How would you use Aero glass in UI design

Question

I have a number of utilities that were written in the days of yore and look very dated. So I recently set out to make them use Windows themes and wanted to incorporate some Aero glass effects.

Thing is, I'm not quite sure what the appropriate use is. IE7 and now Firefox 4 glass the top part of the window including the toolbar, but that is not really applicable to my case. I have seen numerous apps that just increase the glass border all round, but that just makes the non-glassed content appear cramped. Which is then often handled by simply adding acres of open space in the screen.

What is the appropriate way to incorporate Aero effects into screen design? Or to decide whether or not to use it at all? Any good design references that deal with this, or perhaps nuggets of wisdom?

Update: To clarify, these are not our main application but a number of utility screens that do this or that. Not too complex, just a single form with a couple of edit controls and possibly lists. A strip of buttons at the bottom. As a rule though, it seems it is now standard to use Aero over the menu and toolbar, but on apps without a toolbar there doesn't seem to be a standard use that I could find.

Answer 1

I don't think there is any "standard" to using the Aero effects. Every application seems to make use of the glass effect differently, so just use it in a way that makes sense for your application.

Your windows don't sound like they really need it, though, if they're just forms. You could extend the glass to cover the strip of buttons on the bottom, but that's about it. Honestly, don't think that not taking advantage of the glass effect will make your application unattractive; you can make it look great without the Aero interface. :)