It wasn’t too long ago that stained glass felt fussy and traditional, and inevitably reminded us of church. But maybe you’ll change your mind once you’ve seen some of these modern takes on the colorful glass.
We love how O’Callaghan Studio designed this colored glass partition wall for a private room at Betty Bar in Sacramento, CA. It’s the perfect way to let light in from the front windows while still giving privacy.

Betty Bar by O’Callaghan Studio, Photography by Stephanie Russo
It’s also such a cool way to create privacy for bathrooms instead of the usual frosted glass. Most homeowners want more light in their bathrooms, but really don’t want to give the neighbors a show. The solution is usually smaller windows set up high, but these panels really give a vibe to each of the bathrooms and it’s such a surprise.
And if you want to show off a little more, these divided panels are fantastic in this kitchen from Reath Design. It gives an updated youthful energy to this older home.
Can you imagine the drama of serving drinks to your friends at this show-stopping bar? I mean, come on! It’s practically guaranteed to make the martini taste better.
Some of you might be a little scared to introduce this much color into something so permanent, so why not try something interesting like this panel of rondels? We had a local glassmaker build this panel for an existing transom window in a closet to give some privacy. You can see more of this in our Old World Bedroom project.

Wrensted Interiors, Photography Jessica Alexander
We’d love to see more personality infused into spaces so they feel truly personal and unique to the people who live there. So would you try something like this in your home?