In recent years, the design of the entrance without the use of a door is gradually returning to fashion. In this case, it is replaced with an arched opening that gives the interior a unique style. With the help of this architectural element, you can visually enlarge a small room or divide the surrounding space into functional zones. After reading this article, you will learn how to make an arched opening in the vault of a wall.
Possible configurations
Using this design technique allows you to give any room a unique individual style. To date, there are several different arch configurations. The most popular of them are:
- Classic option, suitable for rooms with a ceiling height of at least three meters. The bending radius of the correct arch must be greater than 45 centimeters.
- Art Nouveau arched opening, ideal for decorating typical apartments. In this case, not only rounded, but also sharp corners are allowed, since the width of the doorway is much less than the radius of the arch.
- Romantic design, perfect for wide openings. Between rounded corners oftenhave horizontal inserts.
The design configuration largely depends on the individual characteristics of the premises and the personal preferences of the owners. The arched opening (the photo of which will be presented below) can be polygonal, undulating, with all kinds of shelves, stained-glass windows or lighting.
Materials used to create these structures
In modern interiors, you can often see an arched opening constructed from drywall sheets, plywood, fiberboard, chipboard, wood, metal, brick, plastic or cast-in-place concrete. When using heavy materials such as natural stone, their weight must be taken into account. Such structures will require special foundations and reinforcing elements that provide better bonding with the walls.
Advantages and disadvantages of arched openings
Those who plan to create such a structure need to think it over carefully, weigh all the pros and cons of such structures.
The main advantages endowed with an arched opening include:
- Style and aesthetics, because the entrance designed in this way looks much more interesting than a standard door.
- The opportunity to expand the view, which is especially important for young families with small children. Thanks to this design solution, parents will be able to see what their child is doing without leaving the room.
- Zoning large areas. With the help of the arch, you can easily separate the kitchen fromdining room without losing a holistic perception of space.
- Visual enlargement of the room. Erasing clear boundaries between two rooms creates the effect of combining them into one.
One of the most significant drawbacks of such structures can be considered the complete lack of sound insulation. Everything that happens in your room will certainly be heard in the next room. In addition, the arched opening does not prevent the spread of odors throughout the apartment. This is especially true when it is built between the kitchen and the living room.
Design Features
Ideally, the arch emphasizing the doorway should be in harmony with the overall style of the room. Therefore, even before the start of construction work, you need to decide on the shape and size of the future structure. Round, rectangular, ellipsoidal and asymmetric arches are especially popular today. A little less often you can see designs made in the form of a rounded portal. As for the dimensions, the dimensions of the arched openings directly depend on the area of \u200b\u200bthe room.
How to make a drywall arch with your own hands?
To create such a design, you should stock up on all the necessary tools in advance, including plumb lines, dowels, drills, aluminum corners, self-tapping screws, a drill, a ruler, drawing patterns, scissors or a drywall hacksaw and a puncher or a jackhammer.
At the initial stage, you need to decide on the locationfuture design. Having drawn a sketch of a new opening, you can get rid of an unnecessary part of the wall. This is done with a jackhammer or perforator.
Next, we apply a corner on both sides of the inner edge of the top of the opening. Then, using a drill, holes are drilled in it in the wall, into which dowels are subsequently inserted. After fixing the plumb lines necessary for the installation of drywall, you can proceed with the installation of the arch pre-cut from the sheet. For high-quality framing of the inner edge of the drywall sheet, it is advisable to moisten with water. These manipulations will greatly facilitate the process of giving the desired shape. After the installation is completed, the resulting structure is carefully puttied and, if desired, pasted over with a fiberglass mesh.
Finishing the archway
The easiest and most affordable way to decorate an arch is wallpapering. In this case, problems may arise when decorating a wall in the area of the arch. In order for everything to work out in the best way, you need to glue the sheet so that it protrudes slightly into the opening. After that, you should carefully cut off the protruding part, leaving a couple of centimeters. The resulting allowance is cut into centimeter strips and glued to the inside of the arched vault. The design pasted over with wallpaper can be additionally decorated with a paper, plastic or veneer frieze.
Another popular finishing method is the processing of decorative plaster. In this case, you will need to pre-putty the surface of the structure in order to hide the caps of the self-tapping screws,seams and other visible irregularities. After that, the arch must be primed and wait at least 12 hours. This is how long it will take for the primer to dry completely. Then you can start applying the plaster. So that it does not protrude into the opening, it is first recommended to process the inner plane of the arch and only then proceed to finish the walls around the arch. A day later, the dried plaster is painted with special paints.
