I have been staring at the blank window in my living room for a whole year now. I kept thinking about doing a window valance tutorial and then kept putting it off. I finally decided I wanted to make a wooden cornice. I saw a similar version in a model home once and loved it! After doing a little googling, I decided to make one of my own, that way it would be unique. How hard could it be?
It really wasn’t that hard to make…it just took time letting the glue and paint dry. It was well worth the wait though!
We finished it last week, and I LOOVE it! It adds the perfect touch to our living room.
This trim and scroll on the wood cornice adds a wonderful look!
Do you recognize the crown molding? It’s the same kind we used in our kitchen makeover. It’s my favorite stuff. You can find it at Lowes.
To make this you’ll need to start out with a long piece of MDF wood. Decide how long you want it and how wide. I bought a pre primed piece of MDF wood and had it cut down to 65” x 11”. Measure your window and decide what your measurements will be. I wanted a fairly large cornice so I chose 11 in. for the height but I think anywhere from 5”-12” would look great.
I bought some trim to place at the bottom of the board to add a little more character.
We glued that on using power grab.
I also wanted to add one of these scrolly things to the base. I LOVE those things…whatever their called. ;) After everything was glued I added two coats of Swiss coffee paint.
I had two 4” X 11” in. pieces as well to give the valance good depth. We attached these to the main board using L brackets.
After everything was attached we had to fill in some gaps in between the molding. We used wood putty for filling. That stuff can work miracles I tell ya. Once that was dry we sanded it down one last time and then I added one more coat of paint to seal the deal.
We then attached some more L brackets to the wall, so we could attach the wood cornice. Look how boring that window is. Not for long!
We also attached these wooden circles, so if I decided later to add curtains I could. These are found by the wooden rods at home depot. To hang curtains, you would buy a long wooden rod, and place it between the circles. Then you could hang your curtains from the rod. I found the awesome idea on All Things Thrifty. I plan to add curtains later… I just need to decide what color and find time to sew them.
So what do you think of the window treatment?!
I love how it turned out, and it looks great in our living room.
Let me know if you have any questions.
UPDATE: To see more from the living room makeover click here.
FAQ:
It was cut at a 45 degree angle. It is more difficult than cutting normal base boards or chair rails, though. The trick is that when you are cutting it, you can not just lay it flat and cut it at 45 degrees. In the cutting box the molding needs to be standing just as it will be standing when you have it on the valance or else the angle will be incorrect when you try to put them together. Does this make sense? Sorry, it is a little hard to explain.
Life In The Thrifty Lane
Looks GREAT!!!!!!
Michelle @ Loving Every Second
I love it! It's so pretty. And I love the detail on it!
Emily
The hard work always pays off in the end! It looks really great!
sarah
Okay this just gave me courage to try! That would look awesome in my bedroom. How much Was the grand total ?
Tauni
Wow. This looks great. I bet it really transforms the whole room.
.
Thank you so much for the inspiration. I have a couple of windows like that and I think I will try this out too! TFS…. Bug Hugs :D
Shahny
This is gorgeous!! I absolutely love it
Mrs.D
Thanks so much!! Love this! I've been looking for a tutorial like this for a few weeks.
Sarah @ The Bird's Papaya
that's amazing!! it may be a bit of work, but so much reward! good job!
Melanna
I'm showing this to the husband as soon as he gets home from work. Our windows need serious help (one year is nothing, we've been in this house for 4 and some windows don't even have coverings!!). Thanks for the tutorial and the idea!
KirkKrew
Love it! We have a wooden cornice in our living room too after having a bare window for 4 years! Here's a link to ours: http://kirkkrew.blogspot.com/2010/12/stockings-were-hung.html
Danielle
That looks awesome! I so wish I had the patience to do one of my own. Maybe I can get my dad to make me one. He is the more creative one with wood.
Erin @ Crafts and Sutch
YAY, Jamielyn! You did a great job of "linking" me to your blog…which I adore! You did a beautiful job on the valance! :)
Rachael
It looks awesome! So professional…love how you trimmed it out. I hope you'll share at my linky party this weekend :)
http://www.lovelycraftyhome.com
the cape on the corner
looks great, and super idea!
Frugal Home Designs
That looks great. I was thinking of making something like this for over my daughter's bed, kind of like a canopy. Thank you for sharing.
Lyndsey
I am in LOVE With this idea!!!!
alimoll
I love it! Looks FAB!
Summers Camp
It looks fabulous! I've been planning something similar for our kitchen nook… except I'm wrapping mine in batting and fabric ;) It'll be the finishing touch on my near finished nook! So excited.
Speaking of kitchens, do you mind telling me how much your counter-tops cost? I'm trying to get a general idea of how much it'd cost to have ours redone… thanks for sharing all your awesomeness! *B
Tiffany @ithinkicouldmakethat
SOOOOO awesome! I really need to do this. Doesn't seem too hard at all.
Jeni
I would love to make these for my big living room windows. They would fit the style of my home and really add beauty!
Inspired by you
Love it! Thanks for the tutorial. I have been wanting to make one to go above my bed. I will definitely be coming back to follow your steps!
Angela
I love it– I've been wanting to make fabric covered ones to add to the decor in the master bedroom… but now I'm thinking wood. Thanks for the tutorial!
Rose @ Confessions of a Curbshopaholic
Love the idea to add the rod brackets on the inside. I made valances a few years ago from old door casing and really had a hard time putting the curtains up, DUH! I should have attached brackets directly to the valance!
;) Good thinking on your part.
Emily @ LaForce Be With You
You made this look so simple and fantastic! Really makes a big difference!
Becca
This is soooo great! Thanks for linking! I'll be featuring this tute on BCD on Feb 17th! thanks!
Erin @ The Little Apartment
Wow, that looks great AND you make it look so simple (:
Maryann @ Domestically-Speaking
Great tutorial! I'm putting it in the Spotlight @ the PoPP. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Creative Escapes
WOW – beautiful!!!! I can think of so many places in my house I could do this to.
Becky@Beyond The Picket Fence
Very professional looking! Impressive! Thanks for linking up to Beyond the Picket Fence.
Erica
This looks really good. I have quite a few windows that need this….
thanks for sharing :)
Knudsen's
Wow ! That really makes your window pop. Thanks for the inspiration! I think this is something I will try. Camille :)
[email protected]
Those look great! And what a great tute! Thanks for sharing … I'll be linking. And please come join my link party anytime!
http://childmade.com/index.php?name=Shared%20links
Kristen Duke Photography
LOVE this!!!
Heather@The Black's Best
This is beautiful…thank you for the tutorial!
Our Seven Dwarfs
This is fantastic. I bookmarked this so I could come back to it in the future. I sure would love to do this to our windows in our living room! Thanks for the tutorial.
Jill of oursevendwarfs.com
Jill @ Blessings of a Lifetime
Beeeeeautiful! I'm gonna be bustin' out a few of these!
Thank you so much for sharing, you clever girl!
Blessings, — Jill
blessingsofalifetime.blogspot.com
Kiera
I have a really big window in my living that is begging for window treatments, but I don't know how to sew. This just might be the perfect solution, and I love how it looks on you window. I just may add this my honey to do list (I don't know how to use power tools either lol). Thanks!
Anna
That looks awesome! Now I'm trying to figure out where I could put one in my house. :)
Anna
http://www.askannamoseley.com
Dana
I hate to be a dork…but what brand is your Swiss Coffee paint? I'm always looking for just the right white paint and I thought I'd give this a try.
Thanks!!
Joy @ Thrifty Parsonage Living
Looks great! Thanks for sharing the tutorial!
Chris
Thanks so much for this! I have been searching the web for exactly this idea!!!!
Sweet Southern Symphony
Looks awesome! I keep staring at the windows in the living room wondering what to do with them – now I know! Thanks :) Thanks for posting it on Thrifty Decor Chick!! :)
Noelle @ Mesa AZ Photography
I love that. You make it sound so easy.
It adds a serious designer touch to the whole room.
[email protected]
I LOVE this!! I would love for you to share it at my Linky Party!
*ENTER LINKY PAR-TAY Here! *
xoxokara
C@TheGiacobbeDiaries
You just inspired me! I think I want to do this in our living room and dining room. In our dining room we have sliders and this would dress them up. do you think if they were wider than the windows then curtains would fit? You did a great job!
Blissful Chaos
Oh my you just made my day! I'm sitting in my office underneath this woven roman shade that I never covered with a fabric cornice because I'm too lazy and I realized that this would work so much better!
And it looks soooo easy!
Thank you for the tutorial! It looks great in your living room!
linda @ craftaholics anonymous
very nice Jamielyn! Turned out awesome. Gave it a big thumbs up!! :)
happy crafting!
Linda
Vivienne @ The V Spot
It looks fantastic! Love!
Janet
What a great tutorial! Such a great idea to add the circles for the curtain rod now, even though you don’t have your curtains done yet! You have such a knack for forethought!
Jamielyn
Thanks so much Janet! I have yet to make curtains… definitely on my ever growing to-do list! :)
Kelley
Very nice! What color is your wall paint? it’s a nice contrast?
Cherry Cross
Very nice! Thanks :) Thanks for posting it on Thrifty Decor Chick!!
kim
thank you for posting this!!! it is extremely helpful.. I think i will attempt to make these cornices?valance.. I want to make the tops solid so I can put knickknacks on top :)
Kim
Love love love! Thank you for this amazing tutorial. Going to look into something like this for our front rooms windows. :)
Your Blog is amazing! One of my favorites!
Sandra Goodick
Love it!
www.fashionsunglassescool.org
Hey there! This is my first comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and say I really enjoy reading through your posts. Can you suggest any other blogs/websites/forums that cover the same topics? Thank you!
Kitsel
I love this! I think it is just what my living room windows need. Now to work up the courage to actually *do* it! Thanks!!!
padlock wig
would like to make these
lisa
Awesome! I am having trouble deciding between rod/sheers or a cornice, and this helps!
Did you use a hand saw and a miter box to cut the top molding/trim?
Did you return the small trim piece on the bottom around each corner? It looks like it is only on the front side.
Debbie
When I first seen this I was what a neat place to add shelving to a room. I’m a huge house plant person and I’m always trying to find a way to get more of them near the windows. Thinking these, with a top piece of thick plaxi glass (need to keep the light coming in), would make a nice place to display some of my smaller hanging plants. I already have a custom made window box put up sideways to make a cubby above one of my windows, this will be a nice twist to a look I already have going.
Joan
I just saw this on Tip Junkie and love it. Do you think you could give me a ballpark figure as to cost to make it? Thanks!
Sondra
Are the wall brackets a standard item that I can pick up at Home Depot or Lowes? I will be making one of these as soon as I get the brackets. Looks great. Thanks, Sondra
Shannon
I am so trying this!!! I love it!!
Jo Ann
On the top of it , isthat one piece of trim also ? How did you make that ?
Erika
Just what my living room windows need, I’m excited to use your fab idea to turn them from blah to beautiful!
Tanya
Beautiful! Good job job! Just a question, the small trim you put at the base of the wood, did you only put it on the front, or did you do angled cuts and extend it around the sides as well, like the crown moulding? I’m worried it might look a little off if I don’t wrap it around the sides?
teresa
Love this!!! I also did one like this but put foam and a material on it love. Could also put fringe or other things on . Teresa I love your pins soooo creative keep it up!!!
Megs
May i ask how long this took to make you? I’m being overly ambitious… we’re have a get together tomorrow night at our house and I’d love to have this complete by then but my husband is pulling out his hair :)
Jamielyn
Hmm… it probably took us about 6 hours total with the building, sanding and painting. Way to be ambitious! YA! Good luck! You’ll love the difference it makes!
Grace
Beautiful job on the valance! Yours is dressier than the original. Do you think a 12-foot valance would be too heavy made from MDF? My windows go to the ceiling so it might be tricky to add an extra support.
Jamielyn
It should be fine as long as the support brackets are nailed into studs. Hope that helps!
susan
Where did u get the wall brackets from?
Jamielyn
Hi Susan! We got them at Lowes in the hardware isle. Hope that helps!
Shani
Oh I am absolutely doing this in my dining room!
Lauren
Looks great. I too have been looking at my window and now have an idea :), only difference is I am going to do my curtains with velcro on the inside of the valance :)
Stacie
I love this idea! I’ve been trying to find something to put over my windows in my living and dining room, and cannot find anything I like. I just showed my husband this, and I can’t wait to tackle this project!! Thanks for sharing!!
Jamielyn
You’ll love it! It makes a huge difference! Thanks for commenting! :D