Scavenger Chic

DIY Window Cornice with No Sew Curtains

• By Joan
• May 14, 2020
• 7 Comments

DIY Window Cornice

When I showed you my door headboard a couple weeks ago I got 4 comments, yeah your headboard is nice (blah, blah, blah) but how did you make the cornices?

So I’m back with one more post coming from my bedroom.  First it was the pallet wood light, then the heirloom nightstands, then a upcycled door headboard and now we’re finishing with the cornices.  Hubby and I first made these back in 2003 so it’s nice to see that they haven’t gone out of style (yet).  We had your typical builder grade home and we wanted a little architectural interest.

I think this will be the last project in the bedroom at least for now so I can stop making my bed. 😆

Measure the width of your window including the outside trim of the window in your measurement plus 1/2″ to give yourself a little wiggle room.

My window was 36 1/2″, so I’m going to round it up to 37″.

Add 14″ to your measurement (37″ + 14″=51″ ) , 7 inches for both sides, to give yourself a final box length.  

From a 1×6,  cut one board  51″ and 2 boards 5″ long for each window.  If you are  not mitering your corners you will have to adjust the 5″ length so that the entire width of the box equal 5″.

Attach the box with wood glue and finish nails. 

When we made these cornice boxes originally we did not have a pneumatic nail gun, just a hammer and nails.  I highly recommend the nail gun.

Cut a top piece for your box from a 1×10 board.  This board will be the length of your box + 8 1/2″.  Mine was then 51″+ 8 1/2″=  59 1/2″

Glue and nail the top onto your box making sure the back is flat, the part that will sit against the wall, and the sides are equal.  Just ignore my cockeyed drawing, you get the idea.

Create 2 more 3 sided boxes from a 1×8 or 1×6 board to create your side pieces.

Nail and glue these side pieces into the corners of the first box you created.

Add crown moulding around the sides and the front of the box mitering the corners.  You must have a miter saw for this cut.  I used about 6 1/2 feet of crown moulding per window.  Use finish nails to attach.

Again, the back of the cornice should have all your cuts level to sit against the wall.

Use a quarter round piece of moulding to give a finished look to where the small side boxes meet the larger box.  You’ll need about 2 feet of quarter round per cornice.

Miter the corners and attach with finish nails. 

Before painting, countersink all nails, fill with wood putty and sand.  Fill any gaps with a paintable caulk and sand any rough edges.

Gather your curtain panel like a folded fan and secure with a rubber band.  Stick the end up inside the side boxes you created.

The curtain panels I used are IKEA Matilda.   They are 98″ in length and are semi-sheer. 

Use a staple gun to secure the curtain panel to the box.  I used about 5 staples per panel.  One to hold the top bunch in place, 2 on each side of the box and 2 more to adhere the curtain to the front of the 3 sided side box.

Find a stud above your window and screw in 2 L brackets, one for each side of your window, about 4 1/2 – 5″ above the window frame.  This is where your new window cornice will rest.  (You may need to do a dry run with your cornice so you can measure how long your curtains need to be before stapling the panels in the previous step)

**Another option, if you like options, is to screw a 1×2 directly to the wall, a length a little shorter than the first large box we made, at the same height as these L brackets, then use screws thru the top of the cornice to attach.

Lay the cornice on the L brackets and use screws to attach.  It’s a little tight getting a screwdriver up in there but it is doable.

Folding the curtain panel like a fan gives a nice pleated finish to the curtain.

One of the cornices had to be modified to fit into a corner.  The  entire box was cut a little shorter and overlapped the left window moulding. The crown moulding was also modified to be a little stunted.  I was glad we could make it work because I loved these boxes.

The curtain panels are just for show.  If you want movable curtains, skip the side pieces and attach a curtain rod to the inside of the cornice or directly to your wall.

I hope I answered any of your questions on how to make these and it wasn’t too confusing, or if I did miss anything, please ask.

Stay inspired.

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