To bevel or not to bevel – that is a question.

Specifically, it’s a question we’ll ask you when you select your custom glass top for wood furniture.

If you’re not sure what a bevel is, no worries – read on, and you’re about to learn more about them than you could have imagined there was to know in the first place.

Defining a bevel

An example of a beveled edge on a glass top

The straightforward explanation of a bevel is that it’s an edge of a piece of glass (or any other furniture) that “slopes” downward. This is opposed to an edge that exists perpendicular to the rest of the object’s top – in other words, an edge that exists naturally. The bevel slope can take on a variety of angles, with the most common being a 45-degree slope.

Well, that’s the geometry definition. The simplest and most relevant way to explain a bevel to one of our customers, however, is to ask them whether they want their glass top-adorned furniture to have a traditional or contemporary feel. In most cases, having a beveled edge is considered a traditional look.

Traditional versus contemporary

The bevel has a very useful practical purpose. If you bump into a piece of heavy glass (which is quite a hard substance, mind you) and it has a straight edge, you risk getting cut. However, if a sharp edge is nice and leveled off as a slope, you’re not going to get cut. (However, if you were to ram head-first into a beveled edge at 15 miles per hour… we can’t help you there.)

As such, beveling was a quick and easy way for glass makers to help ensure their products did not slice, cut or maim unsuspecting customers and passerby. It’s also a natural outcome for some glass-making processes. And, aesthetically speaking, having a bevel allows the edges of a piece of glass to take on a bit of reflection or shine when you look at the beveled edge directly.

But times have changes – and so have modern glass-making best practices. Nowadays, most glass makers polish out edges for a rounded edge that isn’t a slope but isn’t a straight line either. Bump into a polished edge and you won’t get a cut the way you would if you bumped into an edge that wasn’t polished over. It’s practical, easy on the eyes and largely unnoticeable.

Making your choice

Why would you want to have a piece of glass that looks as though it’s been transported from the past? On purpose, of course – if your purpose is to have the glass (and whatever it’s attached to) look traditionally made.

Depending on your business, having furniture adorned with traditional-looking beveled edges could be a big plus. It could match whatever aesthetic your business has as well as portray a sense of nostalgia. But, if your business is meant to be cutting-edge and contemporary, having flat but polished edges should be the way to go for most of the furniture in the building.

In the home, maybe you want one room to have an earthier feel than the other. In that case, adorning it with beveled glass top-adorning wood furniture would accomplish that goal.

It’s a matter of taste and function whether you bevel or not bevel your custom glass top. That’s what makes our custom glass tops so versatile and special. Contact us to order yours today!