Over a year ago, I picked up some fabric I ran across for $3 per yard and knew that I wanted to do something with it on the 2 single windows in our master bathroom. So, I finally got inspired to get it done, after saving an inspiration post from Jenny, at Little Green Notebook. She has lots of great ideas and this one was perfect for what I wanted in my space.
See how pretty and simple this pelmet or cornice board is? You can click over to Jenny’s blog to see how she did it, but I’ll share my method here too. And the good thing is this: it’s made from foamcore board and duct tape! Yeah, I knew you’d like that too.
Come on in and I’ll show you my version.
I”m really loving this cornice board and how easy it was to put together too. Well, relatively easy. 
One thing I can mention on this project is, you may not want to use a stripe, because it’s impossible to keep them straight when you have curves and angles. But, I’m pretty happy with the way this turned out in spite of the wavy stripes.
The hardest part is getting your fabric to lay taut around this little curve, but I’ll show you the back of it down below in my how-to and you can see that you have to clip the fabric with scissors to get it around the curve. I still have a slight pucker on the fabric, but most of that is covered by the trim and button. I found this pretty braided blue trim at Hancocks and I covered the buttons myself from other fabric I had. 
Just a shot of the white nightstand I painted last year, along with some storage boxes in my paisley blue fabric. 
The cornice is simple, but adds a lot, I think. I kept this space to blue, gold-yellow, and white.
The same treatment goes in the toilet room too. 
You can read all about the beadboard wallpaper I did here in this post. That really added a big punch to this little room. 
Buttons and trim add lots of interest to this simple treatment. 
Another peek at the DIY subway tile I added in here earlier this year too. I think I can now say that the master bathroom is done! 🙂
So, if you’d like to read all about how these cornices were put together, keep on reading.
I made a simple pattern out of packing paper. You may have to work on this, it took me 2 attempts to get my angles and curves the way I wanted them. Once you have one side drawn, it helps to fold the paper in half, so that both sides match.
Then, just place it on your foam board and trace.
Cut along the lines and you have this. I used an Exacto knife to cut mine. Remember those? 
My box needed a little extra on each side, so I cut out 1″ strips to go on either side to make it a little wider. I duct taped both sides, front and back to keep it steady. 
I decided to have my board sit 2 1/2 inches out from the window, so I cut 4 pieces that were 2 1/2″ wide and taped those on each side of my 2 boxes. Now you have a box that needs to be covered. Who would know that underneath your pretty fabric is THIS. 🙂 No one but YOU! 
Be sure and iron your fabric well before you start. 
I roughly cut my fabric into 2 pieces and left extra on each, just to be sure I had enough. Luckily, no one will see behind your board so you don’t have to worry about the backside. Lay down some batting first, then your fabric on top. I used a staple gun with 3/8″ staples to adhere all the fabric. Start in one spot and pull taut, moving all the way around.
The toughest spots, as I mentioned were right there on the curve insets. You can see that I cut the fabric all the way down to the board to be able to pull the fabric as tight as I could here. Lots of staples! The batting helps keep the fabric smooth too, so don’t skip that step. I had to work on this curved part longer than all the rest, but just keep going until you get all the fabric adhered.
And here they are, both covered with fabric. 
I wanted that little extra pizazz, so added some pretty braided flat trim that I found at Hancock’s Fabrics. It was my lucky week and it was all 30% off.  I glued on all the trim with fabric glue. My favorite fabric glue is Fabri-Tac, but I’ve been out of it for awhile. I picked up some fabric glue from Hobby Lobby, called Crafter’s Pick and I hate it. It doesn’t stick worth a darn and it won’t squeeze out the small hole in the top, so I definitely would tell you to stay away from that one. Fabri-Tac is the BEST! 
Hot glued a ring onto the back top corner of the board on either side. This thing is so lightweight, it doesn’t take much to hang it. Just 2 small nails will do it. 
And that’s how to make a cornice board out of foamcore.
I hope this inspires you to try this project. It just takes a little time and patience to get the fabric stretched over it, but I’m so happy with how it came out.
What do you think? Do you have a window to try this one on?
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And the giveaway winner for the 2 Tea books is: Georgia from Grandma G’s. Congrats, enjoy those books!
I will try this. I have a tiny window in our living room in a little alcove. Has always been so hard to do curtain or blind. This just might be perfect. Great job!
Love it, Rhoda. I’m gonna have to steal that idea!
Sue
You had me fooled! 🙂 They look great. I was thinking of doing cornices above the windows in my bedroom, but Scott has insisted that I make changes to the office first – so … that’s at the TOP of my to do list, and it starts FRIDAY! WOW!
I’ll let you know how it goes … who knows, I might end up doing this in there! Thanks for the inspiration, Rhoda – as always!
I must be missing something, but I don’t understand how the staples don’t show through on the other side of the fabric???
Trisha, there’s a layer of batting & that along with the foamcore which is pretty thick, hides the staples. They are only 3/8″ thick, so don’t go thru to the other side. It works!
Love it, Rhoda! All thing DYI catch my interest! I finally updated my dining room, by the way!
That looks great! Thank you for sharing! I need something for my kitchen window and this may be it! The staples do not show through because the foamcore is so thick, right?
I Love the cornices. I’ve always been a fan of cornice boards and this looks fabulous. I’ll keep this in mind for future. You did a great job.
I love your bath and the cornice is fabulous. I did not know about the foam core and will give it a try.
I have been following you since we were on a private decorating board…way back. I was AnnettefromSC. I mostly lurked as I was not retired then and time was more limited.
As always you are on the cutting edge of new decorating trends but I love the way you always include and blend the traditional.
Thanks for sharing your talent. Annette
Rhoda, your cornices look lovely! Foamcore and duct tape? Brilliant!
I just love the use of yellow and blue in your master bed and bath. I’m delighted to see blue making a comeback in home decor. It never really went out of style, as far as I’m concerned, but for awhile it was very difficult to find fabrics that featured blue. Your stripe is lovely!
What a great idea! I’ve always been scared off of attempting cornices by sawing and nailing wood. But this I’m sure I can do!
Wow, Rhoda, that looks great! I’m completely amazed that you can do that with some paper and duct tape. You inspire me! And that bathroom is fantastic, I’ve always loved it.
~Angela 🙂
Rhoda,
Those turned out perfectly! I love blues and yellows.
Great job!
Thanks for the tutorial. I plan to pass it on to my daughter. She will be very interested. You did a great job. She will love the duct tape idea!
Your blue bathroom is similar to my blue and I enjoy it.
That was ingenious! I would have NEVER thought of using foam core in that way. I definitely gotta try that!
LOVE this. I would not have thought to use the 3/8″ inch staples on the foam core. I would think the ends would pop through. You are so smart. Very chic, easy and repeatable ….thank you for the Hancock mention!
Thanks for linking to me Rhoda! Your cornice boxes turned out lovely! Fantastic job, as always.
xx
jenny
Thank you for the great tutorial! I think I will try this above my kitchen window. I knew I didn’t want shades/blinds but this might be just what the doctor ordered. Thanks again!
Hi Rhoda!
These are fantastic, and I’m totally doing this!! One question – about how “tall” were each of your cornices? Thanks! Mindy
Nice!! I have a window that needs something, so this might be my solution!
Wowsers….great job and I think you did just fine with your stripes!