Window Dressing

Valancing act: Adam Wallacavage in front of one of the many valances that adorn his home. Photo By: Michael T. Regan

Adam Wallacavage's Victorian or 1950s-style valance

by Brian Howard

The ornate valance has gone the way of the tail fin. Which is a shame. Unlike the tail fin, a box valance used to dress up a door or window has more than mere aesthetic properties. Adam Wallacavage, local photographer and craftsman, has employed this easy-to-construct design flourish throughout his South Broad Street home. You can use it simply to make a door look wider, as an anchor for a curtain or, Wallacavage jokes, you can design a hinged top to provide a stealthy hiding space for your stash.

The Minersville home of Wallacavage's grandparents "had a few real '50s-style valances. My grandfather had made them." When his grandmother died (his grandfather died when Wallacavage was 11), "I grabbed them," he says. His grandfather "was a photographer and a carpenter, which I turned into."

Copying the design, Wallacavage has not only adorned his own home but has made curtain-bearing valances for Sailor Jerry's North Third Street store. Wallacavage is something of a seat-of-his pants carpenter, explaining first, "It's better to make something than not to," and second, not to be afraid if a project doesn't come out looking perfect. He figures "it has more character if it's kind of beat-up looking."

He further advises, once you're done, to "use lots of caulk, sand it and paint it real hard" to cover up any flaws.

Make Your Own Valance

Photo By: Adam Wallacavage

You'll need:

1 length of 4-inch crown molding, about twice the width of the door or window you're adorning.
1 length of 1- to 2-inch strip molding of the same length
1 length of 1"x2" of the same length
1 sheet of 1/4-inch lauan/plywood (for the valance top and box; it needs to be at least as wide as you plan to make your valance)
1 tube of Liquid Nails
1-inch, 1 1/2-inch, and 3-inch wood screws
nails and finishing nails
utility knife
screwdriver or drill with screw bit
drill and drill bits
hammer
circular saw
drywall anchors

What you do:

The only advanced step in the process is cutting the crown molding used to make the top of the valance. Unless you have a miter saw, you'll have to have this cut where you buy your lumber, or by your dad. The crown molding will consist of a front and two sides. The front piece, cut to the desired length (relative to the width of the door or window), should have 45-degree points on both ends. The sides (these will determine the valance's depth) should have 45-degree angles on only one end; the flat end will rest flush against the wall. The flat edges of the molding on the mitered ends should then be mitered at 45 degrees so that the pieces will fit together to look like a 3-sided window box planter.
Apply Liquid Nails along the mitered edges. Attach the front to the sides one at a time. Use finishing nails to secure.
To make the valance top, trace the top of the molding onto the lauan. Cut lauan with utility knife along trace lines.
Apply Liquid Nails along top edge of molding and affix the lauan top. Use small wood screws (can be removed later) to help the Liquid Nails set.
Make a lauan box to attach the crown molding to. Measure the length of inside lip of the bottom of front piece of crown molding. This length is the width of the lauan box. The box height should account for the height of the crown molding, the height of the strip molding along the bottom, and the height of the box you'd like to show between the two. Using the utility knife, cut a piece of lauan the desired width and height.
Cut two pieces of 1"x2" to the height of the box to make the box sides.
Using Liquid Nails, attach box sides to lauan front. Set inside crown molding.
Using screws, secure the top of the crown molding to the sides of the box.
Cut the strip molding to the width and depth of the box. Attach the molding to the front of the box bottom, allowing half to hang over to create a lip (this is where you'll mask curtain hardware).
Cut a length of the 1"x2" as long as the front of the box. Screw it to the lauan top and crown molding sides; this will attach to the mounting bracket (below).

The Mounting Bracket:

Cut 2 pieces of 1"x2" into lengths a few inches shy of door or window width.
Cut one of those pieces in half lengthwise. Discard one half.
With bottoms flush, screw the 1"x2" to the 1"x1" with 1 1/2-inch screws. Drill two holes through the bracket in the same direction.
Mark a line on the wall where the bottom of the 1"x2" on the valance top will rest against the wall when the valance is in place. Center the top of the 1"x1" side of the bracket along the line, with the lip of the 1"x2" pointing up. Mark on the wall where the predrilled holes are; place drywall anchors in these spots in the wall. Attach bracket to wall using 3-inch screws through predrilled holes.
Rest the valance top's 1"x2" into the lip of the mounting bracket.

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