Determining Fullness for Gathered Style Valances

Ask most decorators and they will tell you to always have your window valance (the shirred/gathered style) to be 2 ½ times fullness. This means if your rod is 40” wide, you would want a 100” wide valance (ie: 40 x 2.5 = 100).

While we agree with this most of the time, there are some gathered window valances that look better when they are not so full. For one, balloon style valances when using too much fabric will not look as they should, they will look crowded and droopy.

We also feel that thicker linen type fabrics do not necessarily need to be at industry standards to achieve a custom full appearance. What is most important to some people is not as important to others.

While fullness is often associated with custom draperies and valances, some customers prefer to see more of the actual fabric print, which if the fabric is quite full they will lose.

We list on our website what fullness we suggest for all our gathered styled valances. When in doubt, feel free to send us a quick email or phone call to help you determine the best size to order.

How to Measure for your Board Mounted Valance

Measuring for your board mounted valance is quite easy. First you need to determine if you are planning on hanging panels underneath the treatment.

If no panels are to be hung then you need to measure from point A to point B. Point A is where you want the valance to start and point B is where you want the valance to stop. That’s it – you’re done.

When no panels are to be hung under the valance, it is best to have the valance look form fitted, about an 1” wider than the actual window or window molding (if you have molding).

If you do plan on having panels under your valance, you will need to decide if you want the drapes to hang in front of your window or stacked off the window.

If you choose to stack the drapes off the window and you have the wall space to do it, then you will need to order the board mounted valance wider to accommodate the drape width.

This will give of course make your window appear wider than it really is, which many people like to do. A standard 50” wide rod pocket panel when dressed in at about 2-2 ½ times fullness will take up 20-24” of wall space for each panel.

Keep in mind you will want to start the panel at the windows edge (not the molding edge). So if your molding is 3” in width and panel will take up let’s say 22” less 3” (molding) = 19” additional width on each side in order to stack the panel off your window.

When hanging drapes under a board mounted treatment you should order a 5 ½” projection so that you have enough clearance to mount the valance over the drapes. If no drapes are to be hung, then a standard 3 ½” projection will suffice.

Grommet Choices for your Valances or Panels

When ordering your grommet panels or valances you have the option of ordering different colored finishes such as nickel, antique brass, brass or black as well as different shapes such as round, square or diamond.

The most obvious of grommet shapes would be your standard round grommet. If you want to give your grommet window treatments a fresh look, take a look at the square or diamond set grommets.

Basically we can take a square grommet and set them on the window treatment to actually look square or we can set them to appear as diamond shaped. These new grommet shapes are becoming a new fashion trend and can take an ordinary grommet window treatment and make it extraordinary.

Who said grommets had to be round? And yes the diamond and square set grommets still work with standard round poles up to 1 3/8” in diameter!

The New Shelby Style Valance

The Shelby “style” window treatment offers a nice option for the small hard-to-outfit windows as well as larger windows.

The Shelby style can also be purchased as single units, meaning you can purchase a left or right swag for your window if you want a more modern looking swag for your home.

It is also sold as a three piece set for a more traditional appeal. The Shelby valance as a three piece set will fit wall spaces up to 84” in width, whereas the Shelby single units will fit wall spaces up to 45” wide.

We refer this style as to fitting wall space as we fabricate this window valance to fit the spacing of your medallion knobs (either knobs that you currently have up – or where you plan on mounting the knobs).

We suggest mounting the knobs about 4-5” above your window or window molding and approximately 1” on the outside of the molding for the best look.

New Board Mounted Valance Styles

We have been busy again fabricating two new styles in our Board Mounted Valance department.

The Shawl Valance and the Glendale Valance can be fabricated in widths up to 72”. The Shawl Valance boasts a gradual arch in the center of the main valance with an inverted pleat on each side of the arch.

Soft cascading jabots are contrast lined as a standard. Optional ball fringe, scalloped fringe or glass bead trim can be added to this style for a nice finishing touch.

The Glendale Valance has a bit more tailored masculine appeal and will look great in a home office or library as well as bedrooms or dining rooms.

Optional tassel fringe or glass bead trim can be applied to this style.

Enhance Any Room with Medallion Hung Valances

When selecting a valance window treatment, you’ll find a number of styles and colors to choose from.May we suggest trying ornate medallion hung valances? Medallion hung valances seem to add magnetism to any window and will immediately captivate a visitor’s attention as he/she enters the room.
What exactly are medallion hung valances? These are valances designed with several loops at the top instead of rod pockets so you can hang the valances using decorative medallions or knobs. The medallions are used instead of a rod and can be screwed into the wall for accurate placement. We currently offer the Astoria valance, Kaitlin valance and Cuff Top valance styles all of which are to be hung with medallion knobs.
At FWT, our semi custom medallion valances have anywhere from two to eight loops (larger sizes are available with a phone call) as well as antique brass, satin nickel and black medallions. Similar to rod valances, medallion hung valances can be designed from one of our many elegant fabric choices and enhanced with various styles of fringes or bead trim. Dare to be different when selecting window treatments for your home. Medallion valances will blend wonderfully with any dining room, bedroom, living room or bath decor!

New Valance Styles

We have added a few new valance styles very recently. The Cuff Top valance is offered two ways: 1. Cuff Top Without Loops– so that it can be hung on a rod using clips and rings and 2. Cuff Top With loops – so that it can be hung using decorative knob medallion tiebacks. This style of valance works great on most windows as the size increments are minimal and there is a valance width for basically any size window you have. The Cuff Top with Loops style also works well on bay windows for the same reason. The Cuff Top valance will give your windows a great look. The Kaitlin valance is another exciting new style that can be hung on decorative knob medallion tiebacks. We stock two styles of the medallion tiebacks in three different finishes depending on the style, satin nickel, black and antique brass. These are high quality, durable medallion tiebacks that can be put up with a 2 ½” projection or a 5” projection. Lastly we’ve added the Marley Valance to our style list. The Marley offers s soft simplistic look at a very affordable price. The Marley valance is to be hung using clips and rings on a decorative rod. We now also offer decorative metal rods in two finishes, black or antique brass and your choice of seven different finials. Clips and rings are as an option for those needing them.

Getting an Instant New Look with New Window Treatments

Did you know that you don’t have to do a major remodel or paint job in order to give your home a new look? It’s true. By changing your window treatments you can change the look of room instantaneously and with little effort. Want to spice it up a little more…add a couple matching decorative throw pillows in the room. What better time to give your home a new look, than at the start of a new year? You can go from having a valance on your window to having curtains as your window treatment. Or change your current valance window treatment to a new fabric that you just love and add solid colored rod pocket curtains to hang beneath your valance and have the tiebacks made in the same fabric as your valance to give your room a decorator touch. There are so many options these days when it comes to window treatments and we are here to assist you with any questions you have.

Back Tab Valance

The Back Tab Valance was recently added to our valance styles and has been in popular demand. This style gives you a clean contemporary look much like a grommet valance would. The Back Tab valance offers a hidden rod pocket and hidden tabs (which alot of people refer to this style as – hidden tab valance). This is an up to date look for tab styled window treatments. The Back Tab valance can be paired up with our Back Tab panels when you want a complete designer look for you window. When using the valance and panels together, your valance and panels go on the same rod and your panels would be stationary (non functional). The valance is available in widths up to 200”. Keep in mind that this style of valance and drapery panels should be used at approximately two times fullness, meaning you need two times the amount of fabric width to window width. One example would be a 100” valance and two 50” wide panels would work well on windows approximately 100” wide.The Back Tab Valance and Back Tab Panels can be used together or as separate window treatments.

New Valance Styles – Spring/Summer 2009

We asked, we listened and for those who gave us their input… we followed through!Yes, we asked all of our registered users for input on new ideas for valances we received a lot of great suggestions. Based on those suggestions, we came out with seven new valance styles within the past couple of months. We have a couple valances that offer a shorter length than most of our standard valances as well as having a couple that can be hung on a decorative rod or decorative medallions. So far the new valances have had a great response from everyone. Just this week we came out with our Wesley Valance. This valance is similar to the ever so popular Grandeur Valance except that it does not have bottom scallops, which restrict the sizes the valance can be made. The Wesley Valance can be made any size in one inch increments so that customers can still have the double layer tailored look and the use of ball fringe or scalloped fringe. This style also looks great when it is used as a gathered valance as opposed to a flat tailored look.