Decor: Raise the Roof with Valances

I needed sanctuary from my soffit insanity.

Main Entry: sof·fit
Pronunciation: \ˈsä-fət\
Function: noun
Etymology: French soffite, from Italian soffitto, from Vulgar Latin *suffictus, past participle of Latin suffigere to fasten underneath — more at suffix
Date: 1592
: the underside of a part or member of a building (as of an overhang or staircase); especially : the intrados of an arch

In lamans terms, a soffit is a box made out of 2x4 studs (wood beams) and are stuck in the ceiling, usually intended to hide necessary electrical and plumbing. In my case, some are necessary and others are there to complete the room. Thank you, once again, to the 1980's.

In the first picture, you can see a soffit to the right, with upper cabinets tucked in beneath them.

Design-wise, this brings the eye about 18" lower than the ceiling. The eye never wants to go all the way up. This makes the room feel smaller, or rather, shorter. This makes me feel like I'm huge, and suffocating. This must stop.

Valances:

Hung as close to the ceiling as possible, they bring the eye all the way up and don't block any natural light from the windows. Also, no fussy drapes to swish in and out of my way, or rope pulls dangling in my dishes, etc.

I went to Joann's and picked up a damask print, very modern, graphic looking in chocolate and cream colors. This ties the modern look of the kitchen to the traditional in the rest of the house. I also like that the rich brown adds some weight to the airy-fairy light green wall color.

Valance rods don't have to pretty - they are going to be covered up. I found super cheaps ones for about $3 each.

Sewing the valances:

1. Measure the distance between the ceiling and the top of the window casing, and width of window casing.

2. Add about 2" to width, 5" to height, and cut.

3. Fold over and pin a 1/2" lip.

4. Sew along lip, overlapping corners.

5. For rod pocket, fold over top 4" and make a 2" lip. Sew along bottom of lip.

Note: For my larger window, I sewed two of these cuts of fabric together to cover the width of the window. Two valances next to each other would have segmented the window and lessened the impact.

Installing valance rod hardware for hanging:

The rod kits provide screws and under normal conditions, one would drill a pilot hole (a hole you put in that is the same width as the screw, but smaller than the threads on the screw). Using a phillips head screw driver, screw your screw into the pilot hole with the hardware already on screw/over hole. The valance rod should hook on simply from that point.

My problem? That high on my ceiling, there was steel reinforcement at the corners. No screws allowed. Also, couldn't get an angle on the screws to get them in.

I ended up hanging them 1" lower on wall and, since it's only supporting <2 lb. curtains/rod, I used a couple flat-head nails to hold it.