Decorating An Arch With Decorative Stone (42 Photos): How To Decorate An Arch In An Apartment, Design Options

Many rooms have arches that separate the different areas. Arches have become a fashionable alternative to doors and partitions, they make an apartment more spacious and can become an ideal decor object. Various natural and artificial materials are chosen to decorate the arches. One of the most popular options is to decorate the arch with decorative stone. To decorate the arch correctly, you need to know about all the nuances of construction and material.

Benefits

For the decoration of the arch, one of two types of stones is chosen - artificial or natural. Each type has its own advantages.

Natural materials are characterized by the following features:

They have a very interesting texture. Such stones look out of the box - both on the pages of magazines and photographs, and upon closer examination. These include shell rock, sandstone.
Lovers of delicate colors in the interior should choose arches lined with marble. This stone is sustained in various shades of pink, the pastel color looks very neat and unobtrusive.
To emphasize their status, buyers often choose arches trimmed with granite. This material is very expensive, but it gives the interior solidity and is a sign of financial well-being.

Artificial decorative stones also have their own advantages:

They are made of such high quality that they are almost indistinguishable from natural materials.
The price for such material is democratic. You can trim the vault with more stones without worrying about financial costs.
Artificial stone is usually finished in such a way that it is not inferior in strength to natural materials.
The weight of the decorative coating is significantly less than that of the natural one. The combination of strength and lightness gives artificial material a significant advantage.
The artificial stone is not influenced by external factors. It is not susceptible to rotting and mold formation, and harmful bacteria do not appear on it.
Using a variety of dyes, they create a wide palette of colors for stones, so you can choose a shade that is right for your apartment.
The decorative material is easy to clean, no need to buy special care products and adhere to special technologies.

Based on these characteristics, you can determine which type of material is more suitable for decorating arches in your apartment. You will be able to choose the best option.

Tools

To paste over the opening with stones, you need to stock up on certain tools and materials:

hammer;
sandpaper;
chisel;
hacksaw for stone carving;
construction knife;
building level;
putty knife;
roulette;
construction mixer;
Grouting syringe.

The following components are used as consumables:

Choose a special glue for decorative stone - depending on the chosen coating. Some materials require special glue, so be careful when buying.
To make the seams between stones invisible, select a grout that is similar in color to the material.
Purchase a primer to prepare your walls. Choose a primer carefully, considering the composition of the walls, because different types of primer can differ from each other. Not all of them will be suitable for your apartment.
A water repellent is needed for the final processing of the stone.

If you have all the necessary materials and tools, you can easily independently cope with the decoration of the walls with decorative or natural stone.

Training

In order for the material to be fixed as firmly as possible, it is imperative to prepare the surface of the wall and the part to which the stone itself will join.

Remnants of wallpaper and paint should be removed from the walls. If there is whitewash near the doorways, then its traces must also be removed.
Use a putty to level the surface.
The arch and walls in the apartment must be primed. If the arch is made of drywall, do not lay heavy stone on it. Drywall will not support a lot of weight.
Some people use stones of several colors in the interior. If you are going to start finishing the vault, lay out the composition of stones in such a way as to draw up a drawing in advance - and only then transfer it to the wall.
Calculate the size of the material so that each piece fits exactly into a specific location in the doorway.

Finishing

Direct finishing of the opening is the main stage of the whole process, which must take place in a certain sequence:

Stir the glue until smooth (using a mixer). This should be done strictly according to the instructions.
The glue is applied to the surface where the stone will be placed and to the back of the tile itself. Layers should be from 0.5 to 1 cm thick, but no more.
Attach a tile made of stone or decorative bricks to the wall surface and press down. Each piece is fixed in a predetermined place and leveled with the help of a building level. It is much easier to apply square parts, but tiles of a different shape will make the cladding more original.

Try to attach the stone to the wall as tightly as possible with your own hands.
Tap on the surface of the material and remove excess adhesive, if any. When the glue holds the pieces of tile together from the end, it should be left.
After that, you need to carefully grout the joints. Using a syringe, it is necessary to fill the joints between the tiles so that the recess is at a distance of 0.3-0.5 cm from the outer edge of the coating.

After half an hour (after the solution has dried), level the surface with a spatula.
To create an imitation of natural material, you should decorate the tiles with chips. To do this, you need to outline the cleavage line in advance. Slowly and carefully remove the excess edges with pliers, working from the edge to the marked line. Use a file to smooth the edges of the chips. Use sandpaper for final polishing.
You can spray the tiles using a special spray. If the room is humid, treat the material with a water repellent.

Helpful hints

It should be remembered not only the main stages of the process, but also the special advice given by professionals in the design of arches in the premises:

Arches made of artificial stone in the hallway are recommended to be left with seams between the tiles. This nuance adds extra coziness. However, it is important to remember that too sharp a contrast between the shade of the coating and the color of the seams is unacceptable.
If you have to cut artificial material with a saw, it is important not to press on it during this process, otherwise there is a risk that the stone will split.
A stone arch is inseparable from good lighting. Make sure in advance that the room or corridor is equipped with powerful electrical appliances. This will allow you to enjoy all the beauty and texture of the material. Luminaires can be placed directly in the structure of the vault itself, which will give the design additional originality.
Arches lined with decorative stone or brick look especially beautiful in combination with plants. The vegetation near the structure will make it play in a new light and make your interior truly sophisticated.
Even openings made of stone can be decorated with decorative curtains made of a suitable material. Curtains should not attract attention, they are only intended to create additional comfort in the room.

Design options

The room in which the arch is located can be decorated in various styles. For each of them, it is necessary to select a material of a special texture and a certain color.

Interior arches in the loft style are made under the old brick. They can be decorated in red, gray or brown. It is in such structures that a large number of chips are provided, emphasizing the influence of time on the material.

The delicate concept of the Provencal interior involves the use of light stone or brick, without any pronounced signs of time. Such laying should be very neat.

The pompous Baroque style involves the use of natural stone to decorate interior arches. Such material is a sign of wealth and solidity. The stones near the doorway are very large and massive. In most cases, they are in light shades.

In the Mediterranean style, arches can be embodied in the most complete variety. Material of any texture can be selected. Preference is given to light or neutral brown shades, depending on the main range of the interior. Mediterranean arches can even be combined with curtains in a similar style.

The Empire style is very specific for creating interior arches. Its characteristic feature is the provision of the structure with columns on the sides. This design makes the vault a catchy interior detail. The main colors are white, beige. The columns at the top are often decorated with stone carving technology, which can also be present on the arch itself.

The minimalism style practically excludes the allocation of space around the arch with the help of masonry. Usually, the entire wall is covered with small stone slabs, where the arched opening is located, and the inner surface of the opening is finished with the help of special materials - without the use of stone.

The country style is dominated by beige brick. The arches are created with a targeted focus on the joints. The material finds echoes in other interior items as well - for example, in the fireplace, which goes well with the arch.

Many people think about in which parts of the house the presence of an arched structure is permissible.

There are several options for its location in the premises:

The most popular are such arches that separate the kitchen area and the dining area. A similar layout can often be seen in country and Provence styles.
The dining and living areas are also often divided in a similar way. Sometimes a stone arch is suitable for rooms decorated in different colors. It looks equally presentable with any shades of furniture and walls.
Arches are popular not only as doorways, but also for styling windows. Often, the wall is designed in such a way that an arch-shaped protrusion is located above the window. This design is relevant for the loft style.
In the bedroom, arches separate the work area from the rest area. This concept is especially often embodied in modern interior trends.
If the loggia is insulated, then often the upper part of the wall is removed. What remains is an elegant lower partition, turning into an arch.
In large rooms, openings are sometimes used as boundaries between all zones. This door replacement contributes to the visual expansion of the space in the room.

The most popular forms of arches:

Classic. They are straight sides and an arched top. Such designs are chosen for a wide variety of styles because they fit very well into the interior.
Rectangular. Such designs are distinguished by the fact that their lateral parts are located strictly perpendicular to the top. The result is a right angle.
Round arched openings characteristic of modern styles, many of which have a bias towards futuristic concepts. Such arches look interesting in combination with colored walls, but you need to be careful when choosing the shade and texture of tiles for such openings.
Figured designs can be found if the arch takes up most of the wall. The sides of a massive vault can form smooth lines that break their perpendicularity to the floor.

It is important to correctly decorate the arch between the rooms - regardless of the style of the interior. Stone is one of the most suitable materials. You can fix it yourself, it always looks very nice. Such material will decorate any room in your home. You just need to choose the right one.