What does kiln-carved mean on a glass bar top?

Kiln-carving is a process in which glass is fired in a kiln over a textured bed — in this case, a hand-worked sand surface — so the heat softens the glass and allows it to take on the precise contours of the texture beneath it. The result is a surface that is permanently part of the glass, not applied to it. The texture lives on the underside, meaning the top surface stays smooth and cleanable while the visual depth lives below, amplified by the LED light source behind it.

How is a glass bar top supported without drilling through the glass?

Three cantilevered steel brackets, anchored into the bar structure below, carry the full load of the glass surface. The glass rests on the bracket faces and is bonded with ultra-clear silicone — no hardware passes through the glass at any point. This eliminates stress concentration points, aesthetic intrusion, and future maintenance issues caused by through-drilling.

How does the LED lighting system work inside a kiln-carved glass bar top?

The Ambiance Machine™ RGB LED system mounts along the interior edge of the bar structure and fires light upward through the glass. The carved texture catches and scatters that light, creating a surface that appears to glow from within. The system operates across 8 million color combinations at 0–100% intensity, with programmable scenes and optional photocell trigger that activates the bar automatically at dusk.

What are the maintenance requirements for a kiln-carved glass bar top?

The surface requires no special treatment. The top surface is smooth polished glass — cleaning is the same as any glass surface, a damp cloth or standard glass cleaner. No sealing, no waxing, no periodic treatment required. Low-iron glass is non-porous, does not stain, and does not react with alcohol, citrus, or cleaning products.

How was the wave texture pattern developed for the Mantoloking glass bar top?

The texture was designed interactively — client and craftsman working from the bar's geometry and the room's flow to arrive at a pattern that felt native to the space. Once the bar base drawings were confirmed, multiple textural iterations were developed. The client selected the wave pattern, which was then scaled and anchor-pointed so the hand-worked sand bed in the kiln matched it as faithfully as the process allows.

Integral Glass Counter Sink from Downing Designs.

Last updated on August 17th, 2021 at 07:10 am

Downing Designs has created another unique integral sink countertop product for our Luxury Glass Sink lineup.

This unique design is 1.5” thick textured glass with the basin formed into the sink-countertop. It “floats” on 2 brackets and is a very clean and modern sink design.

Each sink is unique in texture and size…everything made to flow with your bathroom and enhance your bathroom space with its graceful flowing textures. 1 or 2 integrated basins are possible.

This glass sink can be mounted atop a vanity base cabinet, or floated as shown in this installation.

The LED illuminates it perfectly and offers 8,000,000 color choices and 0-100% intensity…all at the control from your Smartphone or iPad.

We offer back-painted or non-back-painted. We have back-painted this glass sink silver metallic. It is our preferred choice because it matches well with any of the LED colors. It is possible to select any color back paint you desire from the Benjamin Moore Color library. If non-back-painted, the glass is transparent and support elements, plumbing, etc. will be visible. These are not usually pretty. We also recommend wall mount faucets for this design.

This integral countersink design is a very practical luxury as well. Everything flows smoothly into the drain. Our faucet choice for this installation is the Franz Viegener “Shoreline”. Its very suave shape is completely in sync with the sink design and textural flow. We have described the luxury of designing your own glass textured countertop at Downing Designs previously. All elements of the room design are taken into account, and the flow “speaks” to us.

While this installation is incomplete at the moment, we wanted to share this with you now. These pictures show how simple it is to mount, and plumb this modern glass sink and as time goes on, will have beautiful final installation pictures.

Integrated Glass Sink Floating

Countersink Glass Floating Sink

Jeff Downing

Founder, Lead Designer & Custom Glass Countertop Expert
Jeff Downing of Downing Designs, is a Tampa Florida–based design studio specializing in custom Glass Countertops, Glass Bar Tops, Glass Vanity tops and Glass Stair Treads. With decades of hands-on experience, Jeff is widely recognized for delivering textured glass surfaces integrated with LED lighting to create dazzling abstract statement pieces.

"Glass. Lights. Ambiance".

June 21, 2021

Integral Glass Counter Sink from Downing Designs.

Jeff Downing

Glass Countertops: Thermoformed, Fused, Tempered, Annealed.

Buying Glass Countertops at Downing Designs.

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