Whip up this Rustic DIY Window Valance in just minutes!
Who doesn’t have a window in their home that could use a little love? Maybe a little something to dress things up a bit, add some interest. Or perhaps you’ve got some ugly hardware from those window coverings hanging out that could use a little camouflage.
Our problem was a little of both you see.
As much as I’d like to tell you that we have beautiful curtains hanging in every window of our home from perfectly lovely hardware that I’m happy to show off, fact is, I’d be lying. After moving into our new (to us) home (take the tour here), most of windows have been haphazardly covered with whatever we could pull together while we work our way through house updates, one room at a time.
The first room we chose to tackle was this Rustic Boy’s Bedroom as part of the One Room Challenge. I would have loved to add some curtains to the space with a super fun woodsy print, buuuuut, I know my son and I know what kind of toy a three year old boy can turn perfect little curtains into. So instead, I settled for this blind from IKEA. The colour, the blackout capabilities & it’s minimalistic design made it a perfect match for the space in every way, well every way except one that is – unfortunately, the mounting hardware was pretty awful. Terribly ugly really. In fact, as soon as we had it hung on the wall, I knew we were going to have to do something about it.
Enter this lovely DIY Rustic Window Valance!
Not only does it hide that unsightly hardware, but it totally adds to that rustic cabin theme we’d been looking to pull into this room!
Here’s how we made it:
one. We started by cutting three 1×4 boards to size. These will stack together to make the front of our valance. We made the boards a few inches longer than our blind to make sure that everything would be covered.
two. Cut the sides. You’ll want to measure how far your window covering sticks out from the wall, then cut each side to be about an inch longer. You’ll need six of these pieces in total, one to attach to each end of your three boards for the front.
three. Screw or nail the shorter side boards to the backs of each end on your long front boards creating three separate valance shapes.
four. Attach them all together by screwing or nailing them into a piece of wood running along the inside corners on both sides. *I totally forgot to snap a picture of this part, but hopefully you can get an idea from the mounting photo in step six!*
five. Stain. We chose the Early American colour from Minwax (*affiliate link – for more information read our disclosure policy).
six. To mount it on the wall, we first mounted two small pieces of 1×4 to the wall that would fall just to the inside of each end of the valance. Then, we simply screwed in through the sides of the valance into our already mounted pieces of wood.
That’s it my friends! It literally took us just minutes to whip up and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out! It really does add to that rustic look we were going for in the space!
Check out how perfectly it fits the space in our new Rustic Big Boy Bedroom!
You might also want to check out the Rustic DIY Pallet Art I made for the space.
Or, our pride and joy – this DIY Plank Wall complete with a Weathered Barnwood Finish!
Considering this was our very first total room makeover, we’re pretty darn proud of how everything came together! You can read more about our One Room Challenge adventures here if you’d like.
And don’t miss these other fun DIY projects we put together for this Rustic Boy’s Bedroom as well! I’ll be sure to update this list as new tutorials are posted:
Wishing you SUCH a lovely day!
PS. You can find me sharing here and Savvy Southern Style.
Breanna says
Love how this ties in with the wall! It definitely makes that window look much better!
Kristi says
Thanks SO much Bre! SUCH a quick way to finish it all off!
Kendra @ www.joyinourhome.com says
This “valance” ties in perfectly with your pallet wall, Kristi! So creative! xo
Kristi says
Awww, thanks so much my friend!!! Have a great week girl! xo
Terri Webster Schrandt says
This is a really great idea! Thanks for posting this!
Kristi says
Thank you SO much Terri! I’m thrilled that you love it!
swell conditions says
That looks SO good!! It really suits the room too, nicely done!
Kristi says
Thank you SO much!!! It really was the perfect solution for us!
Corinna - For My Love Of says
SO GOOD! I love how it looks, and how easy it is!
Kristi says
Thanks SO much Corinna!!!
Tianna says
such a cool idea! I love the natural look ♥
Kristi says
Thank you SO much Tianna!!!
Jamie | anderson + grant says
This valance fits in perfectly with the rustic looking room. I like the look of it a lot more than curtains hanging in the space. Great job, Kristi!
Kristi says
Awww, thanks Jamie! We’re really happy with how it turned out too! Happy weekend girl!
Erica says
So brilliant! It’s the perfect finishing touch to the window and I just love how well it pairs with your plank wall! Carson definitely has a seriously awesome room!
Kristi says
Thank you Erica! It really does tie in well! Happy weekend my friend!
Kimberly says
Hello beautiful! This looks so amazing. Pinned and tweeted. I hope to see you on Monday at 7pm because we love to party with you! Happy Memorial Day! Lou Lou Girls
Kristi says
Thanks SO much Kimberly! Enjoy your weekend!
Lorelai @ Life With Lorelai says
Oh, I love this idea for a rustic valance! I like how it hides the pull-down shade. Please come share your blog posts over at the Home Matters Linky Party! We’d love to have you for a visit. The Door is OPEN. http://lifewithlorelai.com/2015/05/21/home-matters-linky-party-38/ 🙂
~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai
aspen jay says
The window valance is just perfect! What a clever idea Kristi, nicely done! I really like how your little boy’s rustic room came together. Thanks for sharing at TALENTED TUESDAY link party.
Kristi says
Awww, thank you SO much Aspen! It really was the perfect way to hide that ugly blind!
Amanda says
That valance really helps tie everything together! Love it! Thank you for sharing at Merry Monday!
Kristi says
Thanks Amanda! It came together so easily and is the perfect way to hide that awful blind hardware!
Vickie@Vickie's Kitchen and Garden says
I absolutely love the valance and the wall. So pretty! Thanks for sharing at the #HomeMattersParty
Kristi says
Thank you SO, SO much Vickie! It all came together just as we’d hoped!
Kathy says
Now this is a valance I could live with! Love the rustic look. Thanks for sharing at The creative circle!
Kristi says
Awwww, thank you SO much Kathy! It really does work perfectly in the room!
Bethany @ The Southern Couture says
This is a great addition and match to the plank wall. Any little boy would love this for their room. Plus I love your rustic wall art you made. It is just too cute too. Thank you so much for sharing your creativity at Motivational Monday link party. Have a great weekend!
Bethany from The Southern Couture
Kristi says
Awwww, thank you SO much for your sweet comment Bethany! It really was the perfect way to hide that ugly hardware from the blind and keep true to the rustic look we were going for! Wishing you a wonderful weekend too!