Creating Arched Doorways

We live in a great 1950’s neighborhood. I love it because there aren’t any neighborhood codes and I can play with my house and yard without worrying about complaints. I’m lucky to have neighbors who like my quirky and artsy taste, and, who actually encourage me to keep up the projects!

Recently, I’ve decided that the opening to my kitchen and living rooms could be enhanced with arches to match the lovely stucco and coved ceilings of my living room. I want to penny the arches like I have in the project below. I’ve fallen in love with mosaicing with pennies; the warmth of copper, the texture of the repeating penny pattern and the novelty of the material. They have me craving to work with them more! I just finished this project for my husband. He loves his “Penny Earned, Penny Saved” desk!

So...I’ve gathered photos of arches I’ve kept in mind for my design.
I love Moorish arches. I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the arches that inspire me. What intrigues me about arches is the way they frame the view beyond, lead me visually from one space to another, and add a sense of the exotic and sacred to a space; as if, when I walk through them I will be transformed.
Arches have been used in the design of many sacred spaces. I had a half crazy, half shamanic Art Professor, Fred Levine, for History of Western Civ. He had our whole class file out of the room and asked us to walk through the door as if it were a sacred threshold. It was an amazing experience for me. I felt like I had new eyes and became much more attentive to and aware of my surroundings. I have never looked at thresholds and doorways in the same way since then. They’ve become metaphors in my life for Ah ha moments, life changes, graduation, marriage, the birth of my son.

And yes, this is a 1950’s house, but, hey! It’s home, sweet, home:). These are the the thresholds that I’m going to add the arches to.

Here are the measurements of the openings and basic outline of the arches. I’ve kept in mind pragmatic use of these openings. My husband is 6’2” and I need to make sure the opening is comfortable for him to walk through. I also don’t want too much sticking out into the doorways that might catch hair, heads, or whatever we’re trying to get through them!