Glazing Applications
IQ Glass Solutions LTD, Sky House, Raans Road, Amersham, HP6 6FT
The heart of a home is often described as the kitchen, where meals are made and families enjoy time together. Or more recently, where homeschooling takes place and productive workspaces are formed.
Regardless of what the kitchen is being used for, it is imperative that a kitchen is both well connected to the rest of the home and highly ventilated to allow any cooking smells or smoke to escape. There are many glazing techniques to adopt in order to maximise your kitchen design, this article will discuss the advantages of just some of the glazing systems IQ provide.
Internal Glazing
Firstly, you want your kitchen to form a coherent design and flow with the rest of the living space. This can be achieved using our in house designed internal glazing system, Miro. Within the Miro family, both sliding and pivot doors have been designed to separate living areas without obstructing the paths of natural light. Sliding doors can even be configured to slide invisibly into a hidden wall cavity, revealing a completely open doorway to provide an open plan option.
Using these internal glazing solutions helps you achieve dedicated zones within a home, creating options for closing off rooms. One advantage of glass internal doors is that they encourage natural light from other glazed elements to stretch further, therefore reaching further parts of the home.
Rooflights
A popular option when designing kitchen spaces are rooflights. Often strip rooflights will be incorporated in the design directly above a kitchen island or dining area, to flood the area below with natural light. Where cupboards and storage solutions often take up the majority of wall space in a kitchen, overhead glazing is great for bringing the maximum amount of natural light inside. For a dramatic design statement, glass roofs can be incorporated, supported with glass beams or fins for a fully glazed look.
IQ include solar control coatings to any roof glazing elements as standard. This ensures the internal spaces are a comfortable living temperature all year round and the space does not get too hot. Specifying solar control glass can also reduce energy costs in some cases, without altering the minimal appearance of the glazing.
Due to the need for kitchen spaces to be well ventilated, opening elements are recommended for these areas. In homes where the kitchen is not directly connected to outdoor spaces, opening elements are essential. The new ARES system provides kitchens and living spaces with ventilation by granting the option to automatically vent. The rooflight system is unrivalled in its configuration options, with the ability to create large or bespoke shapes. The flexible system has been designed to offer the ultimate functionality, ventilating kitchen smells and smokes when needed.
Sliding Doors
For kitchens at the rear of a property or with direct access to garden spaces, consider sliding door systems for an indoor-outdoor style of living. Homeowners are seeking a strong connection to outdoor environments and sliding doors are just one way of achieving this. Designed with a flush threshold, the slim framed sliding doors by panoramah! offer seamless travel between two environments, merging the two with ease. One added advantage is the ability to effectively extend your living space into the garden by opening up the glass elevations in the warmer months.
As well as elegant design and an abundance of natural light, sliding doors will also act as a method of ventilating kitchen spaces. Choose to slide doors fully open or crack one side for a little air flow. Using large elevation of glass in the kitchen also provides homeowners with garden views, enhanced by ultra slim sightlines from just 20mm.
Frameless and Oriel Windows
Frameless picture windows or fixed structural glazing can be used in conjunction with the ARES if completely uninterrupted garden views are desired. This technique offers all the advantages of clear, crisp installations whilst still benefitting from ventilation.
In open plan spaces, often kitchen and dining areas are part of one larger space. One way to enjoy outdoor spaces whilst being inside is by incorporating a window box. Using our Invisio structural glazing system to create Oriel windows provides a cosy reading nook or simply another seating area to enjoy the garden from within the kitchen space. Wherever an Oriel window is specified, paths of natural light flow uninterrupted into the internal spaces to compliment bright, contemporary interiors.
No matter what layout plan you are striving to achieve with your kitchen design, IQ have got flexible, adaptable glazing solutions to help enhance the space. All of our systems offer functionality without compromising on elegant, minimal design. Simply get in touch with the team to discover which glazing techniques are best suited to your space.