Pipe Curtain Rods

In our kitchen there is an enormous sliding glass door.  When we moved into our home four years ago,  there were vertical blinds hanging in front.  Well,with twin two year-olds playing hide and seek behind them, the blinds started falling down one by one.  My husband would try to fix them but we knew they needed to be replaced.  Last summer, I purchased a super long curtain rod and heavy brown curtains from overstock.com to hang there.  (The rod was $70!)  We hung them up and realized that the curtain rod had a split in the middle (it is there so you can adjust your rod to your desired length).  This meant that the curtains did not slide back and forth easily.

I can live with things like this...but my husband cannot.  This is one of those things that would drive him crazy every morning when we would open them and every evening when we would close them.  To his delight I came across a blog that described using a PVC pipe as a curtain rod.  http://alittleofthis---alittleofthat.blogspot.com/2010/03/pvc-pipe-curtain-rods.html

Guess where my husband went the next day?  Home Depot to get all the items I needed.
Pipe - $13
Primer - $3
Spray Paint - I had black.
Corks- A good friend gave me a couple.

Because we had heavy curtains we went with a pipe instead of PVC.  You can cut the pipe yourself or have it cut, which we opted for.  I lightly sanded the pipe, then primed it and spray painted it black.  Once it was dry, we used the same hardware to hang our pipe.

I also wanted to use the same finials, but there wasn't a way to screw them in...then I came across this blog which showed using corks.  http://inmyownstyle.com/2011/04/how-to-make-a-curtain-rod-and-finials.html I hammered a nail into the cork, then removed it and stuck the end of the finial in the hole.  Yeah it worked!  Then I slid the cork into the hole in the pipe!

This may be the only project I have made that has excited my husband!  I am planning on using PVC pipes for my little boys' room.  Sadly, I never open his curtains because I am afraid the rod is going to fall down.  He also has a huge window in his room, so the rod is stretched to the max.  Then we can let some light shine in.

I am never going to buy another curtain rod and I hope you don't either.  Make your own for a fraction of the cost!