~ Boat Oar - using and hanging a boat oar for a curtain rod.
~ Gilded Curtain Rod - made from PVC, finials and gold leaf! Gorgeous!
~ Modernize those old curtain rods.
~ Some ideas for decorating your own wooden rods and finials.
~ This is different. Making your own curtain rod and brackets from lumber and luan.
You don't have to purchase expensive window treatment hardware to install your window coverings. Look around the house, the garage, do some dumpster diving, go to the hardware store, or even the Dollar Store. Don't forget to check out Mom's or Grandma's attic and the garden shed, GoodWill or Salvation Army! You never know what you'll find!
Here are a few ideas for the curtain rod:
You can make a curtain pole out of an old shower curtain rod, old broomstick or garden rake handle, galvanized pipe, pvc pipe, copper pipe, 1x2 lumber, wood closet rod, boat oar, fishing rod, or a cardboard fabric tube.
If it's too rough for a nice paint finish, try knocking off the rough spots with some sandpaper and then spraying it with one of those textured paints, or cover it with fabric or decoupage with paper. They make a paint for just about anything!
If you're going to have a stationary treatment that you won't be sliding back and forth, make a fabric tube and gather it up on the pole. Not only will it make it look custom, it will also make it look bigger too. Of course this won't work if you have a rod pocket curtain. But if you are making a swag or scarf valance, or tab curtains or curtains on rings, this is great!
If you just have a cheap standard rod pocket curtain rod and you want it bigger, slip a cardboard tube over it.
You can use electrical cord, rope, wire, cable or twine and tie it between two brackets of some sort. If your treatment slides too much where it tends to sway in the middle, put an occasional clip here and there to hold it in place.
Options for curtain rod finials:
Now for the finials for that curtain rod. A tennis ball with an X cut on one side to slip onto the end of the pole works great. You can cover them with fabric, being sure not to get it too bulky, so you can still tuck the edges inside the tennis ball before you slip it on the pole.
Cheap colorful plastic cups and glasses. You can drill right through the bottom, and screw them into the ends of the wooden poles. You could even use yogurt containers. Just be sure to use a washer on the inside when you screw it to the pole so it won't be so flimsy and wobbly.
For the open ended poles like pipe, if you can get someone to cut you a couple pieces of wood that fit inside, you can screw the cup to it and then put some glue on the wood piece and slip it inside the pipe. (If you aren't going to be moving these around much, you could get away with not gluing them in as long as they fit fairly snug.
Fence post finials are usually pretty cheap (cheaper than actual wooden curtain rods finials!) and can be painted or treated however you like.
Styrofoam balls work too, just cut a hole out a little smaller than your rod, so when you push it on there it will have a snug fit. Another way would be to pad and cover with fabric, leaving the fabric tails long enough that you could push them inside the pipes.
If you want to go BIG, use the small kids' footballs and basketballs, or nerf balls.
If you just can't come up with anything that will work as a curtain rod finial, find something you could tie or glue to the front of the pole on each end. Hang a baby hat or doll hat, beanie baby or some other stuffed type toy. How about a fake bird nest or some silk greenery?
Hanging the curtain rods:
Now that you've got that figured out, how are you going to hang this fancy schmancy curtain rods?
The wooden rod brackets are a given. They come in different sizes and you can set just about anything in the little scooped out recess for the pole and paint them any way you want. Angle brackets, or 'L' brackets would work too, but you would have to be able to screw the bracket onto the curtain rod, unless you wanted to lash it on with jute twine or rope. Again, depending on the look you're after!
If you are going wall to wall, or from side to side inside the window, you could use closet rod holders. They're round and come in pairs, one of which has a section cut out for you to slide the pole in. Just keep in mind that if your rod is over 40" you're going to need some kind of center support.
If you have a way to get a screw or a hook into the wall, you can use a loop or tie of some sort to hang over the rod, and hook it on the screw or hook. Shoelaces, rope, ribbons, bracelets. If you're not allowed to put holes in the wall, use a couple of those 3M Command hooks to loop the ties over. Just beware how much weight your fasteners will hold!
Embellishing:
If you use plastic cups, glasses or yogurt cups, paint them and glue on feathers, beads, trinkets, small toys or ribbons. And don't forget old jewelry. You can make some of the cheapest things look like they came out of a treasure chest if you work at it a little bit! Have fun!
Cover the styrofoam balls with colored cellophane. Wrap rope or sisal twine around the finials or the tennis balls.
Keep safety in mind:
Most of these ideas aren't recommended for young kid curtains or baby nursery decor. Be sure whatever you make isn't going to fall apart or fall down off the wall and is out of kids and pets reach. Use your own judgement while you're designing your custom curtain rods and hardware.