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.

Floating glass trough sink...a cool glass sink design.

Last updated on February 6th, 2023 at 11:04 am

We have had the pleasure of creating beautiful glass trough sink with very creative restaurateurs over the years, but none as interesting as Gino Palma from Facci Restaurants in Laurel, Maryland. He has a gifted vision for creating very modern, open, yet welcoming spaces for his dining guests. His decor is as visually stunning as his food is excellent. Gino ordered two of our floating glass trough sinks for his restaurant and they look terrific and right at home in his designer restaurant. We incorporated his logo as part of the textured glass sink basin design and is surrounded by complementary waves, etc. His Men’s room is beautifully, yet subtly illuminated by the upward glow of the LED illuminated glass. There are 8,000,000 color and intensity combinations available through our Bluetooth LED control app. With this fine tuning, any color on the glass sink basin can be achieved. The images below of our sink show a few color settings.

His new endeavor involves Ricci di Mare in Frederick, Md and he has once again come to us to create a very unusual wall-mounted glass trough sink. It has an arced design, along both the front and rear to best nestled into his curved wall in the Ladies room. We worked easily with his GC David Mussolini to ensure that the tolerances, supports, and changes to the glass sink were all in line with his design vision and yet rugged as well. We created smooth concrete casting for the sink perimeter in white concrete, sealed it with our proprietary process and mounted the textured glass basin and LEDs.

We have yet to receive pictures of the finished installation, but are eager to see our glass sink floating in his restaurant. We will update this ASAP but until then, we offer a few images of our glass trough sinks to convey how beautiful, unusual and practical these glass sinks are.

Facci Restaurant Floating Glass Trough Sink

Ricci di Mare restaurant wall-mounted glass trough sink

large glass trough sink — Concrete and Glass trough sink

concrete trough sink glass basin — Trough sink with LED set to pink.

custom concrete sink glass — Trough sink with LED set to Orange-Red

double trough sink — Trough sink with LED set to Yellow.

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".

February 3, 2023

Glass. Lights. Ambiance.

Floating glass trough sink…a cool innovative restaurant sink design.

Jeff Downing

Floating glass trough sink…a cool innovative restaurant sink design.

Jeff Downing

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