HOLD THE PHONE! After-Dinner-Design How-To-Tutorial!

Hang onto your hats people, because we're doing a tutorial today. If you're here reading After-Dinner Design for viewing-pleasure-web-candy only, this step-by-step project might not be to your liking, but if you're here in a learn-by-observation capacity, TODAY IS THE DAY!

Side note: Did anybody else already realize that the acronym for After-Dinner Design is A-D-D? 
Too bad it isn't O-C-D... that would really be more fitting. : )


What are we building, you ask? Why VALANCES of course! 

How To Build Your Own Window Valances: 
Tools for this project: 
-6-pieces of wood cut to size
-Drill and 1 1/2"- 2" screws
-Fabric of your choice
-Batting (optional)
-Staple gun
-Screws or L-Brackets to mount valance

 1.) Start by measuring your windows and building your frame. My windows are 46.5" wide each (from the outside edge to outside edge of the molding...) so I bought a 48" long X 12" wide X 1" thick piece of wood (pine?) from Home Depot, and then 2- 12" long X 3" wide X 1" thick pieces for each side. This adds up to 6 pieces of wood total for the two windows (two - 48", four- 12".)

Are we all on the same page so far?

2.) Then John and I drilled the three pieces together so they overlapped and created a three-sided box. We used regular drywall screws for this, but wood screws would also work. (As shown in the picture at right.) This is the frame for my valance!

We're on a roll.  
3.) Next, I stapled on my batting. This isn't really a vital step, especially if you're using a bulkier fabric, but if you prefer a more pillow-y look, go for it! I literally bought a bag of batting from my local craft store, laid it out and wrapped it around each corner of the frame, hit it with a couple of staples to keep in place, and BA-DA-Bing, onto the next step...

FABRIC! 

Maybe you remember that I had a surplus of fabric left over from recovering the two chairs in our kitchen? I love this fabric, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to add more of it to our kitchen aesthetic.



4.) Cut fabric to wrap around frame and staple again. Remember when you're doing a project like this-- you can always cut off excess fabric, but if you make it too small, you just have to start over from scratch.

5.) Keep on stapling! Make your way around all four sides, folding over the fabric and pulling it nice and tight. Once you've finished, flip it over, and voila! Valances! 


6.) Putting them up proved to be a little bit of a challenge in our kitchen because there isn't a lot of space on the out side of each window. We decided to screw directly through the sides of the valances right into the window frames, which worked out really well. The fabric pattern disguises the screws, so you can't even tell that's how they're up!

Well check us out! We've got jazzy new valances up and things are really looking swank in Brooklyn! 

There is still more to come, so check back soon to see what else we're doing! The fun never stops.