Fabulous job!!! I'm so impressed - they look very, very professional. How about skinny cording where the 2 seams are on the cornice? I think gimp would read a bit fancy for the tailored look you have there, but a simple cording would add a nice finishing touch. I think. Maybe. Could be dead wrong but that's my gut response ;-)

Feedback but no suggestions--Very cool! I'm sure your DH appreciates that it's not feminine.

Just wanted to say you did a wonderful job!

They look really nice! Congratulations on a job well done. I think they look fine just the way they are.
I have been asking DH to build me a cornice just like this for our living room windows. Hope you don't mind answering a few questions that I have. Did you build the cornices yourself? If so, did you use wood or foam? If wood, what kind? Did you have to join two pieces to build the wide cornice? Thanks a lot! I hope DH will be inspired to do this project when I show him your pics.

Sorry no suggestions I just wanted to say how beautiful(and masculine) it looks and how much I admire your talent.

Thanks everyone for the great compliments. It was really satisfying to finally get them up. dlm, I agree about the gimp being too stuffy for these, now that I step back and look at the photos. I can't use single cording because I would have needed to sew the lip into the seam while I was making it, but I could make some narrow double cording and glue or staple it on now. Which fabric would look best for the cording?

vinudev, I've got an instruction sheet made up from a workshop I taught on making these cornices. I'll see if I can find the file and post it later (it'll be after dinner sometime, but I should be able to get to it tonight).

Thanks, equest. That will be great! Take your time-there is no rush.

I'd probably use the plain(er) fabric on the cornice for the cording. It's going to add a nice texture and shadow line more than being a design you focus on. But it might be interesting to see the darker panel fabric carried up there, too. Is it possible to make small pieces of each and pin them in place to see which you like better?

The following is the instruction sheet from the workshop on foam cornice boards I co-taught at the county extension office. Since it was just a handout meant to accompany the class, it might be a bit hard to following without a demonstration. Let me know if anything is unclear.

A plywood cornice would be similar, except you need woodworking tools and would use a staple gun to assemble and upholster. I actually use my pneumatic stapler with 3/8" staples to attach the fabric to the foam cornice; it's much faster than pins and holds well as long as you angle the gun when you shoot. A hand stapler doesn't work on foam, so unless you have upholstery tools, pinning as the sheet describes would be best. (One nice thing about pinning to foam is you can easily remove the fabric later and recover the cornice if you tire of the original look.) If you have access to it, a half-thickness sheet of Dacron wrap is a little better than quilt batting, but the latter is cheap and easy to find.

You can do scalloped or profiled bottom edges with the cornice, also. Just trace your design onto the front valance and cut it out with the utility knife. You'll have to clip the fabric a lot to go around curves when you pin/staple it, so something that doesn't ravel is best. I found that fabric with a bit of stretch is actually great for this. The little girl's cornice I did below used a knit plush material and had enough give to pull tightly around the curves without puckering.

CORNICE BOARD INSTRUCTIONS

Supplies:

1. 4 x 8 sheet of 1/2" foam core insulation board (available at Home Depot or Lowes)
2. Hot glue gun and glue sticks
3. Straight pins (both standard dressmaker pins and small ball head straight pins (size 17 is about 1 1/16" long)
4. High or extra high loft quilt batting (enough for one layer over front, sides, and top of cornice)
5. Spray adhesive
6. Decorator fabric (optional fringe or trim, if desired)
7. Utility knife, straight edge, marker
8. 2"-3" long 90 degree angle brackets

Measuring Cornice:

For each cornice, you will create the following four (4) pieces from foam core board as instructed below:
One (1) front valance
Two (2) end pieces (or "returns")
One (1) top

1. Determine height of front valance face (generally between 10" - 18", based on window size, ceiling height, or other personal preferences).
2. Determine length of front valance (be sure to allow extra width if hanging curtains underneath); if your desired length is over 8 feet (the widest dimension of the foam core board), you will splice pieces as described assembly steps below.
3. Determine side depth from wall, called the return (2"-4" if no curtains underneath, 6" or more if mounting over curtains)
4. Top piece will be same depth as side piece and 1" longer than front valance width

Assembly:

1. Using straight edge, mark desired dimensions on white side of foamboard; score with box cutter or utility knife, snap along line, and cut through aluminum skin if necessary.
* For a cornice over 8 feet, you will need to join foam pieces to create each front valance and top panel. Cut the lengths for the front face and top out of as many pieces as necessary. Lay the pieces flat and hot glue the edges together to form one length. Cut a wide strip of thin cardboard (cereal box, etc.) and hot glue it over the seam on both sides.
2. Lay front valance aluminum side up and hot glue return ends on left and right edges with aluminum side in. Insert dressmaker pins from the outside of return ends into the cut edge of front valance to reinforce glued joints (about every 2").
3. Glue and pin top to front valance and end pieces with aluminum side facing in to make a three sided box, white on the outside and shiny aluminum on the inside (this reflects more light to brighten the window, but if you accidentally glue it the other way, it won't really matter). If the front face and top lengths both have a seam, try to offset the seams so they don't align.
4. On interior of cornice box, "caulk" the seams with a thick bead of hot glue to reinforce. Allow to dry.
5. Spray adhesive on exterior of foam core and apply batting. Trim batting to leave just a small amount to wrap over the cut foam edge. Cut out excess batting on corners so there is only a single layer; do not fold batting over itself.
6. Center decorator fabric over batting and begin stretching and smoothing from the center out. Secure fabric with ball head pins inserted in foam at a steep angle (almost parallel with the foam) with the points facing the outer edge of the foam and the ball head aligned with the cut fabric edge. Continue out to the ends of the cornice, folding and cutting as necessary.
7. At top corners, fold excess fabric like a big dart (miter) so that there is a straight fold running parallel to the cornice frame edge where top and side end pieces are joined.
8. Attach any desired trim or embellishment to the cornice fabric. Double cording can be pinned along the bottom edge with dressmaker or applique pins pushed straight up into the cut foam edge or cording or flat trim can be hot glued to the face.
9. To mount cornice, screw angle brackets into the wall above the window at the desired height. Hang cornice on brackets and use a short push pin or thumb tack on the inside to secure to angle bracket.

Great job. I would have never guessed they were foam core. They look so professional.

Beautiful job! They look just right for a man's home office---perfect materials, nicely complementary.

I would do a self-piping in the microfiber at each seam in the cornice, and that is all. I think the fat cording at the bottom works better when you want to emphasize a different edge (as in a gently rolling one or scalloped), but since both your top and bottom edges are the same it would make the valance look bottom-heavy.

In fact, unless you really want the cording at the seams I believe you could leave it off... it's lovely and simple and elegant just as it is.

A wonderful job! I love that look.

I think I would try to add a double cording made from the drapery fabric. That fabric is a little darker and heavier in feel that the fabrics on the cornice, and so having the double cording on either side of the inset from the darker fabric would be a good balance.

The other option that might be cool is to do covered buttons in the drapery fabric, of a fairly large size, across the middle of the inset. Flat backed buttons could be glued on. You could even cover pieces of foam core board cut to shape and size, which would be much less expensive than buttons, and cover those. Perhaps cut in an oval shape to pick up on the curves and more oval effect of the paisley pattern.

Thanks for the ideas. I like the thought about using the paisley drapery fabric for cording on the cornice; then the cornice would contain all three fabrics. But I have lots of the microfiber, so I may do as dlm suggested and make a short length of both and pin it on to evaluate. kswl, I think you're right about not doing cording at the bottom. I did a contrasting double cording on the pink scalloped cornice to bring attention to the lines, but with a simple rectangle, it might over emphasize the horizontal since I already have the long plaid insert.

les, I never thought of covered buttons. I actually have a button press and dies, but they're a small-medium size and only round, of course. They're so easy to make though, I might whip up a few of those and hold them up just to see how buttons in general would look.

You did a really good job. I have done cornice boards and they can be a pain, especially that window pane check. I made a round table cloth of what I believe is that same identical fabric and it was a challenge matching the pains and keeping them straight without stretching.

I think you did a marvelous job.

Thank you so much for the detailed instructions, equest! I will have to try it out with the foam. The pink one looks adorable too. I would have loved to attend that workshop. Should find out if our county extension office does anything like that. Thanks once again.

Very smart looking, great job!

vinudev, I think you'll like working with the foam. It's very easy and lightweight to handle, so you can do the whole thing yourself without waiting on your husband. You can even score the foam sheets in the parking lot to get them home if you don't have a truck. Maybe try a small window cornice or a miniature version first, so you get the experience of working with it and handling the fabric around the corners; that's really the only tricky part and it can't be described very well, you just have to see it or play with it.

Definitely check out your local county extension office and ask about classes or homemaker clubs. They differ quite a bit state to state and even county to county. If your county isn't very big, see if a neighboring county offers anything, especially the one with your state university, if you're close. Our Washington County office in Arkansas just happened to have some of the best home specialists and upholstery experts, so the program developed there but not in surrounding counties.

Great job. The coordinated fabrics look great together - love what you did!!

It says to attach the cornice to the L bracket with a push pin or thumb tack to secure it to the wall? Does that really hold it up? It seems like the weight of the fabric and the foam would need more than a pin! And...how does that work exactly? The foam is square...going up to the wall...how do you pin it exactly? HELP! I'm confused!

Just a gorgeous job, equest. I believe I have a chair covered in the same fabric, but green colorway. If the not the same, similiar...like minds, huh?

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mnbasketgirl, it says screw the bracket to the wall, then use a push pin up through the bracket (already mounted securely on the wall) into the foam underside of the top piece of the cornice. The foam isn't square, it's a three sided box. The open side of the box goes against the wall, letting the top of the cornice box rest on the angle brackets protruding from the wall. Does that help? I can try to pull the cornice off the wall a bit and get a picture, but I'm not sure how well you could see anything. The cornice is so light, many of my friends just hammer a long nail into the wall and rest the cornice on that. I like to use the brackets because then I can stick the pushpin up from the bottom through the screw hole in the horizontal arm of the bracket and get it into the foam; this just prevents the cornice from being knocked off the wall. It sits on the bracket just fine without it.

twizziz, that's the exact fabric! I love it so much, I really wanted to use it somewhere where the pattern and color would show more, but it really only worked in DH's office. He doesn't really care for paisley very much; he thinks it's too feminine, even though I tried to convince him it's very masculine (it doesn't help that I, a female of course, love paisley ;-) He's satisfied with the drapes since the pattern is more obscured, but I'll have to show him your chair. He's very visual and can't picture something unless he's seen it!

Do you mind if I ask where you bought it? I buy a lot of my material from a wholesale mill for fantastic prices, but I rarely see the fabrics in stores. I think some of the fabrics come from furniture factories, so I'm curious if you bought the fabric somewhere and had the chair covered or bought the piece already upholstered.

I, too, love, love, love the fabric. I don't think it's too feminine. I purchased the chair about a year after Katrina, so I'd say that was about 3 years ago from Georgian Furnishings on Jefferson Hwy., in Jefferson, LA.

Once before, I had googled the fabric and found a distributor on-line. When I worked for an upholsterer I had access to a large selection of fabrics which I recognize from time to time on other's furnishings. This particular one he didn't have. There's not one exceptional place for me to purchase fabrics locally. I'm not one to order on line because, as you well know, quality, weight and color is not easily perceptible on a monitor. What I'm trying to say is I'm just so jealous of your sources.