Coastal Style Cornice Boards

Dress up ready-made curtains with custom cornice boards. They add a finished look to any window and unify the colors in your room.

There are a variety of shapes one can create. Most begin with a base of wood or foam. I made a simple straight set for my living room and dining room. Though anyone can make cornice boards, I would not recommend a beginner trying it without having someone who has experience being available for assistance. I have years of sewing, crafting and upholstery experience and I found it frustrating at times--because my staple gun would jam.

How to make straight custom upholstered cornice boards

The most difficult part for me was choosing just the right fabric. I scouted hundreds of decorator fabric swatches and settled on one that was able to be reversed.

So, the cornices in the living room are blue with cream coral branches and the single cornice in the dining room is reversed, cream with blue coral branches. Both have contrasting self-fabric cording welts at the top.

Supplies needed:

sharp fabric shears

decorator fabric

roc-lon or drapery lining fabric

cording for welt (optional)

lightweight poly quilt batting (same amount as fabric)

fabric glue

quilting pins

pine boards cut to lengths

wood screws

L-brackets (one pair per cornice)

staple gun and 3/4-inch or 1-inch staples

gimp, seam binding or grosgrain ribbon (1/2-inch wide)

tack hammer
wire cutting pliers
a protected work surface

Directions Overview:

To make the simple straight cornices, I used commonly found 1 x 8 pine, checking to make sure no board was cupped. The boards were cut at the home supply store to measure two inches longer than my window frame for the front pieces and 4.5 inches for the sides. The pieces were butted together and joined with wood screws.

The fabric and batting were cut five inches longer and five inches wider than each length of board (total length including side pieces). The fabric was placed face down on the table with the batting matched on top of it. The board base was centered on the batting.

Alternating sides and starting at the midpoint, the fabric/batting was pulled over the board and stapled on the underside of the cornice board. I continued stapling until the board was completely covered, making sure to mitre the corners. Tack down any staples that stick up using the tack hammer.

I stapled the contrast cording along the top edge of the board, carefully placing the ends toward the inside and securing with a staple.

With the bulk of the lining fabric piece facing toward the front of the cornice board, I stapled the edge (about 3/4 inch from edge) near the cording and folded it toward the inside of the cornice board to create a finished edge. Then I stapled the rest of the lining to the bottom edge of the cornice and trimmed close to the staples.

Using the seam binding or gimp and fabric glue, create a finished edge along the bottom of the cornice. You may need to hold it in place by positioning quilting pins along the edge until the glue dries (I suggest a minimum of 4 hours).

Attach the L-brackets to your wall and attach your new cornice board to the L-brackets.

Use your vacuum cleaner's fabric brush to keep dust and pollen from building up on the surfaces.