Have you heard of the decorator Dorothy Draper? She’s known as one of America’s first interior designers. Starting in the 1920s, she became famous for her bold use of color and whimsical touches. When I saw photos of her work at the Greenbrier Resort featuring DIY Bow Cornice, I knew I had to try my own version! Nothing elevates a room like window coverings.

The best part? It doesn’t have to be expensive! We made ours with simple plywood, batting, and fabric for a high-end look on a budget.

how to make a diy bow cornice

Holding up a pillow to see if I like the look.

SUPPLIES

3/8″ Plywood (we cut ours to 24″x14″ for each window)
Table saw or have the plywood cut at the hardware store
Jigsaw for cutting out the bow shape
Clamps to hold wood while cutting
Sander and Sandpaper (100 grit works great)
Twin Size Batting (enough to cover the wood with extra for stapling)
Staple gun & 1/4″ Staples
Fabric of your choice. I got 2 yards from Spoonflower in the Cotton Lawn fabric.
D Ring Hangers for mounting

1. Cut Out the Cornice Shape

Since the bow shape doesn’t completely cover blinds, you can always make a rectangle cornice box and add the bow on top if you want to hide your blinds. I personally don’t mind that my Roman shades peek out a bit. The key is balancing the bow size so it doesn’t block too much of the window but still hides the hardware.

Note, I have 3 windows in my laundry room. Two of them have Roman Shades that are inside mounted. For those, I’m making a flat bow that’ll sit on top of the casing. The third window has outside mounted shades so that one needs sides on the cornice so it’ll be raised to sit on top of the shades.

Start by cutting a piece of plywood to a rectangle sized to fit your window. We cut ours 24″x14″. If you don’t have a table saw, many home improvement stores can cut rectangular pieces for you.

Mark the center of the board. From there, draw a 4″x7″ rectangle in the middle.

Connect each corner of that rectangle to the corners of the board to create the bow shape.

Use a jigsaw to cut along the lines, securing the wood with clamps for safety.

After cutting, the edges will be rough. Use 100-grit sandpaper on a sander to smooth out the entire bow shape, especially the that are probably jagged from being cut.
It doesn’t have to be perfect because we’ll cover it with batting and fabric later, but sanding helps everything lay nicely and prevents splinters.

If needed, cut a 2×4 to create side pieces that will be 1″x2.” Make each piece to be the same height as the cornice box- in our case 14″ tall. Two of my windows have inside mounted shades- for those I’m not adding the side pieces. On my one window with an outside mounted shade, I’m adding wings on the side of the bow so the cornice can go over the shade.

Attach the side pieces to the bow plywood with screws.

Then mark with a pencil the angles. Cut those with a table saw.

Then re-attach the wings to the bow shape.

Step 2. Add the Batting

Cut the batting about 2–3 inches larger than your cornice on every side so you have enough to wrap around the edges. I got light batting and doubled it up to make it thicker. I wish I’d gotten much thicker batting because even with doubling it up, it isn’t as thick as I’d like it. Make small slits in the batting at the corners where the bow curves, then wrap and staple it to the back of the wood.

Keep the batting pulled tight as you go so the front stays smooth. If you have extra bulk at the corners, trim it down so the edges don’t look lumpy once the fabric goes on.

I used 1/4″ staples to attach the batting and fabric which worked perfectly.

Step 3. Cover with Fabric

Cut a piece of fabric so it’s 28″x27″- this will cover the cornice box. Here’s how I got that measurement- I wanted the fabric to be two times as tall as the cornice bows. So mine are 14″ tall so I cut my fabric to be 28″ tall. Then my cornice bows are 24″ wide so I cut my fabric to be 27″ wide- a few inches to staple the fabric onto the wood.

Next, cut a piece of fabric to be the center of the bow. I an 11″ square for this.

Iron all the fabric so it’s nice and flat with no wrinkles.

Lay your fabric on top of the batting and start by stapling one side (the side with the angles from the bow) to keep it straight.

Then move onto the sides. The sides need to be gathered to create lines in the fabric. To create those, fold a pleat in the fabric and then staple it down. I like making a pleat or two on one side and then working on the other side.

It can be a little tricky to evenly gather the fabric while stapling it in place. But the fabric is forgiving so even if it isn’t perfect, it’s easy to fluff the bow so it looks nice at the end.

Along the edges I also added more batting to puff them up a bit.

Once both sides of the bow are gathered and stapled down, staple along the rest of the bow– attaching the fabric to the wood.

To make the bow shape, use the 11″ square piece of fabric. Place a 5″x11″ piece of batting in the middle of the fabric. Fold it in 1/3rds to create the center piece. Warp this fabric around the center rectangle. Staple it tightly top and bottom so it cinches the fabric loops and creates that pretty bow effect. Keep adjusting the fabric until it looks neat and smooth from the front.

Step 4. Mount the Cornice Box

Finally, attach mounting hardware on the back of the cornice with a screw and D Ring Hangers.

On the window casing, drill screws into the casing, then set the cornice on top. It’s a pretty simple way to hang the cornices.

after

And there you have it! The cutest my windows have ever looked!

The DIY Bow Cornices are complete. They are such a budget-friendly way to add charm and personality to any space.

I’ve been wanting to add some pattern to my laundry room, but I didn’t want it to compete with the floors. I think these work really nicely while being super playful!

The bow shape brings so much character—a little girly, a little chic, and a whole lot of fun.

Inspired by Dorothy Draper’s iconic designs, this project gives you a custom look without the custom price tag.

price breakdown

I thought it’d be fun to see how much this project cost me-

I spent $9 on the Twin Size Batting. For the Fabric, I used a credit I had from selling on Spoonflower that saved me about $45.

Everything else I had on hand- the 3/8″ Plywood, Table saw, Jigsaw, Clamps, Sander, Sandpaper, Staple gun, 1/4″ Staples, D Ring Hangers.

I’m loving how they’re looking in the laundry room! Is this a project you’d try?

update

I decided that the DIY bow cornices were too flat, so I’m using an old flat standard sized pillow to fix it.

The first thing I did was cut a slit in the pillow and pull out about 1/3 of the stuffing. If it’s too fluffy, it makes the pillow too full.

Cut a piece of fabric to be 21″ x 54″ to cover the pillow. Cut a piece of fabric to be 8″ x 11″ to be the middle of the bow.

Iron the fabric.

Fold the fabric in half. Sew over the two long sides. And half of the short side.

Turn it right side out. There will be a small opening on one of the short sides.

Put the pillow inside the opening. Note, if you have a pillowcase you like this will work as well!

Sew over the opening on the fabric. This is where the pillow was stuffed into.

Iron the fabric in the middle in 1/3rds. Note, I ended up folding it in half when adding to the pillow.

Grab a piece and tie the center of the bow to be as tight as possible. This will cinch in the middle creating the bow look!

Wrap the fabric over the center. On the back sew it around the bow or hot glue it in place.

Either hot glue or pin the pillow onto the cornice. For one I used hot glue, then for the other two I used sewing pins to tack them to the cornice board. That way I can throw the pillow in the wash if it gets dusty or dirty.