Hide the glass act, the children are here

I swore I wasn't going to be one of those parents who let their children dictate their home décor. I'd seen enough living rooms furnished by Play-Skool. I'd put a gate on the stairs, lock up the drain cleaner and plug plastic covers into outlets. But no Lego centerpieces, no changing tables in the kitchen, no sheets covering the sofa and no glass tables shrink-wrapped in quilt padding. Mine would be an adult house. We were here first. The children would have to adapt.

So when our little blessings came along, I left the gorgeous, handblown, one-of-a-kind glass bowl on the living room table, where it looked perfect. I loved how the colors in this glass art dazzled by day and danced in the light by night. When my oldest became a toddler, she liked the bowl, too. Despite our little talks about how certain pretty things are just to look at, one day, like Eve in Eden, she picked up the glass bowl in her two precious hands, and raised it about eight inches. As I dove forward like a corner back for an interception, she panicked, pulled her hands apart, and the bowl crashed on the table, shattering like Humpty Dumpty.

This is when mothers lock themselves in their closets, muffle their screams in a stack of sweaters, then after swallowing four Valium, emerge to say calmly, "It's OK, honey. Mommy shouldn't have had an expensive glass bowl on the table."

I cooled it on the glass art and placed a basket of boring but indestructible silk flowers on the table. Maybe when the children are out of college and I have disposable income again I'll get another glass bowl I love.

Sandy Sardella, owner of Pismo Glass, which has four locations in Colorado, insists that children, pets and fragile art can coexist. The keys? Preparation and placement. "Teaching children to appreciate and respect art, even small children, is important," she says. But if you have an active house -- and that includes one with agile and tail-wagging pets -- then niches, high shelves and glass cabinets can help keep breakable art out of harm's way.

Here's what else she says to consider when acquiring fine glass art you'd like to keep:

• Use museum wax to attach nice pieces to furniture, even on pieces high up. A pea-size ball will affix most pieces and won't damage furniture.

n Explore styles. To many, glass art seems contemporary, but styles of glass art vary widely, and many would be right at home in traditional, ethnic, country or rustic settings.

n Take a test drive. Most fine stores will let you try a piece out for a few days before you buy. When trying out a piece, evaluate color and scale and how the piece looks during the day and night.

n Assess quality. Sardella looks for thin glass with intense, uplifting colors but says some fabulous pieces are intentionally thick, with somber colors. She also wants to see deliberateness and control. Bubbles will be present, but fewer are better.

n Lighting is critical. Pieces either look best backlit, or lit from the top down. Halogen lights work best. n When shopping, bring pictures of your space, along with measurements of where you plan to put your piece.

Marni Jameson is the author of "The House Always Wins" (Da Capo), available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. You may contact her at www.marnijameson.com.