How to Re-cover a Cornice Board

Few things add an elegant, tailored look to a room like a cornice board. Sometimes called a box valance, a cornice is simply a fabric window treatment in the shape of a box, that hides your curtain hardware. But, even the most gorgeous window treatment can get old after awhile, and one of the easiest ways to give a whole room a face lift is to re-cover a cornice board in a sassy new fabric.

Remove the cornice board from where it is hanging, and dust it if necessary. Remove any hardware that is attached to it.

Use the flat-head screwdriver to remove any staples holding the existing fabric onto the cornice board. Pull all of the old fabric off. If the batting (if any) is in good shape, you can leave that on.

Lay your fabric down on your work surface, printed side down. Lay your batting on top of it, and then lay the cornice board on top of that. Use the cornice board as a pattern to cut the batting and fabric 6 inches wider on each side than the cornice board.

Leave even more extra fabric if the cornice board has a top—not all of them do. Once the fabric and batting are cut out, move the cornice board aside and give the batting a good, healthy sweep of the spray adhesive.

Lay the cornice face down on top of the batting and fabric, and press it into the batting a little, so the adhesive will stick. Make sure you don't wrinkle or disarrange the batting and fabric as you do this.

Pull one side of the fabric up over the long edge of cornice board, and put a few staples in it. Repeat on the other side, and then turn the cornice board over to make sure the fabric and batting are laying the way you want them to.

Pull the fabric right up over the top of the cornice (it there is one) and make sure to miter the corners the way you do when you wrap a present or make hospital corners on a bed. Staple it in place.

Finish stapling the fabric and batting to the cornice. Miter the corners where the side supports meet the front. Don't pull the batting or fabric over the ends of the side supports that will rest against the wall. Fold them under and secure them with some spray adhesive.

Re-attach the hardware, and re-hang the cornice.