DIY Cornice Board

by Ashley Harding

$100

4 Hours

Easy

One of our guest bedrooms at the lake house has been soooo close to being complete for quite some time. The last detail that has seemed to just linger on has been the window treatments. On several occasions I started the task and quickly learned window treatments can get pricey...real quick. It's a guest bedroom after all. I mean, I love hosting guests and I want them to be comfortable during their stay with us, but not too comfortable. You know what I mean, right?!

diy cornice board, bedroom ideas, how to, window treatments, windows

As most projects start, I spent a solid 10 hours on Pinterest doing 'research'. After reading about a million different ways to create a cornice board, I decided not one method was really perfect for me, and ended up taking bits and pieces from each of the different versions.

Below is the list of items needed for MY method of making a DIY cornice board:

Plywood

(4) L Brackets

Screws

(2) Small pieces of scrap wood

(2) D Rings

Batting

Fabric

Iron

Staple gun & staples

Stitch Witchery

Trim

The first step is measuring out your window and deciding how big you want your board to be. I decided to make mine two inches wider than the window (and trim) on each side, two inches deep, and 18 inches long. So, for one window, you'll need three pieces of plywood, the front and the two sides. If you're prepared with your measurements like I was, you can have the friendly guy at Home Depot cut the pieces for you.

Once you have the boards cut to the size you want, you'll need to assemble them at a 90° angle using your L brackets and screws.

Next cover the board with batting and secure it using your staple gun. It's totally up to you on how thick of batting to use. It just depends on the look you're going for.

It was about this time that I realized the plywood was pretty thin, and nailing something into it to hang the board may be a bit challenging. We had some scrap wood lying around, so I cut two small squares to attach to the inside corners. This gave me a large enough area to drill in the D rings. I then glued a bit more batting over the sides to cover up the screws.

At this point, you'll get a pretty good idea of what the cornice board is going to look like, and it's time to start focusing on the details. I wanted to keep a simple, classy feel. For the fabric, I chose a white linen material. To give it a bit of color, I picked out a Greek Key patterned trim from M&J Trimming .

First, make sure your fabric is wrinkle-free. You'll probably need to iron out any creases.

I hung them one inch off the ceiling. Hanging them high helps to create height and makes the windows appear larger.

For more After pictures and hanging tips, visit http://www.vintagerefined.com/blog/2016/1/30/diy-cornice-board

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2 of 3 comments

346448 on Feb 04, 2016
Love love love. I have been wanting to add cornice boards for a while. Yours look great!

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Cheri Reichart on Jan 01, 2017
Wow! I love them. Your instructions and pictures were fantastic. God I love this site!! Another DIY project to try!

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