Master how to develop your have wood window cornice box to dress up your window body. Building a tailor made wood window valance is a terrific rookie constructing undertaking!
See extra of self-taught DIYer Jenny’s household and guidelines for commencing DIYers in this article — you will not want to pass up her beautiful kitchen area and living room! Moreover go through how to set up straightforward craftsman window trim all around any window.
What is a Window Cornice?
A window cornice is a three-sided box that SEO Jacksonville frames the best of a window. A cornice ordinarily covers—and extends out over—curtain rods, the best portion of blinds, and window casings. It can be as tall as you care to make it, simple or fancy.
A window cornice is ordinarily strong, like these produced from wood in this tutorial, whilst a window valance is traditionally produced from cloth and extra like a shorter curtain at the best of the window. A wood window valance “box” might also be identified as a pelmet box, which is ordinarily extra strong than a valance but lined in cloth to match the drapery.
Whether you call it a window cornice, valance, or pelmet, the function is to protect up the window components and give your home windows some existence and design!
Imaginative Window Cornice Concepts
Get innovative with window cornices to in good shape the operate and design of your room. Some concepts:
- Incorporate a shelf to the best for displaying stuffed animals or kids’ soccer trophies.
- Paint the box part of the cornice a distinct shade than the trim parts.
- Paint the window casing the similar shade as your cornice or vice versa.
- Layer trim items to get a unique glimpse or use a router to develop a seriously tailor made piece.
- And, if you are placing crown molding up in the room at the similar time as you are executing your cornices, you can design and style it so that the crown molding runs seamlessly all around the room and the window cornice—-heaven!
For my wood window cornices, I made use of crown molding that matched what was already in the room —- rather regular builder-quality things that you can come across at any large box retailer. I also made use of some ogee trim (also acknowledged as base cap).
How to Construct a Do-it-yourself Wood Window Cornice
You should hold in intellect that all of these wood dimensions and trim items are precise to my cornices—-you may perhaps want to do something distinct. For illustration, I made use of a 1″ x 8″ board for my cornice box, but if you want a taller (or shorter) cornice box, you’d want to buy a wider, or shorter, board, and so on.
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Wood Window Cornice Offer Record
*This is a comfortable and economical wood. It normally has knots and is from time to time not straight, so be picky when choosing your wood. Get the straightest probable items with the fewest knots. You can use a harder and increased-good quality wood, but it will be extra highly-priced if you approach to stain your cornice, rather than paint it, you are going to most likely want to make investments in a increased-good quality wood species.
Wood Window Cornice Tool Record
Do-it-yourself Wood Window Cornice Box Assembly
Stage 1: Program & Measure
Program the glimpse of your cornice. Look at:
- What trim, if any, do you want to use?
- Will you stain it or paint it?
- How tall and huge do you want it to be?
- How significantly place do you have higher than and on the sides of the window to perform with?
Measure your window from the outdoors edge of the window casing on a person side to the outdoors edge of the window casing on the opposite side. Do not evaluate just the window by by itself. Include things like the casings!
Your cornice will hang down around the window and the casings. I chose to add 4″ (that’s 2″ for each and every side of the window) to my window measurements. Why? To let for the width of the edge of the cornice and for a minimal place concerning the window casing and the cornice.
Handy Examining: Common Tricks for Fantastic Seeking Curtains
Also evaluate out from the wall to determine how deep your cornice wants to be. Will the cornice hang around a curtain rod or blinds? The cornice box wants to be deep adequate to increase out around any obstacles—-the window casing, blinds, or curtains.
Incorporate at the very least a 1/2″ or so to your depth measurement so you will not have to fear about your cornice scraping up from your window treatments right after it is set up.
Based on the clearance you have concerning the ceiling and your window, as effectively as your particular choice, determine how tall you want your cornice to be.
Buy your components and make a sketch of your dimensions.
Stage 2: Cut the Wood Cornice Parts & Crown Molding
I lower all the items for my cornice very first.
I lower my 1″ x 8″ frequent board to duration and lower both equally of the shorter sides at a beveled 45-degree angle making use of a miter observed. This piece is the entrance of your cornice box.
For the best and side items of my cornice box, I needed a shallower width of board, so I ripped my 1″ x 6″ frequent board down to 1″ x 5″ (a non-regular measurement not offered at my community lumber property) making use of a desk observed. I then lower the best and side items of my cornice box from the 1″ x 5″ board.
For the side items, I made use of my miter observed to lower 45-degree angles on a person of the long edges.
I lower my crown molding and ogee trim, both equally the entrance and side items, mitered to fulfill flush at the corners of the cornice box.
See this article for guidelines and methods to help you understand how to lower crown molding and other trim — and generally don’t forget to practice, practice, practice on some economical molding or scraps till you are self-confident with your cuts.
For the ogee trim, set your table to 45-degrees. Go away your blade on heart at -degrees.
For the crown molding, you are going to want to set the angles on your blade and desk in accordance to the spring angle of the crown molding you are making use of. I made use of just about the most primary and extensively offered crown molding there is (spring angle: fifty three/37). I set my miter (angle on desk) to 31.five-degrees and my bevel (tilt of blade) to 34-degrees.
The largest piece of crown molding, functioning along the best of the cornice box, has 2 outdoors corners.
The still left-hand mitered outdoors corner is lower by putting the crown to the proper of the blade. The best edge of the crown rests up from the fence. The miter angle on the desk of your miter observed is set to the proper of heart.
You will also lower the proper-hand side piece of crown this way. The edge of the side piece of crown that fulfills the entrance piece of crown will be lower at an angle. The other side will be flush from the wall, so it is a straight-edge lower.
The proper-hand mitered outdoors corner is lower by putting the crown to the proper of the blade. The base edge of the crown rests up from the fence. The miter angle on the desk of your miter observed is set to the still left of heart.
You will also lower the still left-hand side piece of crown this way. The edge of the side piece of crown that fulfills the entrance piece of crown will be lower at an angle. The other side will be flush from the wall, so it is a straight-edge lower.
When reducing crown, I generally add a 50 %-inch or a minimal extra to the full duration I measured in advance of reducing. I’ll do a test in good shape right after making my very first lower and then trim a minimal extra off if I want to, but with crown, the moment you lower it much too shorter, you are out of luck! So I’m generally incredibly, incredibly thorough and just take my time to be confident to get it proper. Retain in intellect, much too, that crown has to increase a little bit past the duration of your cornice box. If the lower edge of the crown lines up specifically with the edge of the cornice box, there will not be adequate of an edge still left on the crown to fulfill up with the edge of the side piece of crown, which you are going to want it to do in purchase to get a neat corner.
Stage three: Assemble the Wood Cornice
I drilled holes making use of my Kreg Jig along the best, within edges of my entrance box piece and my 2 side box items. (If you do not have a Kreg Jig, you can sign up for your box with each other by very first gluing with wood glue and then making use of finishing nails or a nail gun.)
I made use of wood glue to sign up for the mitered edges of my side box items and my entrance box piece and clamped it all to dry. Then, I made use of my eighteen-gauge nail gun to reinforce the bond by nailing the items with each other (you could also use a hammer and finishing nails, if you do not have a nail gun).
Upcoming, I made use of my Kreg Jig screws to screw with each other the best piece of my box to the entrance and side box items. Now, you’ve got oneself a box. Time to jazz it up!
Stage four: Connect Cornice Trim
I connected the ogee trim flush to the base edge of my cornice box with my eighteen-gauge nail gun (you can also use finishing nails and a hammer). You can glue very first, much too, if you’d like to.
Right before attaching any trim, nevertheless, test the in good shape of your corner items to make confident they in good shape with each other effectively. 
Make measured marks all along the duration of your box in which you want your crown molding to be. Then, use a level or other straight edge to hook up the marks so you have a line along which to line up the base edge of your crown molding—you want it to be level. Nail along the base edge of your crown to attach it to your cornice box. It can be everywhere on the box body you select for it to be—-flush with the best edge of the box or somewhere farther down the box. I chose to have a five-1/2″ gap concerning the best of my ogee trim and the base of my crown molding.
You can generally add a shelf to the best of the cornice box, which would give the crown something to attach to (like it would if it were being staying equipped along a wall and ceiling), but since on this cornice, I chose not to add a shelf, I had to glue the corner crown items to the heart crown piece to attach them.
Use painter’s tape to safe the link till the glue dries. Connect the base of the side items of crown with nails along the base edge, just as you did with the entrance piece of crown.
I would recommend from seeking to nail the best piece of the side crown to the best piece of the entrance crown, as you’ll risk splitting the crown.
Stage five: Complete and Paint Your Window Cornice
Now, use wood filler on your nail holes and caulk all the seams.
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Soon after the wood filler and caulk have dried, do a light sanding to make certain a clean concluded surface. Wipe away all dust and debris.
I made use of a person coat of primer and two coats of paint, permitting everything dry thoroughly concerning coats.
Remember to paint the underside of your cornice box, much too, as it will be obvious if a person is standing near to, or beneath, the window.
If the best of your cornice box will be obvious, be confident to paint the best, much too, but most of the time, a cornice box will be so near to the ceiling that no a person will be capable to see the best of it.
How to Dangle a Wood Window Cornice
Cut a 1″ x 2″ strip of wood just shorter than the comprehensive duration of your completed cornice box.
Mount it to the wall higher than the window in which you are going to be hanging the cornice, making use of a level and 2″ wood screws. Be confident to attach to studs and not just dry wall.
Retain in intellect how considerably down around your window you want your cornice to hang—-that will determine in which on the wall you set up the 1″ x 2″ strip of wood (your cornice box will ‘hang’ on this strip of wood).
You will attach your window cornice box by ‘hanging’ it on, and screwing it in to, your 1″ x 2″ strip, which you have mounted to the wall higher than your window. It will not be safe adequate to just ‘hang’ the cornice box on the 1″ x 2″ strip. You want to screw down by the best of the cornice box, in to the 1″ x 2″ strip at typical intervals along the duration of the cornice box.
To make the task easier, I screwed my 2″ wood screws partially in to the best of my cornice box in advance of hanging it, so that I’d have a lot less screwing to do right after placing the cornice box in position around the window. Be aware in the placement of your screws. You do not want them so near to the edge that the wood splits, so compromising the attachment. Neither do you do not want them so considerably away from the edge that they will not screw down in to the best of your wall-mounted 1″ x 2″ strip.
You can also use the similar principle to develop a decorative and/or useful shelf.
In its place of making a box as you did for the cornice, use just a flat board and add a shelf on best. Connect trim just as you would for the window cornice. I made use of an Ook Hangman French Cleat Image Hanging Kit to hang the shelf below in my kitchen—-functions like a dream! And, yes, you can hang it somewhere other than around a window!
Or use the similar idea to develop a mattress crown cornice like Cassity did for her daughter’s room in this article:
More approaches to make your home windows glimpse incredible:
Do-it-yourself Window Cornice Right before and Afters
And just for kicks and giggles, here’s what those bedrooms looked like when we acquired the household and what they glimpse like now (with the window cornices and other updates):
Be confident to pin your favorites to save for afterwards and share with your pals!
Posted 05.03.16 // Up to date 05.14.twenty
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About Jenny McArthur