Stained Glass: Not just for church windows anymore

I have always been fascinated by stained glass. In fact when I was little I wanted to become Catholic just to go to a church with the fancy windows! When I was in Chicago a few years ago I stumbled upon the stained glass museum on Navy Pier. Needless to say, I was in love! I recently went back there and had to make a trip to the museum again. I was really inspired by the colors and textures of the glass.

Here are some pictures that I took of the different windows:

If you look closely, you'll see that there are tiny circles making up this design. I love the colors that don't match, but coordinate.

The shapes in this window could easily be translated into some beautiful design inspiration!

This window uses a lot more clear glass than most and just uses pops of color.

This one is my favorite! Notice the subtle fades of color without the usual bars dividing the different colors. This is one that is not done justice in pictures but must be seen in person!

What kind of design inspiration can you get from this? The colors. The textures. The shapes and symbols. The subtle elegant beauty or bold powerful punches of color. There are so many things that are inspiring when it comes to stained glass!