What's the difference between leaded glass and stained glass?

I call what I do stained glass. I use that term on my website, in conversations with homeowners, and in almost everything I write. But technically, it's not accurate and I think it's worth explaining why, because the distinction matters more than most people realize, especially if you're trying to commission, restore, or describe the windows already in your home.

What Stained Glass Actually Is

True stained glass is what you see in churches and cathedrals. The glass is literally stained coloured pigments, enamels, and paints are applied directly to the surface of the glass and fired in a kiln to fuse permanently into the material. Figures, landscapes, and detailed imagery are painted onto the panes. That's stained glass in its original, technical meaning.

What I do is different. There's no painting, no firing, and no staining happening in my work. I use coloured glass that's already been manufactured with colour built into it, and I cut that glass into shapes and hold it together with strips of lead. The design comes entirely from how I arrange the glass and lead lines not from anything applied to the surface of the glass itself.

What Leaded Glass Is

The correct term for what I make is leaded glass, or leaded art glass. Each piece of glass sits in the channel of an H-shaped lead strip called lead came. The came holds every piece in place, and the joints where lead meets lead are soldered to create a rigid, weathertight panel. It's the lead that creates the structure not paint, not epoxy, not anything added to the glass surface.

Most of the windows you'll see in Toronto's older homes the Victorian houses in The Junction, the Edwardian homes in Roncesvalles, the craftsman-style properties in High Park those are leaded glass windows. Some use clear glass, some use textured glass, some use coloured glass. All of them are held together by lead. That's what leaded glass means.

So Why Do I Say Stained Glass?

Because that's what everyone searches for. When a homeowner in Toronto wants a new window for their front door, they type 'stained glass' into Google. When someone spots a window they love in a neighbour's home and wants something similar, they call it stained glass. The term has become the universal shorthand for any decorative glass window made with lead and colour, whether or not the glass is technically stained.

I use both terms because I want people to find me and I want them to understand what they're actually getting. What I make is leaded glass, crafted using traditional lead came technique, with coloured and textured glass chosen specifically for each home and each commission. No painting. No staining. No firing. Just glass, lead, and craft.

Copper Foil vs. Lead Came The Other Distinction Worth Knowing

There's a second technique in the world of decorative glass that often gets lumped in with what I do: copper foil. You've probably seen it on Etsy small decorative panels, sun catchers, intricate floral designs. Copper foil work involves wrapping the edges of each glass piece in adhesive copper tape and then soldering those foil edges together. The solder itself is the structure.

Copper foil is excellent for hobby work and small decorative pieces. It allows for tighter curves and more intricate small shapes than lead allows. But it has real structural limits it isn't strong enough for large-scale windows, and it isn't appropriate for any installation exposed to weather, temperature swings, or structural pressure over time.

Lead came is fundamentally different. The lead itself is the frame. It holds the glass in its channels before a single joint is soldered. The result is a structurally sound panel that can span a full front door, a wide bay window, or a large transom and hold up for a hundred years. Every custom leaded glass window I make for Toronto homes is built this way. Lead is structural. That's not something copper foil can replicate.

What This Means for Your Home

If you have original windows in a heritage home in Toronto, they're almost certainly leaded glass not copper foil, and not true stained glass in the painted sense. They're held together by lead, and when they need repair, that lead needs to be assessed and in many cases replaced. That process is a restoration, and it's one of the most common services I provide.

If you're commissioning a new window for a front door, sidelight, transom, or any other opening in your home, what you're getting from Sunday Projects is a custom leaded glass window, designed and handbuilt for your specific space. It'll look like what you've been calling stained glass your whole life. The distinction is mostly technical but it's one worth knowing.