How to make an archway, finish, photo

In recent years, the design of the entrance is gradually returning to fashion without using the door. In this case, it is replaced by an arched opening, giving 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 areas. After reading this article, you will learn how to make an archway in the arch of the 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:

• A classic option, suitable for premises, the height of the ceilings is at least three meters. The bending radius of the correct arch should be more than 45 centimeters.
• Arched aperture in the Art Nouveau style, ideal for decoration of standard apartments. In this case, not only rounded, but also sharp angles are allowed, since the width of the doorway is much smaller than the radius of the arch.
• The design is in a romantic style, best suited for wide openings. Between the corners with curvatures, horizontal inserts are often placed.

The configuration of the structure depends largely on the individual characteristics of the premises and personal preferences of the owners. Arched opening (photo of which will be presented below) can be polygonal, wavy, with all kinds of shelves, stained-glass windows or illumination.

Materials used to create similar structures

In modern interiors one can often see an arched opening, constructed of gypsum boards, plywood, fiberboard, particle board, wood, metal, brick, plastic or solid concrete. When using heavy materials like natural stone, you must always take into account their weight. For such structures, a special foundation and reinforcing elements will be required to ensure a better bond with the walls.

Advantages and disadvantages of archways

Those who are planning to create a similar design, you need to think carefully, weigh all the pros and cons of such structures.

The main advantages of the arched doorway include:

• Style and aesthetics, because the entrance thus designed looks much more interesting than the standard door.
• The opportunity to expand the survey, which is especially important for young families with young children. Thanks to this design decision, parents, without leaving the room, will be able to see what their child is doing.
• Zoning of large areas. With the help of the arch, you can easily separate the kitchen from the dining room, without losing a holistic perception of space.
• Visual increase in the room. Erasing the clear boundaries between the two rooms creates the effect of combining them into one.

One of the most significant drawbacks of such structures can be considered the complete absence of sound insulation. Everything that happens in your room will certainly be heard in the next room. In addition, the archway does not prevent the spread of odors throughout the apartment. Especially it concerns those cases 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 stylistics of the room. Therefore, before the start of construction work, you need to determine the shape and size of the future design. Especially popular today are round, rectangular, ellipsoid and asymmetrical arches. Slightly less often you can see the 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 the room.

How to make a drywall arch with your own hands?

To create such a design, you must stock up with all the necessary tools, including plumbing, dowels, drills, aluminum corners, screws, drill, ruler, drawing patterns, scissors or a gypsum plasterboard and perforator or jackhammer.

At the initial stage it is necessary to determine the location of the future structure. Drawing a sketch of a new opening, you can get rid of the unnecessary part of the wall. This is done with a jackhammer or a perforator.

Next, apply a corner from both sides of the inner edge of the top of the opening. Then, using a drill in it, holes are drilled in the wall, into which dowels are subsequently inserted. After fixing the plumb bows necessary for the installation of drywall, it is possible to proceed with the installation of a previously cut arch from the sheet. For a qualitative framing of the inner edge, the gypsum board should be moistened with water. These manipulations will greatly facilitate the process of shaping. After the installation is completed, the resulting structure is carefully shpaklyuyut and if desired, pasted fiberglass mesh.

Decoration of the archway

The most simple and affordable way to decorate the arch is to pasted wallpaper. In this case, problems can arise when decorating a wall in the arch area. To make it all the best, you need to glue the sheet so that it protrudes slightly in the opening. After this, you should carefully trim the protruding part, leaving a couple of centimeters. The resulting allowance is cut into centimeter strips and glued to the inside of the arch vault. The wallpaper can be additionally decorated with paper, plastic or veneer frieze.

Another popular method of finishing is the treatment with decorative plaster. In this case, it is required to pre-pluck the surface of the structure in order to hide the hats of self-tapping screws, seams and other discernible irregularities. After this, the arch must be primed and wait at least 12 hours. This is the time it takes to completely dry the primer. Then you can start applying plaster. To ensure 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. After a day the dried plaster is painted with special paints.