Make an Antique Brass Curtain Rod from Wooden Dowels and Ping Pong Balls

This particular post is not so much about WHAT I used for DIY curtain rods, it's much more thinking outside the box - and about rethinking what is important to spend your money on when it comes to your house.

In our previous houses I have spent a small fortune on window treatments. When it came to our house, we used to abide by the "Let's Do It Right" mentality. As in, if we purchased "proper" curtain rods (and good quality furniture and so on), we were Mature Grown ups making smart purchases that would last.
Hardee har har har. Turns out Adult Adults do not go into debt furnishing a house, they actually do without or discover a way to have nice things without spending money they don't have. *lightbulb goes off* Ohhhhhh. Fast forward to this house, where I subscribe more to the High-Low idea. Some items are worth investing in, but curtain rods? That's a really un-fun approach to my very small decorating dollars.

Related : Vintage Cotton Velvet Curtains Collection

Going to the other extreme, last year I hung Ikea curtain panels in our master bedroom on really, really cheap, rods I bought in Big Lots. It didn't go so well:

Yes, the rings are a various color than the rod, but more importantly, all three flimsy rods bent within a couple of months. So annoying!

A while back I made a long rod for my family room out of PVC pipe and loooove it. I like that it has no seam just like a regular extension rod, I like the overall look, and I love the price.

PVC can make great curtain rods, but the only issue is that it is plastic and has a tendency to sag in the middle without a support bracket. This time I used wood dowel supports.

A 1/2", 48" long dowel rod (found in the wood trim portion of Lowes or HD, or at craft stores) is less than $2 each. Spraypainted - BANG - instant curtain rod. Now you just need to figure out what you want for a finial for the end, so your curtains don't slide off.

+You can get finials to paint. They come with screws to attach to the dowel.
+Cabinet pulls, spraypainted to match your dowel, can be glued on.
+Modeling clay can be shaped into golf balls, or whatever shape you desire, painted to match the rod, and glued upon.
+Large beads, pretty stones, vase-filling marbles - all could be used with a little dowel rod.

I was thinking of a little bling for my new navy wall space, like classic gold stud earrings with a pretty navy dress

I wandered around my house looking for something circular that I could make into a finial. Pantry? Absolutely nothing. Craft supplies? Nothing. Playroom? Ahhhh, here we go.

The ping pong golf balls, hundreds of thousands of which litter my basement at this very moment, are cheap and lightweight.

*caution*caution*caution* If you use ping pong balls as finials, be very careful with this next step. I might be so sad to know that something you read about on this blog as well as tried caused you harm.

To drill a hole in the ball, We placed it on a nonslip surface (rubber jar lid gripper on a reducing board) and very carefully used an awl to poke a hole inside it (the ball is slippery so I slowly pressed the awl into the plastic material and then applied pressure). Then I used a very large drill bit (about the dimensions of my dowel), inserted in the pilot hole, to very slowly drill the hole. Don't go fast or the drill bit will slip and possibly have a run-in with your hand.

After I drilled holes in all my "finials" We painted them to match the dowel rods. (Tomorrow I'll show you how to get old fashioned brass finish with paint. )

I use rings with clips to hang the curtains. I know decorators don't love them but the exposed clip doesn't bother me personally and they make customizing the length of your curtains SO easy. I hung the bands on the dowel rod, placed the rod on the curtain rod brackets, after which used Gorilla Glue, run along the edge of the hole in the ball, to install the balls to the dowel, holding each one in place for a few moments until adhered.

Cost breakdown per window, excluding paint

2 ping pong balls, $5 with regard to 6 at WalMart = $. 84 each
1 poplar dowel fishing rod, 1/2" x 48", $1. 68 at Lowes
2 packages clip bands, $6. 29 each at Target
Total: $15. 94

(I had the actual ping pong balls and clip rings on hand so my only cost for each window was $1. 68!)

Loving the end result and figuring out that "Doing It Right" doesn't have to mean expensive:
priceless!

An antique brass Curtain rod arriving tomorrow!

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