The thing with my home office, perhaps the best thing, is that I have a great view of the mountains and open space from the three large windows that face west. This can also be the challenge.

While I want the window dressings to have a finished look and offer a little softness in the room I also want to honor the view. The first thing a person should see is the view, not the window coverings. Simply using blinds or cellular shades isn’t quite enough (too rental).

My home office windows before:

MY SOLUTION: Fabric Covered Cornice Box

BEST PART OF THE SOLUTION: The cornice boxes are a DIY project I did myself and cost less than $100 for both windows.

Materials needed:

• 12” pine boards pre-cut to size from the lumber yard (in my case 115” and 42”)
• 2×4 boards pre-cut to size for the inside support
• L-Brackets for support
• Batting from the fabric store (thicker is better if you want a softer look)
• Fabric (in my case I chose burlap for all of $2.99/yard)
• Staple Gun
• Decorative Trim (if preferred, I opted for antique brass nail head trim) 

DIY steps to making your own cornice board:

1. Nail sides to cornice front to create side support
2. Nail top into place (at the top or below the top equal to the height of the cornice over the window)
3. Lay out batting and cut to size leaving enough to fold over the edges of the cornice board
4. Apply batting with staple gun
5. Start from center and work your way out folding corners much like you do when you gift wrap all the while applying staples approximately 1 ½ to 2 inches from the edge
6. Apply fabric (same application as with the batting)
7. Apply decorative trim (optional)
8. Fix L-Brackets to the wall at the preferred height
9. Set the 2×4 support onto the L-Brackets and screw into place

Tips:

• Measure how far you would like the cornice box to cover the top window trip and place 2×4 board support on the back of cornice box at the comparable height.
• If stapled edges are visible on the interior of the cornice box cut squares of fabric to size and hot glue in place to create a finished look.
• If using decorative nail head trim buy the strips versus the individual nails. Saves time and leaves less room for error in placement. 

The completed product…

The great thing about this project is that I can easily change the fabric in the future if I decide to redecorate the office. For now though the brown burlap ($2.99/yd) is current, a little trendy, and adds a bit of rustic elegance to a window where the best feature is the view.

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