It’s been a while since I’ve had the chance to jump back on here! We’ve been super busy building our new home, which we moved into back in September ’23, and since then we’ve been non-stop getting so many projects done to turn our new house into a home, and one of those was creating an arch feature in our bar nook!
So many of you loved this space when I shared it over on my Instagram, and I had a whole bunch of questions on how we did it. A blog post is the best way to explain it all step by step, so keep reading for all the details!
What you'll need:
- Floating shelves *details below
- Plywood timber panel
- Timber off cuts
- Trim off cut
- Screws
- Measuring tape
- Wood Filler
- String
- Drill
- Circular Saw
- Jigsaw
- Construction Adhesive
- Gap Filler
- Primer
- Paint
- A Pencil
Step 1: Installing the shelves
The first step we did was find some premade floating shelves and installed them into the space. You can make these, but if you can find ones that fit your space, it’s a whole lot easier, and potentially more affordable as well.
We found that Flexistorage made 1,800mm long white floating shelves that fit out space perfectly, and were less than $65 each, so we headed to Bunnings and bought 2, however you can add as many shelves you want to your space.
Installing them was relatively easy, we just followed the instructions provided, which involved quite a bit of measuring, then drilling into the wall, attaching the bracket and then securing the shelf onto the bracket.
We played around with how high off of the bench we wanted the bottom shelf, and the what gap we wanted between the two shelves before installing them, and went with 510mm high off the bench, and then a 250mm gap between the two.
Step 2: The arch
We spent quite a while walking around Bunnings trying to find the perfect material to use for this – something that wasn’t too thin with not enough structure, but also not too thick or heavy.
We ended up going with a Marine Grade Plywood (see the image below of the exact product details), and it seemed to work perfectly, as it had a lot of structure and wasn’t flimsy at all.
When it came to measuring, we started with the full width of that space, and I wanted the bottom to end right over the bottom shelf, to help give it a seamless look. Once we worked out the width and height, we then had to work out how far down the top of the arch would be.
We decided on bringing it 85mm down, and once we had that point, we grabbed a pencil and a piece of string to create the circle by holding the string on both points taught, and then swinging it both ways, creating a perfect semi-circle to cut out.
Once the plywood was all marked up, we used a circular saw to cut the straight ends, and a jigsaw to cut the semi-circle out, and I lightly sanded all of the edges down to give them a smooth finish.
Step 3: Attaching the arch
This whole project really was an experiment, but especially this part, as I really couldn’t find too much help online!
We decided the best way to attach the arch to the wall was by using some left over timber off cuts that we had, as well as a left over off cut of scotia.
We first worked out how far off the wall we wanted to have the arch sit, and then attach the timber off cuts on either side by drilling into the brick walls, using the drill and long decking screws to secure them to the walls, making sure the were both the exact same position forward and completely flat.
We also used the left over off cut scotia in the center, in line with the two timber bits, as we wanted something for the center of the arch to rest and secure onto. We ended up using a construction adhesive to attach the scotia to the bulkhead, and then put a bit more adhesive onto the scotia when the arch was attached, just to help pinch it in the center.
When it came to securing the arch to the timber off cuts that we’d now screwed into each corner, we used the same long decking screws to drill through the plywood and into the timber off cuts, and it worked perfectly at securing it all firmly!
Step 4: The finishing touches
Now that the hard part was all done, it was time to get all the finishing touches done!
I first used wood filler to go over the screws on each side where we attached the arch, and sanded it back once it was dry.
I also gap filled around all the edges of the arch, using Selleys No More Gaps, as well as where the arch met the shelves, just to help give it all a seamless look.
I then sanded all the shelves, as well as the arch, so that everything was ready to paint.
I first did a layer of primer on everything, and then did 2-3 coats of Vivid White by Dulux to match our walls, on both the arch and shelves, to help give it all a cohesive look.
And that’s it!
I hope this breakdown helped any of you who are interested in adding this feature into your home, but of course please let me know if you have any questions at all, and make sure to head over to my Instagram @jo.marie_blissfulbuilds to see it all come together in a video format as well! ♡
