Thursday, May 19, 2011

Inspirational Arches

As much as I pushed it off, I had to decide on the fate of the arches.  Should we keep the arches in our home or square them off?  That is the question...

I had first been drawn to our home because of the architectural detail of the arches, but then a little concerned as my house would not reflect a Spanish/Mediterranean feel.  As much as I like to embrace mixing different time periods and styles as far as design, I didn't know if this would be too of the mark.  When looking for inspiration I decided that arches could be decidedly Moroccan, as Moorish architecture reflects a Spanish influence.  I always gravitate to a Moroccan flair whether it be a rug or pillows, which is certainly reflective of a global aesthetic that is influenced by my travels:


Images via Elle Decor
I remembered this Elle Decor feature, and noticed the arches in this Moroccan abode.

Then, there was this Elle Decor feature of a Marrakech home:


Images via Elle Decor
And Dar Les Cigognes, a luxury hotel situated in Marrakech boasts intricately carved arches and archways throughout the property:




Arches don't even have to reflect a Spanish/Mediterranean style at all I discovered.  Moving in a completely different direction there are carrera marble arches in a plush bathroom suite:

Image via This is Glamorous
Cased archways leading to a modern all white kitchen.  My kitchen will have all white cabinets (except for the dark gray island) with carrera marble countertops, so this image struck me too:

Image via Cococozy
Then, there is Meg Ryan's home that features double arches leading into the living room.  This is reminiscent of my space where double arches flank the passageway between the kitchen nook area and the windows to the courtyard:


Images via Hooked on Houses
Now I wonder why I was ever in doubt!

Pictures of our House Progress is coming, arches and all...

15 comments:

  1. Love a Moroccon flair myself...so exotic, the colors and the gorgeous patterns...such an inspirational motif. I love arches too....which you can tell since we have them in our new house. I am all for them...they are so interesting and you can choose to add heavy casing to them, nothing at all or even marble as shown above..which is quite gorgeous! (for a bathroom) beautiful examples....

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  2. I don't think I would have a doubt myself, I would def. do the arches and if you can do something exotic, even better! WOW, a lot of the pictures are so inspiring. Let us know how the house is coming out, post more pics!

    xoxo

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  3. I really really love that carved arch in the Marrakech hotel (I am a sucker for ogee arches though). Also loving the cased arch! Can't wait to see the progress photos!

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  4. Love love love the morroccan style! Your home will be beautiful!

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  5. I love arches. It softens a space and I adore the gorgeous marble cased archways in one of your pictures!

    Jessie
    www.mixandchic.com

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  6. So crazy about arches. They lend themselves to so many design styles, and add just the right touch of drama which can be dressed up or down. Can't wait to see the pictures of your progress, too!

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  7. I love arches.. they add such character to a place!

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  8. You HAVE to go with the arches! They add flair. Ours are boring squared off and I sooooo wish we had arches (we may add an arch with our kitchen remodel but it may be too much work).

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  9. lovely blog! ;)

    http://traveloguewithlove.blogspot.com/

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  10. Wow, Meg Ryan's house is beautiful, I'll take it! It's hard for me to imagine what my fantasy house looks like, but I know what I like when I see it.

    Also, I'm embarrassed to say that I've been watching America's Next Top Model and they go to Morocco this season. The places I've been seeing are utterly UH-MAAAZING!

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  11. We have 36 arches in our home - I love them and I'm glad you are going with them too! Just makes it feel a little more special.

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