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DIY Fiberboard Valance

Since I shared my dining room redo last year, I’ve had about a zillion people ask me where I got this wooden cornice above my DIY Ruffled Burlap Curtains in my dining room
To answer that, I got it at Habitat for Humanity ReStore for $1! One of my favorite finds to date. BUT… what that means for you is that you can’t run to your local ReStore and get one. If you don’t know, ReStore is like a thrift store for Home Improvement items like light fixtures, doors, windows, flooring, some furniture, etc. It’s an awesome little place and they’re all over the US but like a thrift store, you have to pick through everything to find great deals. 
Lately, I’ve been wanting another one of theses valances but obviously I couldn’t just go buy another one. I took it down, looked it over and realized I could make one pretty easily and for around $10! 
I went to Home Depot and bought 2 pieces of MDF board. The board is 10″ tall by the width of your window + 8″ to allow for a 4″ overhang on each side. Making the valance wider and hanging your curtains a little wider makes your window look bigger. You could use regular wood too but the router is easier to use on the MDF. 
I laid the valance I had on on piece of MDF and traced the shape on the bottom. 
Then, I took my jigsaw and cut out the shape.
Next, sand the cut down so it is nice and smooth. 
Then, we borrowed a friend’s router and routed the edge to make it look more finished. 
I didn’t get photos of the next step but I basically cut two smaller rectangles and used my nail gun to attach them on the sides at a right angle. Then, I used my nail gun to attach the trim I bought and the wood applique. If you purchase an applique, this will definitely put your project over $10 but I think it dresses it up a bit. I guess it depends on the style of the room that you’re going to be using it in. 
Last, paint! I used some paint I had on hand and painted the whole thing. Then, I used some watered down brown acrylic paint to use as a glaze and wiped some one and wiped it right off to give a weathered look. 
You can see here a little sneak peek of my bedroom makeover! I’ve even done lots since this photo was taken. I can’t wait to show you all. I am in love with how it’s going.
If you need a valance or cornice, you’ve gotta make one! It’s really fun and inexpensive and you get the custom look for cheap! 
You can see another version of a DIY Window Valance that Savannah made here

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10 Comments

  1. Hey there! That box looks great. I have a little question for you though… in my house we only have eight foot ceilings – do you think doing a cornice box above the windows AND crown moulding is too much? Do you think it will look too crowded?

  2. Hey there! That box looks great. I have a little question for you though… in my house we only have eight foot ceilings – do you think doing a cornice box above the windows AND crown moulding is too much? Do you think it will look too crowded?

  3. What a wonderful project–I’ll have to show this to my husband–would look great in my bedroom. Thanks for showing how 🙂

  4. I love this! I would like to Pin it and I see you use Pinterest, but I can’t get pinterest to work with your site. Do you prefer we don’t pin it?

  5. It looks great. The only problem is that we here at home don’t have a valance to to trace make the project work. This saddens me. So if any of y’all have an idea on how I could get on Id love to hear it. 🙂 🙂

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