Glass Bathroom Screen. Types, Design, Interior Application

Creating an interior of such a multifunctional room as a bathroom, every detail is important. An important design element is the screens for a bath or a shower cabin. These are glass doors that protect the rest of the space from water. Choosing the material, size, design, way of fastening and opening of shower screens are very important moments creating convenience, functional and beautiful style of the room. Let us consider in more detail the options for creating a reliable and practical separation of the premises from the shower or bath area by the example of a selection of a wide variety of design projects for bathrooms. The article’s subject is related to shower cabins, but here we will explore glass bathroom screen. Types, design, interior application, advice, and real-life photos of successful interiors.

Contents:

• Pros and cons
• Types of glass shower screens:
  • Folding screens
  • Sliding screens
  • Swinging doors
  • Static screens
• A variety of designs

Bath Shower Screen. Pros and Cons

Glass is very practical and convenient to use the material. It can easily be used in the bathroom, without disturbing its aesthetics and even transforming the space. This material has excellent moisture resistance and is resistant to temperature changes. But this isn’t all its advantages. So, a few undeniable advantages of using glass screens in the bathroom:

• screens protect the entire space of the bathroom from moisture from the shower or bath;
• it’s easy to take care of glass surfaces, you can use household chemicals and the surface will not lose its aesthetic appearance;
• durability, wear-resistance, and practicality of the material;
• the glass surfaces are not prone to the formation and spread of the fungus;
• it is not difficult to choose the screens of the desired size and shape;
• a variety of design options: you can choose a smooth glass or corrugated, transparent or matte, toned or with a picture, photo printing, decorated with stained glass, laser engraving;
• safety even when it’s broken – thanks to a special film on the screens, it is impossible to cut on the screen’s shards;
• the tempered glass is very strong, resistant to shock and mechanical impact.

Glass screens have only one significant disadvantage, compared with polycarbonate and acrylic surfaces, plastic products,  a high price.

Types of Screens for Bath or Shower

In modern bathrooms to protect the segment with the highest humidity (bath or shower) from the rest of the room, one of four types of glass screens is used:

• folding;
• sliding (door-compartment);
• swinging;
• static

The type of screen is chosen based on the design of the room, its dimensions, the possibility of implementing a particular type of door opening (depending on the amount of free space in front of the shower or the bathroom). The type of screen also depends on the size of the zone with the highest humidity, from the dimensions of the bath or shower.

In addition to the separation by the type of opening, all screens can be classified into products with a frame and without it. Frame models are glass sheets inserted in a plastic or metal frame (metal is most often used as the most durable and long-life material). Frameless screens are glass products with accessories for fastening and opening.

Folding Screens

Folding glass screens are not a popular option for fencing a zone with high humidity in the bathroom now. Before the wide-spreading sliding door, folding screens were often used in small rooms. Folding several times the folding screen takes up little space. Glass sheets connected by hinges are often framed by a frame. As a result, the production of such a screen requires more material and its cost increases, which means that the market price also increases.

Sliding Screens

A quite popular way to open screens in the bathroom is sliding. This method is widely used everywhere – from the opening of interior doors to the way of storage in cabinets. The way of opening by the “sliding” principle is convenient for doors or screens because there is no need for additional free space. The glass cloths move along the guides. This is an excellent opportunity to organize zoning in small rooms with a deficit of useful areas.

Sliding doors can be presented both in a frame version (the most common model that is easy to use) and are sheet glass equipped only with fittings. Frame models can not have handles. The screen’s frame can be used to impart a movement of the sheet glass along with the guide. In products without a frame doorknob are usually provided for convenience in use and fewer amount of hand marks on glass surfaces.

Sliding doors can lean against the bathroom floor (or pallet), enclosing the shower area in the bathroom or toilet in a combined bathroom …

Or rely upon the surface of the bath, forming something like a hydro massage shower cabin for someone who likes creating uneasy protection for the rest of the room from water splashes, but also the steam room effect during the adoption of water procedures …

Swinging Doors

Screens with swinging doors look like ordinary doors, but they are made from glass. You need a lot of free space to comfortable use this type of door for a shower or a bath. If the screens open outwards, you should have a lot of space in front of the booth or bathroom. If the doors open inward, then you should have quite a spacious hydro massage shower cabin. In short, the swing type of glass door is suitable for medium to large-sized bathrooms.

In terms of design, swing doors can have many options: clear or matte, tinted or patterned, embossed or smooth, with photographic printing or monophonic. There are a variety of doorknobs and accessories. They have to be combined with the rest of the interior accessories of the bathroom.

Static Screens or Screen panel

A static-type door is a glass panel screen attached to the floor (in the case of a shower cabin) or to a bath, also it can be fixed to the ceiling. On the one hand, you get a place for water procedures that is not completely closed from the rest of the room (it’s good for those who are afraid of enclosed space). On the other hand, the width of the static screen is sufficient to prevent splashes from the shower from getting onto clothes and interior items outside the segment with the biggest humidity.

One of the advantages of static screens- fences: they are suitable for absolutely any style of the interior design of a bathroom of any size. A clear screen panel can be installed for both shower enclosure and bathtub, in a spacious bathroom, or in a small room for water procedures. If you do not want to puzzle over the design, you could just choose a rectangular sheet of transparent glass. You can be sure that it integrates equally seamlessly into a small bathroom decorated in a modern style or a large room that is made in classical stylistics.

The screen panel made of glass has a laconic and versatile appearance. It is easy to install and subsequently operate this screen. Caring for a glass surface without accessories and frames is incredibly simple. You should just use a cleanser for glass and a soft sponge. Also, you should dry the surface after finishing water procedures that the screen serves you for many years without losing its shining appearance.

A Variety of Design Options for Glass Screens

So, you have chosen the size of the glass screen, its type of opening or a stationary version. It’s time to choose the design of the glass screens. Of course, you should consider the style of bathroom’s design, attracting attention to the screens, harmoniously merging this element into the overall view of the room.

One of the simplest, concise and universal options is a transparent glass sheet without accessories. The option is indeed a win-win, but it’s rather trivial. What is it possible to diversify the appearance of such a simple but at the same time important element of the bathroom’s interior, like a glass screen? For example, you can choose the original form of the screen – any deviation from the traditional rectangle will be a small step on the way to creating a unique interior.

To keep the privacy of the shower area you should use screens made of frosted glass. If a shower and a toilet are combined in one room, such variant is in incredible demand for large families. Especially its advantages can be felt in the mornings and evenings in the midst of preparing for bed when the bathroom can be used by more than one household simultaneously. While someone enjoys water procedures, hiding behind the opaque surfaces of glass screens, other family members can brush their teeth.

The surface of the screens may be matte to a certain level. The combination of transparency and opacity in the manufactures can look laconic and original.

Tinted glasses look great in the modern style of the interior design of the bathroom.

Glass with a pronounced texture looks original and elegant. Whether it’s just relief or any drawing – it will bring sophistication into the bathroom interior.

Glass with pictures looks more spectacular. Currently, there are many special techniques that allow you to apply absolutely any image on the glass surface. Screens with a picture will become an accent element of the bathroom’s interior inevitably.

Carved golden accessories of the screen will be appropriate for the Classical style, Baroque and Moroccan. Original chromed elements of bath shower screen accessories can decorate the modern interior of the bathroom.