Okay, so I think I've watched ONE too many episodes of 'Flip That House'. I loved an idea I saw and want to do something similar in the house I just bought.

I want to take the wall (not load-bearing) between the dining area and kitchen and open up two large (wider than door-size) openings with an arched/eliptical tops.

I'm comfortable with sheetrocking & taping, but have never worked on curves, so Im not sure what the best method to use would be. I did find a websit from a place that makes SHEETROCK brand Paperp-faced metal trim. I don't want to use pre-fab pieces because they're too expensive and restrictive.

Ooh- I found a photo.
http://home.discovery.com/fansites/flipthathouse/slideshow/slideshow105_04.html

Any ideas or tips?

Jj

Sheet rock is cheap and bends. I would buy some and play around and see how far you can bend it, and construct your arches so it will work. The other alternative would be to cut the back paper every few inches and hide the angles with mud.

Use 1/2" plywood for the arches then nail in place and drywall over. Cut 2 arches per opening. You'll need a jig saw to cut the arch out of the plywood. A 2x4 wall is 3 1/2" wide. If you have take the 2, 1/2" ply arches and put 2x3 (2x3 is 2 1/2" wide) spacers between the ply arches that gives a 3 1/2" wide arch section that will fit between the studs of your new opening. Nail 2x3 boards centered along the top plate and side studs the length of the arch section. (you want 1/2" each side of the centered 2x3 on the 2x4 stud) You should be able to slide the arch up over those 2x3's were the arch section will then be fastened to those 2x3's you just nailed to the top plate & side studs. Drywall over the ply arch section. For the underside of the arch you may have to use 3/8" or 1/4" drywall to bend the arch depending on the arc of the arch. There is also cornerbead for arched openings you can buy to finish the edge. For the underside of the arch between the 2 ply sections space wood blocks every 6" w/ the contour of the arch. This will help you fasten the drywall to the underside of the arch. Hope this helps and is not to confusing.