Stained glass windows find a new home in houses across California and beyond

Pasadena artist Scotlan Goldbeck isn't drawn into churches for the services but for the windows. So when the Los Angeles studio LAUN renovated her 1906 Craftsman, she asked for a living-room pane of loose blue, green and orange shapes, made by glass artist Debbie Bean. She describes it as feeling both "ancient and present", and she's far from alone. Architectural Digest's Kelsey Mulvey finds designers who say almost every recent project includes patterned glass, and a San Gabriel maker, Rafael Calvo of Tico Tech, who has 18 windows on order, most of them for homes.

The appeal, several of them say, is the handmade quality in a digital age, and the way coloured light moves around a room through the day. Examples range from a checkered bathroom window in San Francisco by Leah Ring of Another Human to LAUN's grids for kitchens and entry gates, a Mondrian-like panel in a Sydney house by Jase Sullivan, and a commission Calvo made of a client's two cats in the trees.

There's practical advice too: think about how grey skies change the colours, pick a simple grid if unsure, and clean gently without bleach. Bean's commissions start at around $2,500. A pleasant read for anyone renovating, or anyone who lingers in chapels for the light.

Our summary of a story from Architectural Digest, published 20 October 2026. Read the original

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