If you have guests coming over to a dinner party, a cozy and inviting dining room is a must. And what better way to make it that way than with soft fabrics around the window? In this post, we’ll take a look at some dining room valance ideas. Hopefully, you’ll find the window treatment that’s perfect for your own home.
Swags like this are very common because dining rooms tend to be more on the traditional and formal side of decorating. Instead of covering the beautiful view of this wide window, this window treatment frames it instead. This was achieved by installing each drapery further away from the window. The board-mounted valance was also installed near the ceiling, so it doesn’t cover the transom window.
The valance itself was constructed using alternating pleated swags and cascading jabots, with brown tassel trim to finish the look. The jabots were left short in this case, but they can certainly be made longer if you’d like to create the illusion of height in the dining room.
To recreate this in your own room:
Buy a solid cotton fabric with a satin finish. Woven polyesters will also work, but as with any window treatment, you should ideally buy 54″ home decor fabric to get the right kind of quality. The brown tassel fringe in this case is short, no more than about 2 inches in length. There are many other ways the classic swag and jabot valance can be interpreted. Take a look at the two examples below. In case you’re interested in more examples of swags, check out this post.
How gorgeous is this stained wood box under the crown molding as an extra detail on this valance?
Extra deep swags and extra long jabots add class to this dining room bay window. The color is also very unique.
To recreate this in your own room:
Hopefully you’ll get a good deal on the fabric in case you want to attempt to recreate this beautiful blue valance in your own home. It could get quite expensive – each jabot is over 4 feet long. To recreate this style in your own room, you’ll also need matching cord and bullion trim. The bullion trim needs to be at least 3 inches long and the cord needs to be flexible enough to be able to create the loops seen in the example.
The draperies here are very wide. Each drapery needs to be at least 150 inches wide to even remotely recreate the volume seen here. If you’re trying to make 96-inch long draperies, that may require 18 yards of fabric just for the draperies, and even more if the fabric has a large pattern.
I wanted to include this dining room as a final example of classic swags. It’s a perfect example of how to layer window treatments properly. It also shows you how using fabrics that have slightly different textures and patterns can add interest and depth to a room.
The balloon valance stands out with its crisp silk fabric in antique gold.
To recreate this in your own room:
This entire window treatment can be made using polyester fabrics. You could definitely purchase 100% silk for the balloon valance, but it may add to your cost since silk has to have interlining in addition to lining. A faux silk made of a polyester is a good alternative, doesn’t need interlining, and looks exactly the same. The fringe used for the valance is a short onion ball fringe. The top swag valance is board-mounted, and you’ll need a lumber board that’s at least 5-1/2 inches deep in order to accommodate the draperies and balloon valance underneath.
This dining area has 8 windows that needed to be dressed. A single valance with alternating arched sections and bells is a perfect fit.
The entire space is open. Notice the valance is continued on the kitchen window above the sink, too.
To recreate this in your own room:
This is another board-mounted valance that requires a perfect custom fit. The fabric itself is a floral cotton print with a medallion design. These kinds of fabrics have large pattern repeats, so more than likely you’ll come across a vertical repeat of about 18 to 25 inches when you find a fabric like this at your local fabric store. In simplified terms, it means that you’ll need a few extra yards of fabric since you’ll lose some in the process of trying to center the pattern.
The arched bottom hem of the valance also has green gimp fringe, so you’ll need that as well in addition to the fabric for this project.
A tailed balloon valance in light blue frames a gorgeous bay window in this country dining room. Two draperies frame the sides of the window. The color scheme is continued in the stripe and damask upholstery on the round back chairs.
To recreate this in your own room:
The valance is board-mounted. If you’re not experienced, it’s best to contact a workroom for a custom project. As far as the needed supplies go, you’ll have to find a Chinoiserie toile fabric to recreate the Asian design on the fabric. Each drapery can only be a width and a half wide (about 72 inches), although it can be wider for large windows. A tassel fringe that’s about 2-1/2 to 3 inches long is also needed for the valance.
A Few More Examples to Inspire You
Lastly, I’d like to leave you with a few creations from our workroom to inspire you with your own dining room project.
Style: Emily Tab Top Valance
Style: Board-Mounted Bellamy Valance
Style: Cuff Top Valance
Style: Hobbled Valance