying to create something such as this on a more personal note. Inquire into likes and dislikes, places the person has visited, pets, family, etc. You never know what answer might inspire the perfect design.

Photographs can be ideal design plates. A personal all time favorite piece, is a circular hanging, depicting the face and partial body of my pet silver fox. The design for the actual worked piece came from a close-up photo detailing all his different colorations. If you spent a vacation snapping pictures of lighthouses, waterfronts, horses, sunsets and sunrises, anything of interest whatsoever, these can all be delved into for design ideas. In addition, do not overlook a feature common in many computer photo programs. Microsoft Picture Photo Premium 9 for example has the option under Effects to choose a filter to overlay a photo, including one filter titled "˜Stained Glass'. With a bit of adjustment, you will be able to turn nearly any photo into a detailed pattern.

When looking for designs and inspiration for designs, one good way to know if something will work is to think of it as a "˜coloring book' picture. Would it lend itself to large areas of color? Will the lines separating the colors be too distracting from the overall picture? If you can answer no to both these questions, then the design has potential. On the subject of coloring books, you can often find good subjects within the pages of these. With the pictures already separated, they are great for beginning projects.

Some Idea Starters

Lampshade depicting a favorite vacation spot

Lampshade with detailed garden theme

Teacup and teapot design for a kitchen door

Kitchen cabinet doors detailing a style of cuisine

Bathroom cabinet depicting a luxury styled bathhouse

Windows on opposite ends of a room, one depicting a sunrise, one a sunset

Vanity set inlaid with children's names and birthdates

A free styled hanging for a reading room window depicting a line of books with favorite authors or titles

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