Arch design - choice of style and materials
Replacing the doors with arched doorways makes us think about what should be the design of the arch in the apartment. There are many options for finishing, but which one to choose - dictates the overall style of the interior.
Если ремонтом в вашей квартире руководит дизайнер, вам не придется ломать голову над тем, how to make an arch — нужно только выбрать наиболее понравившийся из предложенных им вариантов.
But if you are your own designer, foreman, and dresser, this task will have to be solved independently.
It will be easy to do this if the entire interior of the apartment is built in the same style. In principle, it should be so, because arched openings unite space, which means - at least adjacent rooms, combined with an arch should not argue with each other.
Consider the basic interior styles (see Arches in the interior) and tell you how to decorate the arch in an apartment in one way or another.
Interior arches styles
High Tech Arch
This is one of the most popular styles today, which involves the use in the interior of minimalism, clear forms, modern materials.
The arch in such an interior is a rare guest, but if you nevertheless definitely want it to be, then it is better to make it not a classic form. The most acceptable in this style is the portal arch with rounded corners and a straight top, or the arch of the original irregular shape.
This opening does not require special decoration - it is enough to paint it in the color of the walls. As a decor, you can use built-in lamps, acrylic mirrors or other materials with a smooth glossy surface.
Art Nouveau Arch
The arches in this style are distinguished by a large radius and a clearly visible transition from rounding to the straight section of the opening.
Registration of interior arches in this case is usually made of wood or MDF panels. It is quite difficult to do this on your own, therefore it is advisable even before you cut down the opening, acquire a ready-made frame and adjust the shape and size of the arch to it.
Otherwise, you will have to contact a company specializing in the manufacture of arched structures.
Arch in classic style
The radius of the classic arch is always equal to half the width of the door or through opening. Such arches are very elegant, have smooth lines flowing from rounded sections to straight lines.
They can be trimmed with the same wood or wood-based materials, as well as with polyurethane moldings painted in a suitable color.
Classic arch может опираться на колонну или полуколонну строгой формы. Если же к такому оформлению добавить лепнину, элементы скульптуры или резьбы, оно больше подойдет к стилю ампир или барокко.
Arches design options
Pasting by wall-paper (see. How to paste over an arch wall-paper), painting and finishing by a tree are the most widespread types of finishing of arch apertures.
But besides them, there are many other design options, most of which can be done by hand:
- Decorating with a decorative stone or brick.
- Finishing plaster or polyurethane stucco.
- Finishing with plastic panels or clapboard.
- Decoration of the arched opening with curtains, etc.
Decorating arch decorative stone
Если вы не знаете, how to make an arch yourself, используя искусственный камень, мы вам об этом расскажем:
- First you need to prepare the surface: for better adhesion with glue it should not be very smooth. You can even make small incisions with a knife or hatchet (depending on the material of the walls).
- Then you should prepare the adhesive solution. Usually it consists of glue, sand, cement and lime, but it is better, when buying a stone, to inquire on which glue it is better to glue.
- As a rule, not only the arch of the arch, but also the adjacent sections of the walls get off with the stone. The first stone must be glued at the very floor at the junction of the wall and the arch. At the same time you need to monitor the level of styling.
Attention! Making arches decorative stone will be easier if you choose a tile in the form of narrow plates. They are better attached to internal radius surfaces.
- The first stone of the second row should be glued so that it protrudes beyond the angle formed by the wall and opening to the thickness of the decorative tile.
- Reaching the rounded part of the arch, the stones must be carefully cut in an arc. To do this, they are first applied to the wall dry, mark with a pencil on the back side of the line cut, several times on it with the force of a sharp knife and break off the excess with pliers. The resulting irregularities can be removed with emery paper.
- Gluing the facade of the arch, in the same way, veneer its inside.
- It is possible to wipe the seams only after 24 hours, when the glue will set and the stones will firmly stick to the place. This should be done carefully with a small rubber trowel. You can use a pastry syringe to fill the narrow gaps between the tiles with a solution.
Framing arched windows
The arch in the apartment can play the role of not only the opening that unites the premises. Often this form has a niche in the wall or window openings. And sometimes the arch has interior doors.
Но, если decoration of door arches не проблема — сами дверные полотна являются главным декором, то арочные окна почти всегда вызывают у дизайнеров замешательство. Действительно, декор для таких окон подобрать очень сложно.
Ordinary straight curtain rods and blackout curtains will simply deprive windows of their originality and charm; in this case, blinds and roller blinds are no good either. And yet the design of the arches curtains possible. Just look at the photo so that a lot of ideas appear in your head how to do it.