Most home decorators know to hang curtains to keep rooms from feeling stark. However, did you know window treatments transcend simple curtain panels? In fact, you can add a lot of style to your rooms if you look into window toppers like cornices, valances, or swags.
Cornice
A cornice starts with a box that affixes over the hardware at the top of the window. Manufacturers cover this box with fabric, paint, or wallpaper - or some combination of the three. Cornices can also feature ornamentation within the wood itself, usually in the form of carving. You also see cornices with trim, such as tassels or cord.
Design Options
Cornices offer some architectural interest, so they tend to work well in plain rooms with little to no trim. Likewise, they tend to box in a window. So, not only is the effect more formal, a cornice also tends to tidy up the look of window treatments.
Because of the array of materials used in making cornices, you might have the most style options with this topper. Fabric-covered cornices are very popular, usually in a matching or complementary fabric to the curtains. Indeed, you most often use cornices as a topper for drapes, though the more elaborate styles can stand alone.
Valance
A valance can be simpler than a cornice. It doesn't feature the underlying structure. Instead, a valance is a strip of fabric that spans the width of the window. Its main purpose is to hide the curtain rod and rings. Valances can be simple, gathered strips of fabric or they can feature different levels of pleating and trim.
Design Options
Valance styles vary widely, so you have a lot of design options here. If you want to add some architectural appeal without the actual structure of a cornice, a box-pleated or roll-up valance will work well. Less structured styles soften the look of your window treatments.
As with cornices, valances are often part of a layered window treatment. You see them commonly with drapes but also with shades and blinds to soften the top of the window. However, valances also work well alone if you want decoration and don't need privacy. Trim can make these toppers the center of attention.
Swag
Swags are also strips of fabric for the top of the window. However, unlike valances, they have even less structure. In fact, a swag is a longer and wider strip of fabric that drapes across the top of the window. It can be woven loosely around a rod, or it can drape from one tieback to another. In some cases, it can also feature a "tail" that hangs along the side of the window and even to the floor.
Design Options
Swags function quite differently than either cornices or valances. They offer the least structure. However, between trim and fabric choices, you still have a lot of options for decorating with swags. What's more, they can showcase rather than hide window hardware, affording you even more design possibilities.
Swags are commonly standalone window treatments, though you can layer them over blinds or shades. You can achieve a formal effect if your drape them evenly between tiebacks at the top of the windows. However, you can also drape them over the rods and let the tails hang down like curtains. If you opt for an asymmetrical drape, you get a casual appeal.
Choosing the Right Window Topper
Generally speaking, the more structure the window topper has, the more formal it will look. So, a cornice is usually the most formal addition with structured valances close behind. Both cornices and valances, though, offer a variety of style options. Swags tend to be a less formal window topper, one that softens the drapery and offers a touch of romance.
Create unique window treatments with customized cornices, valances, or swags. Contact Tailor Made Draperies, Inc. , for a luxurious selection of customized window treatments.
