Bertha Heathcote
This beautiful rustic wood cornice can be made so quickly and makes a huge statement in any room. This beautiful DIY window cornice box is made out of a 1×6 board and electrical conduit.
This room has been through a huge transformation with the vintage inspired farmhouse fireplace makeover, new rustic railings, the perfect greige paint color, and finally new carpet. And when I shared the pictures of our new room, everyone was in love with the wooden valance over the windows.
For our windows, I integrated the curtain rod into the large wood valance. Fabric valances are more outdated, but solid wood cornices will stand the test of time.
It’s the easiest way to finish off the top of your windows and is way cheaper than even a plain curtain rod. They are not symmetrical on the wall so anytime I hang window treatments they made the room feel lopsided. In order to solve that problem, I decided to hang curtains so they covered the entire wall, even where there were no windows.
Even a bold, statement curtain rod didn’t seem like the perfect fit (and they are very expensive). If your wood valance is smaller, you can easily hang it without a second set of hands! 1×6 boards You will need enough wood to cover the length of your valance box plus 3 1/2″ for each side.
Cut your 1×6 board to the desired width of your rustic valance box. If you cornice box is larger than 4′, cut 3 1/2″ pieces to use as a center support at least every 4 feet.
Drill a hole all the way through each of the center supports just large enough to slide the electrical conduit through.
Sand and stain (or paint) all the pieces of wood before assembly (it is way easier). Attach the corner braces to the wall where you will be hanging the end pieces and center supports with the 2 1/2″ wood screws. Secure one of the end pieces of the box to the outside corner brace with the 1 1/4″ wood screws so it is sitting on top of the L that is coming off the wall.
If your valance is large, thread all the supports onto the electrical conduit before securing them to the wall. If you are using curtains, you want to add the curtain clips to the conduit before securing it between the ends and center supports (I evenly spaced mine between each center support).
Feed the conduit into the end and any center supports that are already secured to the walls. Place the front of the cornice box on top of them and attach with 1 1/4″ 16 gauge nails. Everyone that visits comments on how beautiful our DIY cornice box is and I love the way it is balancing out our problem window area. This gorgeous wood valance is fast & cheap to make and is perfect for any window.
Print Materials 1x6 boards (You will need enough wood to cover the length of your valance box plus 3 1/2" for each side. Optional: Kreg pocket hole jig for joining 1x6 boards to make extra long valance Instructions Cut your 1x6 board to the desired width of your valance.
If you cornice box is larger than 4', cut 3 1/2" pieces to use as a center support at least every 4 feet. Drill a hole all the way through each of the center supports just large enough to slide the electrical conduit through. Attach the corner braces to the wall where you will be hanging the end pieces and center supports with the 2 1/2" wood screws. Secure one of the end pieces of the box to the outside corner brace with the 1 1/4" wood screws so it is sitting on top of the L that is coming off the wall.
If your valance is large, thread all the supports onto the electrical conduit before securing them to the wall. Feed the conduit into the end and any center supports that are already secured to the walls. Place the front of the cornice box on top of them and attach with 1 1/4" 16 gauge nails.
Notes You could completely build the cornice box with the conduit inside before attaching it to the L corner braces if you want, but because of the size of ours, it was easier to build it on the wall as detailed.
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