A wooden framed floral stained glass window, hanging in another window. In the centre is a red flower and there is a red border around the edge.

Stained glass suncatchers – inspiration

Suncatchers are one of many uses of stained glass – and a popular use, as you can see from the many pieces of window art below. Placed on windowsills as ornaments, or hanging higher up, this is a great way to draw attention to glass, and perhaps let the sun light shine through, to wonderous effect.

Canadian sea view

Upon receiving this Trevor, in Ontario, Canada, said: ‘Perfect condition. Love them. Already have the one hung as a privacy window in our bathroom.’

A white, wooden framed vertical stained glass window. A yellow border, with red roundels in each corner. In the centre is a roundel circle featuring a boat with a white sail. To the let of the window is a painting of trees and plants, to the right is a white curtain. The wall surrounding them all is blue, above white wooden panels.

The next photo is the window in its original Watford home (photo from Google Street View)

A blue wooden front door with an oval stained glass window, blurred. On either side of the door is a rectangular stained glass window, All below a porch.

I shipped it to Trevor with two other windows…

A wooden crate, vertical and narrow. On a paved driveway, with open garage door in the background.

A study with a sea view

A study with wooden cupboards and desk, a chair, lamp and laptop and a boat and sunset themed stained glass window hanging in the sash window.
Karen – Southwold, Suffolk, UK (A849b), in study 2024
A wooden framed stained glass window hanging in a bigger sash window, featuring a sail boat on a blue and green sea against a red and yellow sunset and pink clouds,
Karen – Southwold, Suffolk, UK (A849b), 2024

I shipped this to Karen without a frame. It now hangs in – Southwold, Suffolk, England. I think she did a fine job of finding a frame with the same wood to match her desk and it distracts from her neighbour’s wall! I rescued it from a house in Pinner, Middlesex. 

A stained glass window in a crittall (metal) frame, in poor condition. Feature a sail boat on a blue and green sea against a red and yellow sunset and pink clouds
A849b, BEFORE

It was two separate panels which were in a Crittall opener frame. The panels were skilfully merged by adding a cloud and more detail to the sail and mast of the boat.

It had numerous broken pieces all of which were replaced – those which were painted were painstakingly copied. The edges were releaded. I rarely have damaged salvaged windows restored, sometimes it makes more sense to sell for parts, it has to be for something very special.

stained glass window, with light shining through from behind, featuring a sail boat on a blue and green sea against a red and yellow sunset and pink clouds,
hand painted stained window panel featuring a boat in a wooden box with polysterene padding
This was how I shipped to Karen.

This boat design was a relatively common feature in the Pinner and Harrow area. A1569 are another pair from the same area.

Suncatchers in a sun lounge

Karen in Virginia, USA, contacted me because she wanted a set of windows to provide a distraction from the view of her surrounding neighbours.

A sun lounge featuring a rug, an arm chair and plants in pots. Floor to ceiling along two walls. The windows on the narrower wall are sash windows.
Karen’s sun lounge before stained glass
A sun lounge featuring a rug, an arm chair and plants in pots. Floor to ceiling windows along two walls with a stained glass window hanging in each window, in two different styles.. The windows on the narrower wall are sash windows.
Karen – Virginia, USA (A1456 and A1354), 2024

As you can see, I think the brief was fulfilled. Karen’s photos are also a good example of how to hang my window panels which are within the original wooden frames. It’s a great way to add reclaimed windows to a sun room (or conservatory, as we would describe this type of room in the UK).

A white wooden framed leaded stained glass window, featuring a red pendant hanging from green ribbon, hanging from hooks in another window, with a view out to a garden.
A1354 in situ
A close up photo of the corner of a wooden framed stained glass window hanging by books from another window frame.
A1354 in situ, close up on hooks

Karen said, “I can’t tell you how much I love these windows!  They are just perfect, beautiful!  Thank you for doing what you do, especially the not so fun part, packing and shipping!!”

Karen chose two window designs from my top lights category.

A corner with a clear view

I rescued a house full of windows from Bristol which are distinctive in that they don’t have any colour in them – a key part of their attraction is their textured glass. They would have looked good in their original home when viewed in the right light…

A house with square bay windows with original clear glass upstairs and downstairs

…but they look amazing as a pair in Lois’s home in North Carolina, USA:

The corner of a grey walled room with a white framed window on each wall, with a clear textured and patterned framed window hanging in each.

It is great to know that the windows (and my packaging) are appreciated:

“Hello Richard!
Your beautiful windows arrived in North Carolina safely last week. We finally got a chance to open them up yesterday. They’re perfect and we can’t wait to install a little piece of England in our new home. So beautiful!
My husband sells packaging materials and he was pretty impressed with your system. I think he used the term “genius”!
Thank you for your care and promptness in delivery!
Best regards,
Lois”

Fruit bowl

Round glass is always in high demand (have a look at the curved windows I currently have for sale). This decorative and overflowing fruit bowl is very eye catching. I shipped it to Barry in Alberta, Canada:

A round white wooden frame stained glass window containing a fruit bowl full of fruit
A1192
On a window sill, leading against a window with trees and snow outside, is a round stained glass window of a fruit bowl
Barry – Alberta, Canada (A1192), 2022

Unusual floral

The eagle eyed among you may notice that this window has a few cracks. This is the case sometimes with glass that I come across on my travels, and it doesn’t mean that I don’t buy it. Especially with a window like this one, it’s so beautiful that the cracks don’t take away from the charm – they demonstrate that you’re looking at an antique:

Square stained glass window, with a square frame with yellow framed flower and pink roundel in the centre, and squares of green leaves and blue background in the corners
B926

Rosanne bought this antique and hung it in her window. Have a look through the windows currently for sale in my rustic category:

Hanging in a window is a square floral stained glass window, with furniture in the foreground, and blue glass bottles on a nearby window
Rosanne – Medford, MA, USA (B926), 2020

Heart

Rosanne also bought this intricate window, which has a lot of variety in its shapes and colours, with a focus on a heart. I originally acquired it as part of a set from a house in Torquay, Devon, built in 1929 (I try to give you as much heritage as possible!):

A white wooden framed stained glass window with a heart motif, containing many shapes and colours, in the centre
R955c
A white wooden framed stained glass window, with a heart motif, is displayed in a window, next to music system and speakers on top of wooden furniture, and a Bruce Springsteen poster on the wall.
Rosanne – Medford, MA, USA (R955), 2020

Café view

This rose window is at its best in the California sunshine:

A wooden framed floral stained glass window, a red rose with green leaves atop a yellow circle, with pink and blue elements
A1418a
Hanging from a window, with a view outside of a cafe, is a wooden framed floral stained glass window, a red rose with green leaves atop a yellow circle, with pink and blue elements
Mimi – California, USA (A1418), 2022

Mimi has bought quite a number of windows from me and displayed some for sale in her café – read more about it in my More than just coffee blog post.

A running pattern

I shipped this pair to Donn in Ohio:

Two adjoining wooden framed stained glass windows with a blue and yellow diamond and oval shapes linked across the two windows by a red curve. Green border at top and bottom.
B643

The stained glass and the curtains combined provide some privacy, while the vibrant colours can catch the light:

Two wooden framed stained glass windows with linking pattern hanging from window frames, above white curtains.
Donn – Ohio, USA. (B643), 2018

A cross in a sash window

I shipped this top light window to Carla in North Carolina, and she hung it in her sash window:

A white wooden framed vertical rectangular stained glass window, containing a yellow cross with a red and green centre
R867b
Hanging in the top section of a sash window, is a white wooden framed horizontal rectangular stained glass window, containing a yellow cross with a red and green centre
Carla – North Carolina, USA. (R867b), 2019

Taka a look at the geometric windows I currently have for sale.


Stained glass for privacy

This could be another use for stained glass entirely – privacy panels at the bottom of bigger windows:

Two big windows, each comprising of four panels, with arches at the top. At the bottom of all four windows are intricate floral stained glass windows.
Erling – Sweden, 2016

Starburst

I sometimes take apart old windows which are in poor condition, making the parts available for stained glass professionals to turn into new treasure (I explain my reasons for this in a blog post about Difficult Decisions). The glass is available for anyone who is inspired to use it make something else – Janet turned this into a framed ornament to sit on her window sill:

A small square stained glass panel, focusing on a star burst surrounded by red
S1014a
A small stained glass starburst, with red surround, in a white wooden frame. Standing next to a blue bottle on a window sill, with washing hang in the background, through the window.
Janet – Wigan, Lancashire (S1014a), 2021

I usually have some glory stars available to buy – have a look through similar glass available at the moment.

Broken frames to hanging suncatchers

Jason bought these two windows, with frames in very poor condition, from my rustic collection, and upcycled them, creating frameless hanging suncatchers:

A compilation of four pictures, At the top are two wooden framed floral stained glass windows, with the frames broken at the top. At the bottom are the same two windows, now frameless with a green border added and hanging in a window.
Before and after: Jason, Barnet, UK, 2017

A collection of suncatchers

Enjoy browsing through the many windows Louis has hung in his Tennessee home:

A square floral wooden framed window hanging in the top section of a sash window, behind open slat blonds
Louis – Tennessee, USA (R369), 2017
Hanging in a sash window ins a floral wooden framed stained glass window, with a focus on a red rose, above green, yellow and turquoise. It is behind open slat blinds, with net curtain hanging above.
Louis – Tennessee, USA, 2017

This window was originally from a house in Fulham, London, dated 1886:

A wooden framed floral stained glass window, hanging in another window. In the centre is a red flower and there is a red border around the edge.
Louis – Tennessee, USA (R616e), 2017
A small wooden framed floral stained glass window, hanging, with garden viewable behind.
Louis – Tennessee, USA. (R237), 2018
Two identical floral wooden framed stained glass windows hanging in the top two corners of sash windows, with ornaments sitting below, and a frosty garden viewable outside.
Louis – Tennessee, USA. (R370b), 2020
Two identical floral wooden framed stained glass windows hanging in the top two corners of sash windows, with ornaments sitting below, and a frosty garden viewable outside.
Louis – Tennessee, USA (R1017c), 2020

You can see another of these windows used in a different home, as wall art. I acquired them from from Ashtead, South West of London:

A wooden framed stained glass window, containing blue flours, hands at the top of a sash window, with blue glass ornaments sitting beneath.
Louis – Tennessee, USA (R1016i), 2020

Exploring further

There are several windows in suncatcher positions which are located on other pages, to illustrate different uses of stained glass. Have a look at: Striking colours, Dining with a sea view, Two pairs and Fleur-de-lis.

If you’re thinking of adapting a window to make it into a suncatcher, explore the top lights page, as these will often be smaller pieces. Also see the leaded fragments page, where there are sections of glass I have removed from bigger windows. Or if you want a suncatcher that’s ready to hang – in your own home, or to give as a gift, see the Gift ideas / suncatchers page.

This is one of many pages with examples of stained glass that I have sold, now in a new home. You can see more Uses for stained glass, or to see them all, explore the links from Customer reuse ideas.

I add new treasure to my website regularly, in various categories. Explore the categories on the homepage and sign up to my mailing list for occasional curated updates.

Return to top