Arches between rooms instead of doors are modern solution For visual expansion space.
This design option is perfect for small apartments.
Arches in the living room are a great solution for zoning living space. They are especially suitable for studios where you need to separate the kitchen from the living room.
Why are arches needed?
An arched door in the living room is popular in apartments where you need:
- do not reduce the space, as happens when interior doors are used;
- not only separate rooms, but also combine the interior design style;
- add elegance and originality.
In all these situations, the construction of a designer arch will help you. Moreover, its shape can be anything.
To give you an idea of how diverse these designs can be, we suggest you look at photos of arches in the living room.
As you can see, everything depends on your imagination, and turning it into reality will not be difficult.
Types of arches
Arches have come to us since ancient times. It has always been beautiful and in demand. They have not lost their relevance even today.
And this is not surprising - after all, they fit well with a variety of styles; with their help you can combine and separate rooms that are completely different in functionality. For example, there is not much in common between the living room and the kitchen, but with an arch these rooms look very organic.
So, what types of arches are there? There are only two of them:
- The classic arch has a smooth arch, there are no accents in the form of patterns or carvings with ornaments.
- Curly ones stand out with their unusual shapes and attract attention precisely due to their finishing.
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Classic arches are budget option. They are mounted primarily using inexpensive, readily available drywall, plywood, or MDF.
Curly ones are usually built in large rooms, from natural wood. Finished with glass and lighting.
Modern design of arches in the living room
Approximately a third of clients choose the classic type of arch.
- Firstly, it is relatively inexpensive.
- Secondly, this option goes well with any renovation. And most importantly, not everyone knows about other species or is afraid to experiment.
A rectangular arch does not need major alterations. It is wide, comfortable, and goes well with most styles.
Wavy - on the contrary, is only suitable for modern, retro or pop art. With these styles, the arch in the living room interior will harmonize best with the rest of the design.
A trapezoid-shaped arch will go perfectly with the Gothic style.
The ellipsoidal arched passage will become a decoration, an accent of sophistication and luxury. And if such an arch is made of natural wood, it will become a real pearl of your living room.
Is it possible to make an arch yourself?
We boldly answer: “Yes, you can!” This is not as simple as it might seem at first glance. But, if you adhere to some rules, then this is a completely feasible task for any person who knows how to work with tools and has a well-developed imagination.
So, how to make an arch in the living room? First you need to decide on the type of structure to choose.
If we are talking about dividing the living room and kitchen, then the arch cannot be narrow, but at the same time it must clearly divide the space into zones.
This space seems to be unified, but with an emphasis on the fact that there is an area for relaxation and another for preparing food. The materials from which you are going to mount the arch must first of all be safe.
It is important to know that the arch can be made not only from a ready-made structure, but also, for example, from plasterboard, which bends very easily, turning the opening into an exquisite creation and this can be used in different variations.
By the way, an arch made from this material will look great not only between the living room and kitchen, but also in the corridor and bedroom.
Drywall is attached to the finished frame. After this, the surface needs to be puttied and painted. And then it’s your imagination again. It all depends on how your rooms are decorated, which should be separated by an arch.
Ready-made wooden arches will delight you with their smell and appearance. This will give you a feeling of coziness and comfort.
In addition, there are now a lot of options on the market that will satisfy any, even the most sophisticated, taste of the buyer.
The work required to install such arches is much less than that of plasterboard. Having installed the finished arch, all you have to do is cover the seams between the wall and the arch. The joint can be covered with a wooden frame.
Combination with the interior of the apartment is the main condition when choosing the shape of the arch and the material from which you are going to construct it. There is plenty to choose from.
But you can do it yourself - the main thing is to be able to work with tools and understand what exactly you want.
If you don’t have such skills, then you just need to do it with the help of specialists. In any case, we are confident that this apartment zoning option will be comfortable for you.
Photo of arch design in the living room
Anyone can decorate this interior element with their own hands. The shape of an arched opening is practically not limited by anything except imagination, but quite often apartment owners, when renovating, limit themselves only to painting the plasterboard elements of the arch. Such designs look rather boring, creating a feeling of incompleteness. If the main style of the room is not minimalism, then the arch can be turned into a unique one decorative element, emphasizing the integrity of the interior.
Possibilities of decorative arches
Using arches you can make small room more spacious, and in a large one to create effective zoning. This architectural element in the apartment performs several functions at once:
- Saving space and increasing it visually.
- Simultaneous functional division adjacent rooms and their visual unification.
- Creating a certain atmosphere in the house, emphasizing its style.
Types of decorative arches
Most often, arches are made of plasterboard. Flexible and plastic plasterboard allows you to quickly create a structure of almost any shape with your own hands. The finished element has high aesthetic characteristics. A plasterboard arch can subsequently be lined with almost any material, including wood, stone (most successful examples can be seen in the photo).
Arched openings can be divided into two types:
- Active - have a complex shape that provides maximum visibility into neighboring rooms; they themselves can decorate the interior.
- Passive - simple in form, often serve as a border.
Advice! It is advisable to determine the shape of the arch before the repair, as well as its subsequent design.
Simple passive arches include:
- Classic - with the correct arc radius. Optimal for any interior.
- Ellipsoidal - the arc can have the shape of a regular or irregular oval.
- Modern - an arc with a pronounced rise.
- Romance - the arc is cut off at the top, but rounded on the sides.
- Portal – rectangular shape opening.
Complex active ones include:
- Eastern.
- Lancet.
- Horseshoe-shaped.
- Trapezoidal, etc.
Such arches can have uneven or figured edges, be located on several levels, and twist from one room to another.
Arch decor
An arch is, first of all, a part of the wall; therefore, when designing it, you should start from the finishing of the latter. architectural element must fit harmoniously into the interior, be part of it. If there are several arches in the apartment, then they must correspond to the design of the room, be of the same shape or made of the same materials.
Advice! The wider the arched opening, the more attention should be paid to its design, color and stylistic matching of adjacent rooms.
Finishing materials
Depending on the style of the room and the arch itself, you should select the material for its design.
Paint, wallpaper, decorative plaster – simplest option do-it-yourself arched doorway design. An element decorated with such materials practically does not stand out in the interior. The color of the coating on the walls and the inside of the arch may differ if this does not contradict the style of the room.
Tree – noble, durable material. Most appropriate for decorating interiors in a classic style. Looks ideal on designs of simple shapes.
Polyurethane stucco – with its help you can decorate an arch of any shape and style with your own hands: from minimalism to baroque. The opening can be decorated with polyurethane columns, figured or flat moldings, all kinds of rosettes, bas-reliefs - the material has practically no restrictions on shape. Initially white elements can be painted in any color with acrylic paint.
Stone – natural or artificial. Thanks to a variety of textures and colors, it can be used to decorate arches different styles and forms.
Ceramics – tiles or mosaics can cover both the entire arch and its individual parts.
Glass – these can be blocks installed at the full height of the opening, on different widths, ladder. This design of arches in high-tech style looks impressive. Often there is a design arched openings using stained glass and colored glass, such elements are ideal for the Art Nouveau style.
Decorating an arch with artificial stone
Artificial stone is widely used when decorating arches. This material is durable and aesthetic, it can imitate any natural analogue, which can be seen in numerous photos in magazines and the Internet. Natural stone, of course, can also be used for cladding, but the arch must be located in the opening load-bearing wall or monolithic partition. Drywall simply cannot withstand such a load, so it is better to use lightweight artificial materials for it. Besides natural stone It's quite expensive.
Advice! To cover plasterboard arches with your own hands, it is better to use light and flexible tiles made of acrylic. Its surface can imitate the texture of any stone and other materials.
Projects modern apartments often include decorative arches along walls or in passages between rooms. Few owners know that with the correct and successful design of the arched structure, the interior of the house can be changed beyond recognition. It is this design element that allows you to place bright accents
Purpose of arches in the interior
All structures perform important functions in interior design. Decorative arches in this sense they are no exception. Replacing interior doors with elegant ones arched passages, you can make any room more spacious. IN large apartments With the help of arches you can place spectacular accents in the interior.
So, decorative openings in the interior help solve the following problems:
- Freeing up space in the apartment, expanding the view;
- Zoning rooms and at the same time – their visual unification;
- Support of a single style in apartment design.
Which form should I choose?
The main design differences between arches in an apartment are shape and material. In this section we will deal with the first of these indicators. Which arch shape is best to choose for your interior.
Arched openings can be divided into two types:
Active - structures complex shape that can become an accent in the interior;
Passive - simple and functional models, most often installed in hallways and interior openings.
Classical
The most common option for an interior opening in construction is the classic arch, in which upper part made in the shape of a regular semicircular arc. This form will suit any interior and is quite simple to build with your own hands.
Rectangular and square
Openings with right angles are another traditional solution for apartment interiors. It is appropriate to install them in narrow corridors or hallways, where an ordinary semicircular structure will look massive. Rectangular arched openings and niches go well with almost any room design. They look especially good in laconic interior in loft style, minimalism, hi-tech.
Elliptical
Doorway in Art Nouveau styleby design they represent half an ellipse located transversely with a clearly visible transition of a straight line to a rounded section. Such designs look stylish and elegant. They are perfect for the interior of bright rooms in Provencal or nautical style, will look perfect at the entrance to a living room or spacious kitchen.
Trapezoidal
IN strict interiors openings made in the shape of a trapezoid look good. They will fit perfectly into the loft style and will support the rigor and simplicity of the lines in the living room classic style. It is worth noting that such an arch is quite difficult to make with your own hands - it is better to have all the details made to order from professional carpenters.
Half-arch
A semi-arch looks like a wide classic arch, divided in half. This design option is quite easy to install and will become ideal solution for decorating narrow interior passages. It is worth noting that the semi-arch is not suitable for all interiors; you need to be especially careful when combining it with the design of the rooms.
Unusual shape
When using soft, plastic materials - such as drywall and foam, the arched opening can be given almost any shape. You just have to make sure that this design will not get out of general design interior Especially good arches unusual shape look great in spacious rooms.
Choosing materials for finishing with your own hands
The material from which the interior arch will be built is also very important indicator its durability. When choosing materials for future design, it is worth considering the strength of the coating, as well as its resistance to conditions specific premises. For example, arches in the kitchen should not be deformed by steam or exposed to greasy contamination, and structures that stand near windows should not lose color when exposed to direct sunlight.
Drywall
Arched plasterboard structures are the most common in construction. This material is easy to install and transform. To give the drywall the desired shape, the sheet can be bent or cut anywhere. Sheets vary in thickness, so you can choose an option
Tree
Interior arches made of wood have high strength and durability. They look very good in classic interiors. Nevertheless wooden arch not easy to install with your own hands, model range such products are also no different great variety. The way out of this situation is custom production and installation of a wooden opening for the room design. This design can be ordered in specialized workshops or made yourself if you have certain skills in working with wood. Designers recommend installing arches made of this material in spacious rooms, since wooden products always look massive.
Brick and stone
Arched brick openings look great in fashionable interiors in loft and modern style. Depending on the chosen design and texture of this material, they can “age” or “modernize” the design of the entire room. Of course it's real building brick It makes no sense to use it - the design from it will turn out to be too cumbersome. Most often, a special one is used to decorate arches. decorative brick in the form small panels. It can be laid on a frame made of plaster or foam plastic, creating an imitation of real masonry.
The same recommendations apply to arches using decorative stone. It is worth noting that arches made of brick and stone look best in spacious hallways, corridors and kitchens. However, if the interior allows, such a structure can be placed in other rooms.
Arch decor
Ready arch It is best to decorate it in the same style as the rest of the interior of the rooms. This element should not stand out significantly against the background of the overall design of the apartment.
As for the color of the design, it can be matched to the shade of the walls, if the arch does not stand out from the general space with the help of doorways (like brick and wooden models). If additional paneling is used, it is worth combining the color of the arch with the interior doors and other functional elements of the apartment.
How to decorate an arch in an apartment yourself? There are several simple and inexpensive ways:
- Wallpapering is the easiest way to decorate an arch with your own hands. It is recommended to use the same wallpaper that is used to decorate the entire room. In this case, the arched opening will not stand out from the general interior space and will not require additional finishing. If the structure is located in the transition between rooms, it is worth decorating it on both sides;
- Painting door slopes– one more easy way decorating an arched opening with your own hands. It is worth noting that to paint arches made of plasterboard and foam plastic, it is necessary to first level the surface.
- Decoration with tiles, stone, brick. This option not only looks great in the appropriate interior, but also allows you to mask all the irregularities that may arise when self-construction designs. Brick and stone with an expressive texture will cope especially well with this.
- Decoration– painting by hand or using stencils.
- Installing shelves, changing the arch design. Today it is very popular to create in wide doorways decorative and functional shelves and other structures. This option is most applicable to arches made of plasterboard and other plastic materials. It is best combined with a rectangular or semi-arch.
Of course professional designers We are ready to offer many more ways to design an arch than those given above. However, in this material we tried to combine those options that can be done with your own hands using economical means.
Using textiles for decoration
When installing arched openings as a replacement interior doors, owners often face the question of zoning premises. How to separate and decorate the entrance to a room if it is an open arch? Excellent for these purposes suitable for home textile.
It is worth noting that curtains will be more appropriate when decorating arches of a simple shape - rectangular, semicircular or elliptical. It is better to select textiles to match the color of the window curtains or the color of the walls in the room. You should not buy heavy and complex options fabrics - two-layer, draped and shiny. Let it be enough blackout curtain in one shade.
Light in decoration
Wall arches and niches made of plasterboard look most impressive when illuminated. It is she who will highlight this area of the room and the pieces of furniture standing in this part.
In spacious rooms with high ceilings Hanging lamps with small shades will look great in arches. This option will do for decorating the kitchen and living room, to highlight functional zones, such as a table, bar counter, sofa or TV.
If lighting is required for an interior arch, it may be limited to small quantities of built-in lamps. This option will also look good near mirrors or in combination with glass furniture.
In the gallery of our website you can see photographs of arches in the interior of apartments and best ideas their design. Some of these projects were designed by professional craftsmen, others were ordinary people who decided to do the repairs themselves. Looking at them, you can be convinced that with very little effort, you can easily change the appearance of your home beyond recognition.
The arch is one of the most effective ways revitalizing apartment design. With the help of this structure you can not only transform the environment, but also give it beauty and originality. Arches come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Finishing an arch with your own hands can be done using various materials.
Finishing
- overlay elements made of polystyrene;
Finishing material can be found in any hardware store. Modern industry boasts a variety of arched elements, for the production of which wood and were used, as well as baguettes made of polyurethane, and components made of natural and artificial stones.
Options for finishing an arched opening
Now we will look in more detail at how you can decorate an arch with one material or another.
The easiest way to finish an arch is to cover it with the same wallpaper as the walls. First you need to prepare the glue - the consistency should be slightly thicker than that used for gluing the walls. The first strip should be glued next to the arch on the surface of the wall, and the next so that it covers a piece of the arched opening. The protruding part should be carefully trimmed, leaving a small allowance (about 3 cm), which then needs to be cut every 2 cm, folded and glued to the slope.
The vault of the arch requires a strip of wallpaper that matches the width of the opening. Finally, the wallpaper should be carefully smoothed to avoid any air bubbles underneath.
If only the arch is covered with wallpaper, then it can be framed with decorative plastic corner.
Finishing arch openings with natural materials is the most popular trend in the modern construction market. The most important thing is to choose as much as possible suitable type products.
If the priority characteristics are environmental cleanliness and naturalness, then there will be appropriate finishing arches using cork. This material is sold in the form of panels or rolls. The last option is more suitable for this type finishing works. An analogue is cork wallpaper on a self-adhesive base (if it is missing, then you should use acrylic glue).
Before you begin finishing, you need to putty, level and dry the arched structure. Application sequence cork covering completely coincides with gluing ordinary wallpaper. In an apartment with high humidity you need to use waxed cork or coat the finishing material with varnish.
Stone
Finishing interior arches with stone will require the following materials and tools:
- artificial stone;
- cement;
- lime;
- glue;
- sand;
- construction knife;
- pliers.
An arch trimmed with artificial stone fits well into a room whose design is associated with eco or country style. To achieve the best result, you need to cover not only the opening, but also part of the wall surface near it. Both symmetrical and asymmetrical finishing methods will look original and impressive. Tiles can be used from artificial stone any structure externally similar to granite, sandstone, marble or brick.
Good grip of this finishing material with the surface is ensured using pre-plaster arch and its priming. After making a few cuts, you can proceed to cooking. cement mortar. The most difficult moment in designing an arch is finishing the corners. To avoid unpleasant moments, you need to overlap the tiles. That is, the first tile should be glued flush with the opening, and the second should be shifted by an amount equal to the thickness of the tile. Further cladding should be based on the following principle: each even row is overlapped, each odd row is offset (the edge of the tile must coincide with the arched opening).
Approaching the upper curve of the arch, you must first take measurements and mark a cut line, and then use a construction knife to run along it several times and break off unnecessary parts with pliers. You can get rid of unevenness using a file.
Film
No less popular, due to its practicality, is the finishing of plasterboard arches with self-adhesive polymer film - a special artificial material, very wear-resistant and embossed. The laminated surface will not be damaged in any way. sun rays, neither temperature fluctuations, nor even high humidity. And its main property is the ability to withstand various types of deformation over a long period of time. Another important advantage of laminated coating is its ease of maintenance - it is very easy to clean.
Besides, artificial material always saved family budget. And the opinions of many experts agree on one thing: appearance laminated coating does not lag behind natural materials. Numerous Variety design ideas and the presence of rich color palette allows you to find suitable option even for a finished interior.
Decorative finishing door arches can be made from almost any material - it all depends on your imagination and budget level. In this case, you need to stock up on various accessories: decorative molding or a plastic corner, which, by the way, is cheaper.
The biggest difficulty in finishing the arches lies in its arch part. Optimal for this area is the use of elastic and highly flexible materials. If there are none, then you will need to be patient, which will be required when facing the arched vault using narrow and very small parts. A luxurious look can be achieved, for example, by using colored mosaics.
If making a semicircular vault of an arch turns out to be an impossible task, then you can transform it into a broken figure or trapezoid. To finish an even fracture, you can use the most various materials: lining, laminated or parquet board, as well as cork panels.
Video
This video shows how the assembly and finishing of an interior arch occurs:
How to make bricks on an arch? Very easy! Watch this video:
Photo
Whatever material the arch is built from, it will become a real decoration only after. If you have ordered a general project, then the professionals will suggest how to decorate the arch in the apartment so that it is in harmony with the design concept of the entire space. But you can also choose the decor you like and also cover this architectural element with it.
Arches decorate not only the door, they effectively mark a niche in the wall and make our window exclusive. Hence the different finishing requirements: interior arches are under heavy load - which means their decor should be not only beautiful, but also durable.
Finishing materials
The market offers numerous materials for designing a through opening:
- classic - wallpaper;
- decorative stone;
- facing brick;
- tiles or ceramic;
- decorative plaster;
- mirrors;
- textile;
- mosaic;
- traffic jam
Corners for arches
We carefully mark with corners the vulnerable places - arched corners. Let us clarify that only their hard cladding does not require such protection. In a different design, it is the corners that will prevent mechanical damage opening and maintain its aesthetic appearance.
Plastic arched corners are available in various widths, but convenient size— 10×20 mm. At the same time, its wide side liquid nails Let's glue the arch inside, the narrow one to the facade.
Advice! It takes a long time to press the corner to the base, so we’ll secure it with masking tape for about 12 hours.
Wallpapering
Pasting on the arch
- First we putty and level the base.
- Then we’ll prepare the glue: use a drill attachment to stir it.
- We glue the strip vertically next to the opening and bend the edge 3 cm onto the arch. Similarly, we glue the second strip next to the first.
- We glue the next strips also with an allowance.
- Now, using scissors, we cut out the corners in these allowances to avoid folds, glue them to the arch, smoothing them out.
On last stage cover the vault:
- first of all, we will cut a strip along the width of the arch, but let the length be longer to match the pattern;
- glue this strip at the top of the arch and then go down, smoothing it from top to bottom, and then to the edge.
The advantages of this decor include a variety of colors and patterns for any interior and taste, as well as the price of finishing. However, wallpaper is short-lived: it turns yellow, loses its freshness and novelty. And, unfortunately, they deteriorate from moisture.
Cork finish
Today it is very popular to decorate openings with cork - an environmentally friendly, warm, natural material.
Only roll view optimal for this design. We will also need acrylic or contact glue. Easy to work with.
How can you decorate an arch in an apartment with cork? In fact, this is an ordinary wallpaper sticker. To increase its strength, we will then coat the cork with varnish.
Advice! For the arch in the kitchen, we will buy cork rolls coated with wax - it repels moisture.
Application of decorative plaster
Finishing features
- Its advantages: easy and simple application, durability.
- Flaws decorative plaster: complexity of restoration, relief is difficult to wash or clean.
To decorate with decorative plaster, we will need relief rollers or stamps.
Note that using ready-made mixtures slow drying will make the work easier: we will have time to make a relief on the wet plaster.
Work order
- Distribute the mixture over the surface- the instructions will indicate the thickness of the layer (but more than 1.5 cm).
- Now relief rollers or create a relief with stamps. By the way, rollers save us material and time, unlike stamps.
- Then we prime the dried relief.
After 20 hours we paint according to a special scheme:
- to emphasize the relief, first apply dark paint with a roller with a longer pile;
- second layer: apply light paint with a roller with a shorter pile or rubber - now only the tops of the relief are painted.
Stone finishing
The beautiful design of an arch with stone or tiles can be symmetrical in eco or country style, or asymmetrical in deconstructivism or modern style.
Laying tiles
- As usual, we will first plaster, prime the surface and make notches.
- We will prepare the solution from cement, lime, sand and glue, or (if the instructions allow) we will fix the tiles with liquid nails.
- The overlap sticker will save us from caulking external corners- in the first row we will glue it end to end, and in the second row - with a shift inward.
- And so in every odd row we align the edge of the tile precisely with the border of the opening, but in every even row we attach it with an overlap.
Masonry along the arc of stone
- Place on a carefully prepared surface.
- First, we try on the tiles and mark the cut line from the inside.
- Draw along the drawn line several times construction knife and break off the unnecessary part with pliers, and then smooth it with a file.
- We close the seams within a day.