There's a moment in almost every remodel when a homeowner stands in the middle of a dusty, half-demolished room and asks the question that changes everything: "What if we made that opening curved?"
It sounds like a small decision. It isn't. An arched doorway does something a rectangular opening simply can't — it softens, it frames, and it signals that someone made a choice here. In a region like Chicagoland, where so much of our housing stock was built with character baked in, arches aren't a trend borrowed from a design magazine. They're a return to form.
At Century City Baths, we've spent years working inside Chicago bungalows, Oak Park foursquares, Naperville new-builds, and North Shore colonials. And over the past few seasons, we've watched arched openings move from "interesting idea" to one of the most requested architectural details in our remodels — especially in bathrooms, powder rooms, and the transitional spaces that lead to them.
Here's what we've learned, and how homeowners across the Chicagoland area are putting arches to work.
Why Arched Doorways Are Having a Moment
Square openings are efficient. They're also forgettable. An arch introduces a curve into a home that is otherwise built almost entirely from straight lines — studs, drywall, tile grid, cabinetry, countertops. That single curve creates contrast, and contrast is what the eye reads as "designed."
There's a practical argument too. Widening a doorway into an arch can open up sightlines between rooms without committing to a fully open floor plan. You get connection and flow while still preserving the sense that a bathroom is a bathroom and a hallway is a hallway. For older Chicago homes with compartmentalized layouts, that's an enormous win.
And then there's the emotional piece. Arches feel older. They feel permanent. They suggest the home was built this way, even when the opening was cut three months ago.
Six Ways Homeowners Are Using Arches in Their Remodels
1. The Curved Entry to a Primary Bath
This is the single most popular application we see. A primary bedroom opens into the bath through a gently arched cased opening — no door, or a pocket door tucked into the wall behind it.
The effect is hotel-like. You're not walking through a door into a utility room; you're moving through a threshold into a retreat. We've done this in Hinsdale and Glen Ellyn renovations where the client wanted a spa feel without adding square footage. The arch does the heavy lifting.
One note: if you're skipping the door entirely, plan your ventilation carefully. A properly sized exhaust fan, vented fully to the exterior, becomes non-negotiable.
2. Widening a Hallway Opening to a Shared Bath
In a lot of Chicago bungalows, the hall bath sits at the end of a tight, dark corridor. A standard 30-inch door opening makes that corridor feel even tighter.
By widening the opening and arching it, you pull daylight from the bathroom window into the hallway and visually stretch the space. Several of our clients in Portage Park and Jefferson Park have done exactly this during full-floor remodels — and the hallway reads twice as wide, even though the actual footprint never changed.
3. The Arched Shower Niche and Doorway Pairing
Here's where arches get fun. Once you've committed to a curved doorway, you can echo that shape inside the bathroom itself — an arched shower niche, an arched mirror, a curved alcove above the tub.
Repetition is what separates a design choice from a random flourish. When the doorway arch, the niche arch, and the mirror all speak the same language, the room feels composed. We've built this out in several Lincoln Park and Lakeview condo renovations where the bathroom is small and every detail counts.
4. The Walk-In Shower Entry
Instead of a glass door, some homeowners are framing their walk-in shower entry as an arched opening in tile. It's a bold, architectural move — more common in larger primary baths where you have the width to pull it off.
This requires serious waterproofing expertise. The curve means more complex tile cuts, more transitions, and more opportunity for failure if the substrate isn't right. It's a build worth doing, but it's not a build worth rushing.
5. Connecting a Bath to a Dressing Area or Closet
For clients doing larger primary suite renovations, an arch between the bath and the dressing area creates a sequence: bedroom, dressing, bath. Each space is distinct, but the arches tie them into one experience.
We completed a project in Wilmette along these lines where two arched openings in a row created a sightline straight through the suite. The homeowner told us it was the detail guests commented on most.
6. The Powder Room Statement
Powder rooms are the lowest-risk, highest-reward place to experiment. They're small, they're seen by everyone, and they don't need to coordinate with the rest of the house the way a primary bath does.
An arched doorway into a powder room wrapped in dramatic wallpaper or deep paint? That's a moment. And it's often achievable within a modest budget, because you're not touching plumbing or structure in a significant way.
The Practical Side: What an Arch Actually Involves
We'd be doing you a disservice if we only talked about how good arches look. Here's the honest breakdown.
Is the wall load-bearing? This is the first question, always. If the opening you want to widen or reshape is carrying load from above, you'll need a properly sized header and, in many Chicagoland municipalities, a permit and possibly a structural engineer's letter. This is not a corner to cut. We've been called in to fix "weekend arches" that were cut into bearing walls, and the repair always costs more than doing it right would have.
Drywall vs. plaster. Older Chicago homes often have plaster and lath. Cutting a clean curve into plaster is a different job than cutting into drywall — more mess, more skill, and more patching. It's absolutely doable, but it affects timeline and cost.
The curve itself. Arches are typically formed with flexible drywall, kerfed plywood, or a prefabricated arch kit, then finished with joint compound and sanded smooth. The quality of the finish work is everything. A slightly lumpy arch is worse than no arch at all, because the eye naturally tracks a curve and catches every imperfection.
Choosing your arch shape. Not all arches are the same:
- Full radius (semicircular) — the most dramatic, requires significant height above the opening
- Segmental — a shallow, gentle curve; the most common and most versatile
- Elliptical — a flattened oval; elegant and well-suited to wider openings
- Flat arch with rounded corners — the subtlest option, essentially a square opening with softened shoulders
For most Chicagoland homes with eight- or nine-foot ceilings, a segmental or elliptical arch is the right call. Full radius arches need height to breathe, and in a standard room they can make a doorway feel squat.
Trim or no trim? A cased arch with traditional molding reads classic and period-appropriate — perfect for a Beverly Victorian or an Evanston colonial. A trimless, drywall-returned arch reads contemporary and minimal, which works beautifully in condos and modern builds. Neither is wrong. They just say different things.
Does It Work in Your Home?
Arches don't suit every house, and we'll tell you honestly if we think yours is one of them. Strictly modernist homes with rigid geometry can look confused when a curve is introduced. Very low ceilings can make an arch feel cramped. And if your home has zero other curved elements, a single arch can read as an orphan.
But if you live in a Chicago bungalow, a greystone, a Spanish Revival, a Mediterranean, a Tudor, a foursquare, or honestly most traditional housing stock in our region — an arch will likely feel like it was always meant to be there.
Thinking About It for Your Bath Remodel?
Most of our clients don't start out planning an arched doorway. It comes up during the design conversation, usually when we're talking about sightlines or how to make a tight space feel larger. And then it becomes the detail they're most excited about.
If you're considering a bathroom renovation anywhere in the Chicagoland area, bring it up. Ask us whether the wall will allow it. Ask what shape would suit your ceiling height. Ask what it adds to the budget — the answer is often less than people expect, particularly when you're already opening up walls for plumbing and electrical.
The best time to add an arch is during a remodel you're already doing. The worst time is three years later, when you wish you had.
Century City Baths designs and builds bathroom renovations across the Chicagoland area, from city condos to suburban primary suites. If you're planning a project and want to talk through what's possible in your space — arches included — reach out. We'll walk your home, talk through the structure, and give you a straight answer about what it takes.
