fast fix for glass

In my old house I have 12×12 stained glass panels stuck up with doublestick tape which is hidden on the outside by the window panes. I love them and planned to take them with me. However the window configuration in the new house requires me to skip the two garage windows because there are eight lites rather than six. I thought about trying to hunt down the woman I bought them from nearly eight years ago but had little luck. I had gotten them quite affordably and the prices seem to have risen dramatically, especially if they have to be custom-made to complement.

So I looked for some on e-bay that were similar to see if I could use slightly different ones with similar color schemes on the garage. That was challenging.

I finally stumbled upon a company, http://www.two-partners-and-a-dream.com/, which makes high-quality, UV protected vinyl film that mimics stained glass. They have 4,000 designs (not of which matched) but do custom work at no additional cost. They have zillions of colors and textures to match the exact panel of stained glass. The cost for four of these comes to about $46 total. These will go in the garage, and the real glass will be in the house. I figure how wrong can it go?

It then occurred to me that this would be an inexpensive way to update the front door at the old house with a simple, elegant pattern, likely with no color, just different versions of translucent clear glass with different textures (much like the door at my new house). The cost is $92, and I could do both sides (since there won’t be any color). My thought had been to replace the door but it has to be custom made, and the current wood/glass door is only five years old but I never loved it. A custom door was about $1,400, so that plan came to a screeching halt.

I did add new Emtek hardware, and this vinyl solution may be just the ticket. I want to house to be absolutely beautiful for the new owner (without going into bankruptcy myself, lol), and the front door glass was something I’d always meant to change.

I’m thinking about a glass pattern similar to the one on the new house, clear glass in various textures in a linear (tall) pattern that’s a bit like Frank Lloyd Wright’s less organic style.

What do you think?