Window Valances Top off Your Living Room Windows Perfectly
What are window valances?
Nothing less than the perfect treatment to top off any living room window. Whether you have simple blinds or an elegant layered drapery design, valances will finish it off just right.
Window valances are simple, but they add style and substance to your window treatments by framing your design. They also do a great job of concealing your drapery hardware, if that’s the look you want.
Fabric, wood and tile are all used in these decorative window “borders”, helping them add just enough interest to your living room windows. No matter your goals…luxury, comfort, practicality…there’s a valance for your dream living room.
Are You Ready to Create Your Dream Living Room?
Are you ready to create your unique design style?
Are you ready to take stock of your current living room and decide what stays and what goes?
Are you ready to build a great foundation with color, flooring, and window treatments? Are you ready to light and furnish the room of your dreams? What about your accents – area rugs, throws, urns, vases, greenery, wall décor and accessories?
Are you determined to take on the challenge of a small space, an apartment, unique architectural, or a tight budget?
If you answered “Yes”, then there’s just one more thing you’ll need…A Plan. That’s where we come in.
The Stylish Living Room is the only book you’ll need to create your dream living room. Let us take you through the whole exciting process step by step. Let us be your guide…let us be your living room décor encyclopedia. The result?
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Types of Window Valances
Bet you never knew there were so many types of window valances.
Well, we didn’t either. Remember, we were just beginners when we started, too. While we keep our living room windows simple with white blinds and a brown dupioni silk swag, you may be going for something entirely different so you deserve to know all your options.
Let the learning…we mean the FUN begin!
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Balloon Valances
Quite simply, the fabric “balloons” out to simulate a fuller appearance.
The best things about balloon valances is that they look complicated but are actually quite easy to make, with the right instructions, and they are amazingly versatile by varying fabric and balloon styles.
What you see to your right is actually a balloon shade, another example of a creative window treatment that looks great and keeps the right amount of light in your living room.
You can use a balloon valance in elegant and casual living room designs alike.
Swag Valances
Take fabric and hang it across the top of your window treatment, bracketed on both ends and draped over each side. That’s a swag valance.
There are many variations to discuss so we’ll start with a scarf swag. While it looks like one long piece of fabric, just folded and draped, it’s actually three pieces of fabric sewn together, but attached discreetly. This helps the draping of the fabric and gives it the appearance of a genuine scarf.
Next is a board mounted swag. The top lays straight, not dipping downwards like others, covering the board completely. Five to nine soft pleats are used, depending on the size of the board.
A pole swag is usually used with a decorative rod, but it can also be found with a cornice. Generally, six of seven graceful pleats dip down and back up. This effect forms a space to “look through” at the top center of the swag.
On to the drapery swag, which is pleating or gathering that ends in one point on each side. This swag actually hangs from rings attached to these two points. You’ll usually find drapery swags placed in front of a drapery and attached to the same rod.
Ascot Valances
Take your fabric and from triangular shapes to hang over curtains or drapes. Don’t just use any fabric – you’ll need silk or velvet. You’ll probably want to use some tassels or fringe, too.
Italian Valances
Drape your fabric across the top of your window making sure the length of the fabric forms a curve with the shortest width at the center of the window.
Cornices
Think of a cornice as a hard window valance. The basics of a cornice are a wooden box covered in padding and fabric. There are a great many variations and we’ll talk about them below.
A fabric cornice best describes the cornice we talked about above. A simple flat cornice is without padding and provides your windows with a neat and elegant finishing touch.
You can place an insert in the center of a cornice, across the width. This allows you to vary colors and patterns.
A shaped bottom cornice has a lower edge with an artistic design, like a zig-zag or scalloped pattern. A peek-a-boo cornice is often seen on Victorian window treatments. It’s actually a double cornice with three scallops on the outside and two on the inside. The scallops on the underneath cornice peek out, creating an alternating patten.
Now that you know a bit more about cornices, let’s move on to some outstanding window valance ideas.
Window Valance Ideas
With a working knowledge of the basics, you can get getting a feel for what will work best in your dream living room. These ideas should help you along the way.
Here are some variations of balloon valances you can try.
Cloud Valances
A graceful valance with the folds all billowed and pulled up into scallops is a cloud valance. Gather in the top of the valance to add some fullness, too.
Add a little style up there with rod pocket headings. Trim the bottom with ruffles or tassels.
Another variation is a pleated cloud valance. Make some inverted box pleats between the scallops that will accentuate the clouds that start out flat on top. This is definitely a more modern look.
Austrian Butterflies?
Lost you there, didn’t we.
An Austrian Valance is a shortened version of an Austrian shade that consists of tightly shirred fabric scalloped across it. You can trim the scallops with some fringe or create a drapery look by adding jabots between the cascades and scallops at the outer edges.
A butterfly valance sounds pretty cool. Just think of a cloud valance with wings! Actually it just has one scallop at the bottom center. Where you’d pull the scallop upward, tie it off with a bow. This makes the two outer sides, or “wings”, float downward.
Cornice Ideas
Add an insert to your cornice and try some things with different colors and different fabrics. Start with solid outer edges and a patterned fabric in the center. Also try shirred fabric on the outer edges and flat fabric as an insert or just the opposite.
If you’re looking to combine soft and hard elements, add bows, jabots or swags to your cornice.
Swag Ideas
A flip pole swag is created by draping swags across a decorative rod. Each swag will overlap the one beside it. This makes it look like the fabric is “flipped” over the rod for the true swag look.
Perhaps you’re stuck between a swag valance and a cornice. Do both! Place your pole swags beside each other on a flat cornice.
Lastly, to create a full scarf valance, attach multiple scarf swags to each other. Decorate the seams with rosettes or just pull them through sconces. One scarf on each side will hang down to the floor, framing the window. Looks like it’s one long scarf, but you rarely need to adjust it. Works great in our living room and it was easy.
Great Valance Tips For Him
For him?
Yes. It’s easy to go over the top and create an ornate window treatment that the woman of the house will appreciate, but the man might find a bit too feminine. How about some tips to create more masculine styled valances that both of you will enjoy.
- Use neutral tones in your window valances, but let the textures be the star. This will keep your living room from feeling empty
- Keep it simple by using sheer vertical blinds for some height with a window valance to punch it up ever so slightly
- Take your clean and simple window treatment, complete with valance, and add easy accessories like candles that complement the valance color
Make Your Own Window Valances
Sounds fun. We’re going to defer to the experts on this one. Lee over at Window Treatments Made Easy can show you everything you need to know.
Time to learn How to Make a Valance.
Window Valance Shopping
Save time and money when you’re shopping for window valances. Keep these things in mind…
When purchasing fabric for a flat style rod pocket valance, you’ll need accurate measurements. Think actual width size of the rod and returns in fabric width. With a 38 inch rod and 3 inch return on each side, you’ll be creating a 44 inch window treatment. You don’t really want any gathering, but most styles will look just fine even with 2 to 3 extra inches of width. Just move the extra width to the return part of the rod.
You’ll want your swags to be a close to the actual window with as possible, including the window framing. Best move is to go by the rod’s width. When you’re using multiple swags on wider windows, overlap the swags 8 to 15 inches for each overlap.
For scarves, simply measure the width of your living room window and how far down each side you’ll want to scarf to hang. Add those 3 numbers and order the closest sized scarf to what you’re looking for.
Finally, our two suggestions for the best combination of price, service and selection...
Have a blast creating window treatments for your dream living room!
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