The Easy DIY Archway That Gives Your Entryway An Adorable Touch

"We think in generalities, but we live in details." The famed British mathematician Alfred North Whitehead was probably thinking of lofty ideals when he spoke these words. But when it comes to decor, it's the details that make it a space we want to live in. Give both your guests and your cohabitants a warm welcome by adding a painted trim around your entryway using little more than a couple of tints, sponges, and a piece of boxboard.

We were inspired by Instagrammer @ashleyposkin's entryway arch enhancement. They cut an oval shape with pointed ends out of a cereal box side and used it to stencil a salmony-pink trim interspersed with light pink circles around a structural arch. However, there are many directions you can take your own stenciling adventure. If your home is blessed with an arch that links your foyer to the rest of the home, perfect. Arches are in right now, but what can you do if your entryway doesn't have one? You can DIY arches in your doorways, but it's easier just to stencil around the right angles of a door opening. 

Tackle your own entryway detailing with a single-layer piece of cardboard, a utility knife, your choice of craft paint in two colors, and two circular foam paint brushes, one with a 1-inch diameter and the other with a ½ inch diameter. (These sizes aren't set in stone. Make your ovals longer and thinner and your circles larger or smaller, depending on your taste.) You'll also need a pencil, a soup bowl, and a tape measure.

To sketch your oval stencil, draw a 4-inch-long line on a cut from a repurposed empty cereal box. Line the side of the bowl up so that both ends of the line touch the bowl's edges, and trace the edge for the perfect arc. Repeat on the other side of the line. Also trace and cut out the shape of the largest sponge of your foam brushes. This will give you a rigid form to trace on the wall. Cut the shapes out with your utility knife. Measure around the door for the full length of your stenciled pattern. Divide that number by 6; this will account for the total oval shapes you'll paint plus a 1-inch circle between each oval. (Again, this number may be different depending on the size of your pattern.)

Measure the exact center above your door opening, and trace a circle there, about 1 inch from the edge. Follow with alternating tracings of circles and ovals until you reach the floor on both sides of the opening. Fill the ovals with the lighter of the two paint colors and the circles with the darker one. Once dry, top the circles with a circle of lighter paint made by your ½ -inch brush.

You're not beholden to the circle-and-oval design. One of the trendiest ways to incorporate scallop designs in your home is to pair it with equally trendy arched doorways. Make scalloped door trim by tracing equal-sized curves of bowl edges around the doorway and filling them in with paint.