Glass gilding at Cafe Normandie in Annapolis, 30 years later
This is glass gilding from 30 years ago, and it still looks great! The process is tedious. A reasonably sized logo like this takes a full day on site to finish. There is a lot of drying time between each layer of paint and gold leaf, so rushing the process is not possible. The drying time can be slow on a cold, wet day.
Eye-catching gold leaf windows!
This is the gold leaf window at Cafe Normandie, in the historic district of Annapolis, Maryland. Designs & Signs specializes in glass gilding and offers a wide variety of gold leaf signs and services. We have forty years of professional gilding experience, and this installation has been looking good for thirty years!
First, we laid loose gold leaf onto the glass with water and gelatin. This complicated process takes time. If we rush during any part of it, it is easy to make a mistake, and there is no good way to fix gold leaf on glass. So our experienced artists work carefully at every step.
Next, we protect the gold leaf with black backup paint. Outlines and shadows make the gold leaf look great, and we can apply them before or after the gold leaf. Techniques have changed somewhat in recent years. We now apply our outlines and shadows first, because it saves us a little time. Finally, we brush away the excess gold, and voila! Our gold leaf installations look great every time.
If you want gold leaf but need to save some money, we also offer gold leaf film that looks great too and costs less. For example, we used gold leaf film at Colony Club in Washington, DC. Follow that link and take a look!
About Cafe Normandie
Cafe Normandie has been open for more than 30 years. It offers French country cuisine with Maryland seafood specialties.
Source: YouTube
To find out more, click the link below!
See more of our gold leaf work: Golden House Numbers, Gold Address Numbers – 1204, and Glass Gilding – Transom Numbers 504.
Contact Designs & Signs
The quickest way to get started on your project is to send us an email.
We can also be reached by phone at (410) 798-5115.