Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Simple Curtain Rod Upgrade {DIY}

When you move into a house, there are so many hidden costs; but I've found none so painful as window treatments. You ignore your whole new set of glass panes for a week or two as you unpack. Then one evening you're smooching with your man on the couch, and in that moment your lack of window covering suddenly receives your full attention. You're online the next morning, determined to get those suckers covered. You find yourself choking on your coffee. They want HOW much to put some fabric over a few square feet?!? (You can see why I turned to DIY treatments when we moved to a lovely spot with 19 windows.) Then, oh-no-it's-not-over, you need the hardware- rods, blinds, shades- my wallet is choking.

There are so many ways to tackle the issue; but in this post, I'm sticking to curtain rods.

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For my family room I needed a double bracket rod. So here's what I did- I bought some simple, standard ones at JCPenney. You can find the ones I got HERE. The ends easily popped off.

Next I took a cork from a wine bottle...I guzzled the wine and felt so much better about the cost of the curtains...joking, joking. Where was I? *ahem* Oh, yes, so I took an exact-o knife and cut a space out of the middle so that cork would then fit very snugly in the hallow end of the curtain rod. If your rod is big enough, you probably can use an untouched cork.

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Then I took some large door pull knobs that I had gotten at Anthropologie's sale rack. The fun thing about this is that you could go in so many directions depending on which knobs you choose. You could pick a great shape or one with quartz or even an animal- something to perfectly suit your decor! Just be sure the knob base is wide enough for the project.

So then, I put the knob screw through the cork.

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Then I attached the nut with a washer to keep it sturdily in place. (That washer is the key; so don't skip it!)

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Simply place the cork inside the rod.

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Now it just doesn't get any easier than that!

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Beautiful, easy, and best of all- a fraction of the price of a fancy curtain rod.

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2 comments:

  1. I believe you’re in desperate need of window treatments! Hehe! Kidding aside, it’s nice to know that you’ve found effective DIY tricks for your window treatments. It’s important to maintain your privacy while inside the house, so it’s highly advisable to install shutters and blinds. How’s your windows now? :)

    Greg Arnett

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