Decorating with Window Treatments

A beautiful Cornice by Victoria Larsen

When we moved in to the house we are currently in, one little bedroom upstairs was snapped up to become my private dressing room.

With it's bright blue walls and ugly gold carpet, it needed some help! But by the time I was finished with it, it was a retreat that I have loved for 6 years now... and mine all mine!

I re-covered an old bench to become a lounge sofa, complete with back and one side. I covered pillows in a coordinating material and then created a matching cornice for the window.

The cornice was one of the simplest things I've ever done.

I took a 1" x 4" pine board and cut it just a bit wider than the width of the window (including the molding). Then I attached sides to it with "L" brackets (found at your local hardware store) that measured 4"x 3".

I then attached "L" brackets to the inside of each of the sides to use as attachment brackets for the wall.

I spray glued "batting" from the fabric store to the entire outside of the 3 sided frame and using the same accent material I had covered the pillows in, I stretched it over the frame and stapled in to place with my trusty staple gun.

In the craft store, I found a wooden plaque that I engraved with a rose design on my laser machine (you could stencil a design, hand paint one or even use a decal) and then hot glued it to the center of the cornice.

It took two sets of hands to put it up, but once it was there, it finished off the window beautifully, covering the tops of the lace curtains I had hung on a simple rod.

Designer's Tip: Cornices can be done in many different ways. Try gluing molding strips to the top and bottom edges of the front and plaster stencil in the center, painting the entire cornice the color of the wall (or coordinating color?). Check out websites for cornice ideas. They are a blast and make such a difference in the room! Add a top to your cornice to provide a place to show off silk plants or collected trinkets (but keep it simple so as not to detract from your window design).

Click photo to enlarge

Exciting News!
Victoria's husband Dana has finally released his fabulous "Smooth Jazz" CD that includes Victoria's single "Gravity".

Give a listen for free at
cdbaby.com
today!
Click here!