How to care for glass furniture

By law, all glass furniture for homes in the UK has to be made with toughened safety glass, making this type of furniture naturally heat resistant, safer, and more robust than you might think. Tempered glass can withstand higher temperatures and levels of force, although we do recommend using heat protective trivets if you plan to place hot serving dishes or crockery directly onto the surface. This type of glass can of course still break if you apply enough force, but if it does, it shatters into tiny pieces, leaving no large, sharp, dangerous shards. Although tables can be designed and made entirely of glass, sideboards must have a wooden carcass, but can feature glass panels and tops.

A great advantage of glass furniture is that it makes your space look larger, thanks to the transparent quality of glass - and it will help to reflect light, making it an ideal choice for darker rooms. It’s also a very timeless and stylish material to make furniture from, and offers a beautiful contemporary look. Glass is relatively low maintenance, and while you might have to clean it often to keep dust and fingerprints at bay, it’s very quick to do so.

The main disadvantage of glass furniture is that it will show marks easily - particularly sticky fingerprints or smudges. However, a routine of regular cleaning will keep these at bay! Because glass is a non-porous material, any spills, dust or dirt will just sit on top of the surface - making it super quick and easy to clean, particularly when compared to more porous materials like wood. While tempered glass is strong, it’s not as durable as some other materials, like stone or wood, so may not be suitable for some households - and scratches or chips will both be very obvious and compromise the overall strength of the glass, so it’s key to be careful not to drop anything heavy on your table. Because glass is transparent, it also demands attention to detail - there’s no hiding scruffy dining chairs or dirty floors under a glass dining table…!