Valances, Cornices & Pelmets
The finishing crown - soft valances, upholstered cornices, structured pelmets and solid basswood valances built to your exact windows.
What the top of the window says
A top treatment hides hardware, corrects proportion, and finishes a window the way a cornice finishes a room. Soft valances gather or pleat in fabric. Cornice boards are rigid, upholstered boxes - padded, sometimes shaped or nailhead-trimmed. Pelmets sit between: structured, tailored, refined.
All three are built in our own workroom to your exact window dimensions - which matters, because a top treatment that is an inch off-center or a half-inch short reads wrong to the eye even when nobody can say why.
A fourth option is solid wood: basswood valances milled in our family's own mill, stained, lacquered or wrapped in your fabric - seven profiles, with supply prices, below; installation is quoted after the free measure.
Recently: The Hemispheres, Hallandale Beach - about two and a half inches of clearance above the glass, solved with a custom lacquered basswood valance made to each opening, with a 60-degree angle added at the corner and cut on the spot so the two runs close in a miter. Also: a traditional oceanfront mansion on Bay Drive, Pompano Beach - classic drapery panels under a shaped valance in the master bedroom, hung over their own motorized blackout.
Styles we build
Wood Valances & Cornices
Solid basswood profiles from our family mill - stained, lacquered or wrapped in your fabric. Seven profiles, with supply prices on this page; installation and sales tax are extra.
Box-Pleat Valances
Crisp, tailored pleats at regular intervals - the most architectural of the soft treatments.
Gathered & Scalloped Valances
Softer, traditional shapes with shaped hems, cording, or fringe.
Upholstered Cornice Boards
Rigid padded boxes, straight or shaped, with welt, nailhead, or contrast banding.
Pelmets
Structured crowns with clean returns - the tailored middle ground between valance and cornice.
Swags & Jabots
Traditional draped swags with cascading jabots for formal estate rooms.
Hardware Concealment
Any of the above hides a shade roller, a drapery track, or a motorized headrail completely.
Milled in basswood - stained, lacquered, or wrapped in your fabric
A wood valance is a rigid cornice milled from solid basswood: a crown above the window that hides a roller shade, a drapery track or a motorized headrail and reads as millwork rather than hardware. Ours come from Persienne Design, our family's own mill in Quebec, the shutter and wood-blind manufacturer behind our basswood blinds and shutters for more than 25 years - so a valance can be finished to match the blinds or shutters it crowns.
Seven profiles, three heights. Each is stained or lacquered to your colour, custom colours a $150 add-on, and made face only or with a top and returns to close the box against the wall, in one piece to 120 inches wide. Longer runs are joined on site and mitered where windows meet at a corner, as at The Hemispheres.
Or skip the stain: the same box, padded and upholstered by our workroom in the fabric of your draperies, becomes the fabric-wrapped cornice in this Boca Raton living room - crisp, tailored, and matched to the panels under it.
Seven profiles, three heights
Finish
Stained or lacquered basswood, to your colour - matched to your floors, millwork, wood blinds or shutters, or a custom colour ($150 add-on).
Construction
Face only, or with a top and returns so the box closes against the wall and the ceiling and nothing shows from the side.
Heights and widths
3 3/4, 5 1/2 and 7 in high; one piece to 120 in wide (the 7 in lacquered MDF Zen to 144 in), longer runs joined and mitered on site.
Fabric-wrapped
The same box, padded and upholstered in your drapery fabric by our workroom. Priced at twice the wood valance price, plus your fabric by the yard.
What it hides
A roller shade with its tube and fabric roll, a drapery track, a motorized headrail or a wood-blind headrail - the box is sized around the hardware so the shade drops clean in front of the glass.
Where it fits
Condos with no depth above the glass for a pocket or fascia, drapery tops that need a finished line, and rooms where the blinds and the valance should read as one piece of millwork.
Wood valance prices by profile and width
Supply prices. In US dollars per valance, for the valance made to your width and finished: supply only - installation and sales tax extra, and the fabric extra on a fabric-wrapped cornice. An installed price is quoted after the free measure, once the height, the returns, the fabric and the mounting are confirmed. The columns are the valance width in inches; a width between two columns takes the next column up. The table scrolls sideways on a phone.
| Profile and construction | 36 in | 42 in | 48 in | 54 in | 60 in | 66 in | 72 in | 78 in | 84 in | 96 in | 108 in | 120 in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 3/4 in Zen or Travailleeface only | $166 | $187 | $208 | $229 | $250 | $271 | $292 | $313 | $334 | $376 | $418 | $460 |
| 3 3/4 in Zen or Travailleewith top and returns | $196 | $222 | $248 | $274 | $300 | $326 | $352 | $378 | $404 | $456 | $508 | $560 |
| 5 1/2 in Gothique, Executive, Prestige or Zenwith or without top and returns | $296 | $342 | $388 | $434 | $480 | $526 | $572 | $618 | $664 | $756 | $848 | $940 |
| 7 in Rural or Urbainewith or without top and returns | $380 | $440 | $500 | $560 | $620 | $680 | $740 | $800 | $860 | $980 | $1,100 | $1,220 |
| 7 in Zen, lacquered MDFwith or without top and returns | $296 | $342 | $388 | $434 | $480 | $526 | $572 | $618 | $664 | $756 | $848 | $940 |
In plain terms, for a valance 36 to 120 inches wide: a 3 3/4 in basswood Zen or Travaillee valance costs $166 to $460 face only and $196 to $560 with a top and returns; a 5 1/2 in Gothique, Executive, Prestige or Zen valance $296 to $940; a 7 in Rural or Urbaine valance $380 to $1,220; a 7 in lacquered MDF Zen valance $296 to $940, and $1,032 at 132 in or $1,124 at 144 in. Prices are in US dollars for the valance alone, before installation and Florida sales tax, from the October 2026 list. A fabric-wrapped cornice costs twice the wood price of the same profile and width, plus the fabric.
A fabric-wrapped cornice is twice the wood valance price - the upholstery equals the wood - plus your fabric by the yard: a 5 1/2 in profile at 72 in is $572 in stained basswood and $1,144 fabric-wrapped, before fabric. Measuring, the finish sample and installation are quoted on the consultation.
Frequently asked
What is the difference between a cornice and a pelmet?
A cornice is a rigid upholstered box; a pelmet is a structured but softer crown. Both hide hardware - the difference is formality and depth.
Will a top treatment make my ceiling look lower?
Mounted high and shallow, the opposite: it draws the eye up. We size the drop to the room, not to a formula.
Can a cornice hide my motorized shade?
Yes - that is one of its best uses. We build to the exact roller and bracket dimensions.
Are these still in style?
Traditional and transitional rooms, yes - and a clean pelmet or shallow cornice is very much at home in modern architecture.
How much does a custom wood valance cost?
From $166 for a 3 3/4 in Zen or Travaillee basswood valance at 36 in wide to $1,220 for a 7 in Rural or Urbaine at 120 in, supply price in US dollars before installation and sales tax; the 5 1/2 in Gothique, Executive, Prestige and Zen profiles run $296 to $940. The full table by profile and width is on this page. A fabric-wrapped cornice is twice the wood valance price - the upholstery equals the wood - plus your fabric by the yard: a 5 1/2 in profile at 72 in is $572 in stained basswood and $1,144 fabric-wrapped, before fabric.
Can a wood valance be covered in fabric?
Yes. The same basswood box is padded and upholstered by our workroom in the fabric of your draperies, which gives a tailored cornice that matches the panels exactly - the Boca Raton living room on this page is one. Or leave the wood showing, stained or lacquered.
Can a wood valance match my wood blinds or shutters?
Yes. The valances come from the same family mill in Quebec as our basswood blinds and shutters, so they are stained or lacquered in the same finishes, or to a custom colour to match your millwork ($150 add-on).
Discerning homeowners, designers, and developers across South Florida trust Exotic with their most important spaces.
“We are very happy with the service and the fabric selection. Alexander took the time to find the right fabric from different books and the installation was flawless”
“Exotic Drapers offers a great selection of stylish, high-quality curtains and home fabrics. The materials feel premium, and the designs add elegance to any space. Their staff is helpful and knowledgeable, making the selection process easy. Prices are reasonable for the quality provided. Overall, a reliable place.”
“I first started with someone who swore they knew what they were talking about. Tried giving me a ridiculous quote for my drapes. I passed. I found David at exotic and this man has showed me fabrics I loved for half the price! Less than a month later, everything was done and looks gorgeous ! Some people are out there to do you wrong, not David and his team. Spot on, white glove treatment, service and work!”
Finish the top of the window
One free hour with our team routinely saves owners thousands in avoidable mistakes. Book a private, complimentary consultation - we bring fabrics, samples, and honest answers.