Cornice Board Bonanza

So, I realize it's been a while (a LOOOOONG while) since I last posted, but I have 8 million excuses which I'm sure all of my three readers (one being my mother) have already heard.  Now that that's covered, I submit to you: CORNICE BOARDS!

I've been wanting to dress up the windows in my breakfast room and kitchen for a while now, but there were a few problems:
1.  There is wainscoting INSIDE the frames in the breakfast room windows, which pretty much prevents any type of drop-down or otherwise traditional window covering, such as blinds, roller shades, etc.
2.  Drapes seem too... other-roomy to put in the breakfast room/kitchen.
3.  I got discouraged by 1 & 2 and put the project in a dark corner.

Then, just before my son's 1st birthday party, I was bit by the "I-want-my-house-to-look-perfect-because-strangers-might-see-it" bug and decided something MUST be done.  My mom suggested cornice boards.  At first I turned up my nose to the idea, because they seem so... traditional.  But, after some consideration, I decided I could do them if I kept the lines straight and the batting thin.  So I started looking around the interwebs for some DIY tips.

I found a pretty easy-to-follow post at Domestic Adventure.

It gave me a great base for what to do.  But, of course, I made a few adjustments.  Here's how I made my (amazing) cornice boards that I'm mostly smitten with.  (More on why I'm only "mostly smitten" later.

Here's what you'll need for the building/upholstering part of the project:

(1 sheet) 1/2" plywood
(4) 90-degree angle brackets
less than 1/2" screws
drill (not pictured)
batting (choose the thickness based on how "plush" you want your cornices
staple gun
(1 million) staples that fit above-mentioned staple gun
measuring tape
scissors
decorative fabric
a helper (optional, but very... helpful)

pictured below but not used: spray adhesive: After some debate with my helper, we decided the spray adhesive was extraneous and, therefore, not needed.

Building the Cornice

1.  Cut the plywood to size.  
I had Home Depot do it for me because I do not own a table saw... yet.  Don't know what size?  Measure your window!  The cornice board should extend beyond each side of the window and sit just below the crown moulding when it's mounted.  How far beyond the window's edge you want the board to go and how far over the top of the window it hangs depends entirely on you and your window.  That being said, you want it to look proportional... Like I said earlier, I had two separate cornices to build.  One of them was over a bank of windows and was HUGE.  Let's talk about the smaller kitchen window, shall we? The window is a 35" square window with an 11" header.  There is 2-3/4" of drywall on either side of the window.  If I had ANY graphic design skills, I would totally draw you a diagram, but I digress.  Long story short: I added two inches to the actual width of the window and added a 4" overhang.  My board measured 15" x 37".  I have no algorithm for determining the best dimensions.  I just eyeballed it.  Don't forget to cut two side pieces.  I chose a 3" depth for this cornice board. The side pieces were cut to 15" x 3".  So, just to recap, you'll have three pieces of plywood.

2.  Attach the side pieces to the cornice board using the 90-degree brackets.
Butt those little suckers right up to the edge of your cornice board and screw them in.  Do two per side, one at (what will be) the top and on at (what will be) the bottom.  Make sure the edge of the bracket is flush with the edge of the board.

Then, slide the side piece up next to the cornice board and line it up so they are aligned.  Affix brackets to side piece.  It should look something like this:

Repeat on other side.

Now you have your (naked) cornice!

You'd better cover that thing... Here's how:

Upholster the Cornice

Attaching your beautiful fabric to the nasty plywood is an option, but I wouldn't recommend it.  You should cover the boards in batting first.  I bought a LOOOONG piece so I could just wrap the whole thing at once and have no visible voids.

1.  Roll the batting out directly on the floor.  Doesn't have to be a clean floor, obviously.

2.  Lay your cornice down on top of the batting and cut the batting to size.  I suggest enough to cover the side pieces plus 5 inches, just to be safe.  If you're cutting on all four sides, PLEASE make sure you have enough on the top and bottom.  My roll-o-batting was a little too small and I (slightly) regretted it.

It should look like this:

3.  Wrap one corner. You want to pull the batting in there snugly so you get a smooth-ish front.  Staple right there in that corner.

Now, fold the batting in over the side piece like this:

Make sure it's tight!

Staple.

You want the corners to look like a neat little wrapped package.  If you've never wrapped a present, this might prove a bit difficult, but you can do it.

It should look something like this:

4.  Wrap the long side.  Pull and staple, pull and staple, etc.  When you get to the other end, repeat step 3.

5.  Do this on the other side.

Basically, you want all sides wrapped and stapled.  It will look like this:

Now repeat with your decorative fabric.  Again: PLEASE make sure you cut your fabric big enough to have about 4-5" of fabric overhang on the back.  If you're really trying to cut costs, 3" will do, but you'll probably curse the whole time like I did.

See?  That's real close.  Too close.

Start at the back of the side piece at one end of your cornice, stapling across one side first and moving to the other end, pulling the fabric tight and stapling.  If you're using a striped fabric like I did, make sure you match up one of your stripes with the corner so that they don't end up wonky.

Again, wrap the corners like you would a present.  Hopefully, you have more overhang than I did.  Messy messy.

Now travel down one long side toward the other end.  Use a ton of staples.  Trust me.  The more staples you use, the smoother the front will be.  Here's a picture of me using a million staples.

  Hopefully yours doesn't look like this.  (Dangerously close to the edge, here.)

A tip:  While you're travelling down the long side, stapling, stand the cornice up periodically and make sure the fabric is straight.  It's better to make adjustments as you go than to have to rip all of those million staples out.

Do NOT wrap up the corner on the other end!  First repeat the wrap and staple down the other long side.

Now, wrap your corners.

This is what mine looked like when it was all said and done.

(Please pay no mind to the stack of crap sitting on the table behind it.)

Pretty, huh?  The back is pretty ugly.  I would suggest either muslin or drapery lining to cover the back.  You can glue it on with a hot glue gun or staple it, but it will prevent the fabric from fraying and look a little better when overly-nosey people peek too closely at them.  ;)

Also, the fabric I fell in love with was kind of silky and supple.  I would advise against this.  Please fall in love with a sturdy fabric.  If you just can't help yourself, use muslin in between the batting and the decorative fabric.  It will cut down on quite a bit of upholstery-related stress.

Now that it's made and upholstered, you're going to want to hang that bad boy.  More on that later!!

And THAT's a project I completed why my son was sleeping!

XO,


MM.