A New Outlook

I really wish you knew how ugly and dirty and old our original windows were, because then you would appreciate our NEW ones so much more!   Perhaps this gives you an idea?

That’s right!  Brand spankin’ new windows, folks, and everything sure does seem bigger and brighter around here now.  We really had no idea how frustrating our windows would become when we bought our house.  To give you some perspective, they were wooden, quadruple pain one-pane with an exterior storm window (as in, impossible to clean, so I just gave up, which means years of grime clouded our view), and basically painted shut.  Let’s just say it’s been a tad frustrating, especially since we love to enjoy the sunny weather of CO.  Obviously we knew we wanted new windows, but it just wasn’t in the budget, especially after we sank a fair amount of money into renovating right after purchasing the house.  So we hitched up our britches, and little by little we squirreled away our pennies.  After saving money we received over multiple Christmases, the occasional staging job, along with Matt’s overtime and spiff money—we were able to start!  Since we wanted to pay in cash as we went, we decided to install our windows in three stages (there was no additional cost to do it this way), so we tackled the leaky windows in the nursery first (these ended up being installed the same day Liam was born—the squirt arrived a month early), then the broken windows in the kitchen (all which were at the back of the house), and FINALLY we were able to complete the front windows of the living room and master bedroom. 

For the record, it’s crazy hard to get good window pictures, but here’s a glimpse. 

We debated which company to use for quite awhile, and in the end we went with Window World, opting for their second level of window.  The thing that really sold us on Window World is their guarantee to fix any window that breaks, fogs up, etc., and that we are able to transfer that guarantee to the next owners if we decide to sell down the road.  While custom window companies sound swanky and all, we realized that just being able to open windows without breaking a sweat was going to feel amazing, so no need to break the bank on the most expensive windows possible.  To us, even basic windows are a major upgrade! 

I can honestly say it feels great to have saved up cash to pay for the windows.  Although there were days when waiting felt like a punishment, it was worth it not to have debt hanging over our head.  Alrighty then…off to enjoy gazing out at world! 

Faux Cornice Valences

Faux sounds so much better than fake, right?  Ha.  Either way you put it, our new kitchen valences definitely fall under the “cheap and easy” category. 

I’ve long admired the crisp, clean look of a cornice valence. 

There are clearly lots of ways to skin this cat…

After seeing pictures of foam valences on good old Pinterest, I decided to try my hand at it.  The burlap covering the bottom half of our kitchen windows was looking pretty bedraggled, plus I wanted to enjoy the view from our new windows (we finally replaced the old ones—two of which were broken).  *I didn’t follow this exact tutorial, but after reading through it, I think I like their process better than mine.  Both will work, so go with whatever works best for you.*

This was one of those projects that really should not have taken very long, but we dragged it out for months by completing it in miniscule steps.  Here was our basic process:

1.  Measure windows—be sure to also figure out how far you want your valences to stick out from the wall

2.  Choose fabric (this always takes me forever, since I want to find a good deal on quality fabric that I’ll like for awhile) *I found that upholstery fabric worked well for this project, as it’s weightier and covers up imperfections*

3.  Cut foam board to size with an Exacto knife (To cover three windows, I used 2 pieces of foam board that I picked up at Michael’s for 50% off—I used the thinner foam board, but if I were doing this again, I think I would use the thicker board for a more professional, sturdy look); use packing tape to piece foam board together if you need to make it longer *I did not worry about perfectly straight cuts, as the batting and fabric hid many of the imperfections*

4.  Cut and add wood blocks to the top of foam board (this will be the part that securely hangs on the wall above your window trim)

5.  Cover valence with batting—I stapled it to the foam board using 1/4 inch staples

6.  Cover batting with fabric—again, I used 1/4 inch staples *Be sure to pull batting and fabric as tight as possible to avoid saggy valences*

7.  Hang cornice valence and enjoy the view!

I’m considering adding some trim for interest and the feeling of dimension, but I’m not rushing into anything yet.  If I do add trim, I’ll just iron it on using iron-on bonding tape.  Overall, I’m happy with the end result.  Our kitchen feels much more finished now.