MY ARCH-MAZING DECISION
Arches! Arches! Aches! I have always had a penchant for arches. It’s the whisper in their curves and the effortless elegance they ooze…It’s in their still softness and their intriguing simplicity which boosts the overall aesthetics of a room. It is in their…okay I’ve run out of poetic phrases, but you get my love for them, right?!
I often get asked about my thought process regarding replacing the doors with arches in my recent renovation and I am left wondering could there have been another way to go about it? Lol, on a serious note though, I decided to put my thoughts in order and here we go…
From the outset, the idea was to create an open floor plan by taking down the wall that separated the living room and kitchen to create more space and ease the movement between rooms, but my hopes were crushed. It was structurally impossible to take the entire wall down therefore plan B came into play. There was a door separating the living room and the rest of the house, a door to enter the kitchen and another door separating the kitchen and pantry all under 40 square feet! That is too many doors in such a small area.
I knew I needed the doors gone and that would leave me with the traditional square-shaped feature making it too obvious I took down doors. Hence the arch-mazing idea!
Image via Arch DailyFor your info, arches made their debut in architecture from as early as the third millennium BC and were popularized by the ancient romans when they used them as fundamental structural elements. Just like horizontal beams, arches are used to span an opening and to support loads from above but have a greater advantage over horizontal beams because they carry a much greater load and can span wider openings than horizontal beams can. (Sounds like gibberish. Sorry, It’s the best I could do to simplify my research!)
Over the years, they’ve evolved and now appear in various forms and featured in several interior designs and styles as elements that create an illusion of space, elevate a room’s aesthetic impact, complement other architectural details in a room and are mainly used in dining rooms, formal living spaces, entrance halls and as doorways for their grandiosity.
Even though arches are mostly seen in older style homes such as Mediterranean, Spanish and Moroccan, they are now being adopted in new modern spaces. You only need be careful with how you execute them. The idea of arches as entry ways worked for me. The round lines are often much more striking than traditional straight door frames, creating a natural focal point for your space. Additionally, the home has an older shell to it, so the arches look like they already existed. Furthermore, and most importantly, it was structurally possible to build the arches.
Watch the arch formation REEL
If you are thinking of redesigning or building arches into your space, I’m here to let know you know it is possible. First and foremost, consult. Find out if manually building an arch into an already finished building is structurally possible. I do not understand the engineering behind it all, but arches bear the load to support a certain structure, so you want to make sure you don’t interfere with the mechanics of your entire building.
If building an arch from scratch is not possible, and you still want them so bad, you can DIY them. I KNOW!! I did not think this was possible until I saw my friend and DIY Queen, Amanda do it. Check out her blog for a step-by-step tutorial here
And if DIY is not your forte, worry not. There are other ways of incorporating arches into a space. You can do this by including arched-mirrors, arch-shaped furniture and accessories. You can also add an arch on the wall by painting an arch on a wall!! Again, see Amanda’s brilliance, here and other ideas below…
My advice as always is to remain true to your personality and individual style. Let these tips and images guide and inspire you but ultimately make the decision that best suits your existing space and style.
I must say though, I’m very glad with how successful this project turned out. Every time I see them arches, my heart leaps with utter joy and it’s become my favourite backdrop for selfies that never make it to the gram…you are not allowed to judge.
Ok bye!
Until next time,
xxxx
