A cornice and a valance are similar in that they both are top window treatments that can add a lot of interest and color to your entire wall surrounding your windows. Valances are soft window treatments with loose and flowing fabric. Cornices are considered hard window treatments, as they are usually a fabric that is bonded to a wooden structure and the fabric lies flat.

Cornices also hide your window treatments hardware so that the top cassette of a roller shade or the stack of a blind is not seen. A cornice can also cover plain drapery rods and add a lovely and endearing feature to your windows. You can choose to have a cornice made in any type of shape and size that you wish when you choose to have them custom-made.

A traditional cornice is causally longer from top to bottom on the sides of the window, or the ears as they are called. A beautiful and timeless design is to have the center of the cornice over the window as a straight horizontal line and decorative scallops on the ears. It doesn’t matter how large or small a window is–a cornice will dress it very nicely and it can even be a focal point in a room. The only thing to keep in mind about size is that the cornice ears should be in proportion to the window size for it to appear as they should.

Basically, a cornice is a fabric-wrapped board where the fabric is flat and taut – perfect for fabrics where you want to see the pattern or in rooms where you are looking for a clean look. Cornices can also have shaped bottoms as well as being layered with drapery panels