Glass HOUSES ; Whether Traditional or Fanciful, Stained Glass Windows Can Add Charm and Value to a Home.

Drapes seem a little dull? Bored by blinds?

If you're looking for something a little different to spruce up a window, try stained glass.

Stained glass windows can be fanciful, abstract, traditional or trendy. Designs range from geometrical shapes to birds and flowers, or even an image inspired by a personal memory or photograph.

Best of all, a well-cared-for stained glass window can last 80- plus years and add a touch of unexpected charm to a home.

"A lot of my clients look at it as art," said Candace Jackman, a glass artist in Fayette. "They're trying to beautify their homes."

Adding a window can also add value to a house, especially during times when real estate is experiencing a bit of a slump.

Jane Croteau, who has been working with glass since 1980, co- owns the Phoenix Studio on Forest Avenue in Portland with her husband, Lance. She said that during the real estate slowdown in the early 1990s people added stained glass to make their properties more attractive.

"When the slump started, real estate agents were encouraging their clients to 'Spend $300 or $400 on a stained glass window, and we can add another $5,000 to $10,000 to the asking price,'" she said.

What you'll pay for a window today, stained glass artists say, depends upon the size of the window and how intricate it is - a large window with a complex design that uses more pieces of glass will cost more than, say, a small round with simple geometric design.

Stained glass artists often have windows in their studios that can be installed in a home right away, or if the fit's not right, they can duplicate the design in another size. If you're not sure what you want, artists may have you peruse their portfolios or books and magazines for ideas.

"By looking through my portfolio, they'll usually come across something that is a trigger for them," Jackman said. "I really let them talk to me, and then I may offer suggestions. Sometimes it's process of elimination. Over the years, my tastes have gotten much simpler, and my color choice is much simpler. So I'll warn people if they're choosing bright colors it's got to be something they really like. They're going to live with it for a long time."

FROM FLORALS TO MORE PERSONAL

Florals are always popular, Jane Croteau said. "The people living up the coastline usually want to have some sort of a nautical or wetlands type of scene with different birds."

Jackman said that windows with loons on them were her bread-and- butter for a while. That fad is over now, she said, except for people who live on lakes inhabited by the birds.

Some homeowners want pieces that match the period and style of their house, such as Arts and Crafts or Victorian. But mostly, the choice of a design is very individual.

"Some people want very traditional and simple lines with beveled glass, or a more traditional geometric shape," Jackman said. "Then you've got other people who want specific flowers. I've done a lot of projects with birds. I did a job out in Ithaca, N.Y., and she had a specific list of birds she wanted to incorporate into her project. She was really into birding."

Jackman also created a large window for a home on Sebago Lake that consisted of four panels. There was a central scene to the window, but each of the four corners represented a different season. The homeowners gave Jackman a list of birds, insects and animals they wanted represented in the window. The panel that depicts spring includes a male and female goldfinch among the oak leaves. The winter scene includes holly berries and a crescent moon in the winter sky.

Croteau recently worked on a window for a customer who wanted a remembrance of her tropical honeymoon. The woman brought in some shells and some sea glass to be included in the piece.

"We created something based on her photograph that she brought, and used some of those found objects," Croteau said. "It was very personal. You don't have to be an artist. You just have to be able to convey what you're interested in."

The Phoenix Studio has also gotten some unusual requests. One man commissioned an underwater scene of the ocean that included a mermaid. He wanted the mermaid's face to be modeled after his wife.

Another time a woman came in and asked for a stained glass window based on her tattoo.

"I turned around to get a pen, and she dropped her pants," Croteau said.

FROM TRANSPARENT TO OPAQUE

Just as important as design is the type of glass that's used in a stained glass piece. More transparent glass, placed in a part of the home where there's a lot of sunlight, is the way to go if you're getting the window for your own enjoyment. The window won't be very visible to passers-by from the outside, but indoors it will be beautiful.

If you want to show off the piece to the neighbors, go with more opaque glass, which can be seen better outside.

"Are you doing this to impress the people across the street? There are people who say 'I want this seen from a block away,' " Croteau said.

Another option is to search for a salvaged antique window. Architectural salvage stores or antique shops are good sources for these older windows, which can have colors and designs not found in modern windows.

"They're so intricate," Jackman said, "and there's no way you can buy a piece today of the size of some of those, with the intricacy, for a reasonable price."

Finding an antique window in perfect condition is "almost impossible," Jackman said, but once people fall in love with an older window, they may decide they'll live with a cracked piece of glass or two.

Antique windows can be repaired, but it may be difficult to match the cracked glass because the colors and techniques used today are so different.

"You don't want to buy one that's got a lot of broken pieces if you think you want to get it fixed, because it may be very difficult," Jackman said.

Staff Writer Meredith Goad can be contacted at 791-6332 or at:

mgoad@pressherald.com

(c) 2007 Portland Press Herald. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.