How to decorate the arch with their own hands: simple and

From whatever the arch is made, it becomes a real decoration of the room only after decorative decoration. Therefore, we will talk about how to decorate the arch with your own hands and what materials you can use for this.

If you ordered the development of an arch project in a construction company, then its specialists should have developed a project for its decorative finishing in accordance with the general design concept of the apartment. If you did the arch yourself, then you will have to decide how to decorate the arch in the apartment.

Arches are used not only in the doorways, but also for the decoration of niches in the wall or for giving a unique design to the windows (see Arches in the interior). And in each case, different requirements are imposed on the decoration.

Here we will talk about interior arches, which in comparison with other arches have the maximum load. And this means that their decorative finish should be of higher strength.

• 1 Materials for finishing
• 2 Arch finishing

• 2.1 Finished trim for arches
• 2.2 Self-finishing cork arches
• 2.3 How to decorate the arch tile or stone

Finishing materials

Recently, designers are increasingly offering to mount arches instead of doorways in country houses and apartments (see How to make an arch: all the details of the process). They allow us not to divide the home into separate rooms, but to create a single space, divided into zones only conditionally.

Increasingly, in the projects of new buildings there are studio apartments in which such functional areas as the hallway, kitchen, dining room and living room are combined. And increasingly, such redevelopment is done in the houses of the old building.

And the arched opening is the most attractive option for simultaneous unification and separation of these zones.

Manufacturers of building and finishing materials have long responded to this trend, and a variety of materials for arch finishing have appeared on the market. Among them are finished wooden arches, arches made of MDF, polyurethane baguettes, and various accessories made of artificial and natural stone - locks, pads, arch extensions, etc.

For self-manufacturing of arched structures, drywall is most often used, so those who make repairs themselves are more concerned with the question of how to decorate an arch made of drywall. There are practically no restrictions here.

The easiest way is to carefully level the surface and paint it or paste it with wallpaper (see How to glue the arch with wallpaper). Modern painting compositions, like wallpaper, have any desired texture and can withstand cleaning and washing.

But if you do not want to limit yourself to such classic types of finishes, you can use:

• decorative stone / brick
• tiled or ceramic tiles
• mirrors
• mosaic
• textile
• cork
• decorative plaster

I would like to especially note that the most vulnerable point of the arched opening is its corners. Especially if they are not protected by a hard finish, but are covered with wallpaper or painted. Over time, the wallpaper at the junction can begin to peel off, giving the opening an untidy look.

Fortunately, manufacturers have taken care of how to trim the corners of the arch in order to protect them from mechanical damage and give the doorway an aesthetic look. These are special plastic arched corners with different width of shelves.

The most convenient and common size is 10? 20 mm. The wider side of the corner is glued to the inner surface of the arch, and narrow - to the facade.

Liquid nails are used as glue. The complex shape of the arch requires for a long time to press the corner to the surface so that it adheres well along its entire length. Therefore, it is fixed for 12–18 hours with masking tape until the glue seizes completely.

Arch decoration

Finishing for arches

If you want the decorative decoration of the arches to look professional and solid, order ready-made interior arches from solid wood or MDF. The opening in the drywall wall in this case must be accurately correlated with the size of the finish.

Among the finishers, such arches are particularly popular, as they resemble the trim of the opening with platbands and perfectly protect all structural elements of the arch from chips, scratches and dirt. But it is difficult to make such an arch on your own.

Another option - polyurethane arches. What is good about this material is its flexibility, which makes it possible to smooth out small irregularities, and the possibility of painting it in any color. You can individually purchase racks, arcs, locks, decorative panels and decorate the arch yourself.

Self-finishing cork arches

Today, great importance is attached to the use in the decoration of environmentally friendly natural materials. One of them is traffic jam. In many houses, it is trimmed with floors and walls, and the decorative decoration of the arch with a cork is also no exception.

Этот материал выпускается в панелях и рулонах, также существуют пробковые обои. Именно их, а также рулонную cork и следует применять для оформления арочных проемов.

Проще всего работать с пробковыми обоями на самоклеящейся основе. Если же вы таких не нашли, купите рулонную cork и контактный либо акриловый клей.

So:

1. Walls must be puttied before finishing., dry and level well, as the surface must be perfect.
2. Decorating the door arches with a cork resembles a regular wallpaper sticker. The glue is applied both to the wall and to the wrong side of the cork coating, after which you need to wait a little for the glue to clutch, and then start pasting.
3. The coating is glued end to end, without gaps and gaps. At the same time it is necessary to ensure that there are no air bubbles under it.
4. Cork can be moved along the wall until the glue hardens., but it is better to immediately try to attach it correctly and press it.

Обратите внимание! Если арка расположена в помещении с повышенной влажностью, например, на кухне, нужно выбирать для отделки пробковые материалы, покрытые воском, который будет отталкивать от поверхности влагу. Для лучшей прочности cork после монтажа можно покрыть лаком.

How to decorate the arch tile or stone

The decoration of the arch with an artificial stone will harmoniously look in the interiors in country style or in eco style. This type of decoration looks best when not only the opening is covered with stone, but also part of the wall around it.

This facing can be symmetrical and asymmetrical, smoothly moving from one arch to another, as in the picture below. In any case, the arches trimmed with stone look very impressive and original.

We describe the technology of facing arched openings with decorative artificial or natural stone. To do this, it is best to use narrow tiles, the front surface of which can have any texture and color of your choice. For example, it can be an imitation of sandstone, marble or brick.

Attention! Keep in mind that the materials for finishing the drywall arches should be light.

So:

1. For good adhesion of the tiles to the surface, it must be plastered, primed, and then made notches.
2. In accordance with the instructions, prepare the cement mortar, which in addition to cement should include lime, glue and sand. Although some types of cladding can be mounted on liquid nails.
3. If you want the stone decoration of the arches not to require embedding the outer corners, the tiles should be glued with an overlap. continue: in each odd row, combine the edge of the tile with the border of the opening, and in each even one - overlap.
4. Having reached the rounding of the arch, first try on the tiles to the opening dry and mark the cutting line on the reverse side, leading the arch along the arc with a pencil.
5. Using the drawn line, you need to hold the construction knife several times, then break off the unnecessary part of the tile with pliers, and smooth the irregularities with a file.
6. When finished with wall cladding, you can proceed to pasting the opening. Do not forget here to glue decorative stone overlap.
7. Sealing of seams is made in a day. This is done with a special solution, very carefully, so as not to stain and break the stone.

A little differently there is an arch finishing by a tile - ceramic or tiled. Here it is necessary to cut the edges of the tile at 45 degrees in order to form a beautiful and even angle. Not every master can do this qualitatively; therefore, it is better to entrust such work to a professional.

Of course, you can use a special plastic corner for trimming corners, but such decoration of the arches with your own hands will look rustic and cheap.

Other finishes

The greatest difficulty in the decorative decoration of arches is precisely their vaulted part. For it, it is necessary to use either elastic, bending materials, or to have remarkable patience and accuracy in order to revet the arch with small or very narrow details that will ideally repeat all the bends.

Это может быть, например, mosaic arch trim. Выглядит она роскошно, но требует большого мастерства. Если вы не чувствуете в себе таланта профессионального отделочника, сделайте арку не классической полукруглой формы, а в виде трапеции или другой ломаной фигуры.

Even fractures of this design will not force you to puzzle over what you can trim an arch - choose any materials. It can be wooden or plastic lining, parquet or laminated board, cork panels and all the materials already listed above.