How To Make Your Own Curtain Rods On The Cheap

Making your own curtain rods is super easy and super cheap.... it's a project you can do even if your not a DIY kinda person. Here is the rod I made for ten bucks, including all the hardware.

(I apologize beforehand for taking the WORST window pictures ever. I'm convinced it's impossible to get a good one unless you have a fancy schmancy camera, which I do not.)

The secret to the homemade curtain rod is electrical conduit, which you can find at any hardware store. I love this stuff and have used it all over my house. I used it to make my laundry room curtains...

My funky, uneven, dining room bay window curtains...

My master bedroom curtains (which I never blogged about)...

and now my living room ones.

Now if you read a lot of DIY blogs than electrical conduit doesn't seem very original idea, but when I was trying to make my three little bedroom windows look like a wall of windows I had never seen conduit used before. So it's an original idea that everyone else thought of too, lol. 

Anyway, electrical conduit can be found in the electrical isle of your hardware store and is about $2-3 dollars for ten feet (depending on the thickness).  I bought the 3/4 inch, but I think most people buy the 1/2 inch. I like mine beefy :)

The first step is to cut it down to size. I used a hacksaw, but if you know what length you want they will cut it for you in the store. You could also buy your own pipe cutter if you feel like spending some $, but since your reading this post I'm assuming you don't!

So here is my process....

First, cut it to length. Or if your feeling lazy, have your overzealous toddler do it for you.

I cut mine about two feet longer than my window is wide (I want the curtains to cover more wall than window, to make the window look bigger).

 Then spray paint them whatever color your heart desires. I usually leave mine raw because I like the look, but this time I used rings on the curtains and wanted them to match. Here is the raw one and the one I painted pewter...

 Then hang your brackets. Mine cost a little under $4 a set at Home Depot. I like to hang mine higher than the window...it's all about making those windows look big and bright!

Then add your finials to the end of your rod. This is where you can get creative! I used decorative wicker balls for mine, but I thought about using decorated leftover Christmas ornaments or light bulbs, old doorknobs, cabinet pulls, big silk flowers, river rocks...

I found these at Hobby Lobby for less than two dollars a pop. 

(Also, in case you are unaware, you can always print out a 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby.com)

I want to be able to easily take down the curtains for washing so I made one of my finials removable. I wanted to glue a wine cork to the ball and insert it that way, but my husband and I aren't drinkers and don't have any lying around. Sooo, I got a little creative - and a little bit ghetto - and came up with this... 

It's a big 'ol drywall screw that I wrapped duct tape around and glued to my ball. Then I just inserted it into the conduit to hide my ghettoness creativity.

Lastly, put your rods in the brackets and TA DA...custom curtain rods for ten bucks!

Tomorrow I'll be back with a tutorial for making curtains...which are just as easy to make as the rod. Here's a sneak peak :)

Update: You can see the post on how to make curtains HERE.

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