DIY $5 Curtain Rod

Montross Made
by Montross Made
4 Materials
$5
1 Hour
Easy

Curtains are great for softening up and adding texture to a space. I've been looking to buy curtain rods for our bedroom but they can be expensive. Every rod I found was over $20, and the ones that were cheaper had horrible reviews about the rods bending or breaking. I had a feeling we could do them a little cheaper, and I was right- It only took $10 for all of these materials (other than the spray paint), and I got 2 complete rods out of it! They were very easy to make and only took about an hour.

The shopping list and process is similar to the one I used when making my DIY floating outdoor curtains.


What you'll need:

1/2 in. x 10 ft electrical conduit (not pictured)

3/4 in. one hole strap (2 per rod)

3 in. corner brackets (2 per rod)

1/2 in. screws (2 per rod)

Spray paint

Step 1: Measure and cut pipe

I cut my rods to about 4.5ft each. I used a pipe cutter to cut mine, but Home Depot can also cut them for you if you don't have one.


A good tip for curtains is to always hang them high and wide. This helps your windows look bigger! My windows were tricky because they were close to corners, so I went as high as I could, but I could only go a few inches outside of the window frame.

Step 2: Spray paint

Spray all of the accessories for your brackets, and the pipe (not pictured)

Step 3: Assemble brackets

Once everything is dry, connect the one hole straps to the corner brackets using the screws. You will need two complete brackets per curtain rod.

Step 4: Hang

Remeasure and hung up the brackets. The rod will sit simply across them.

I let the rods hang a few inches of over the end of each bracket, so keep in mind how much overhang you want when you're deciding where to place your brackets.

This was a great alternative to buying curtain rods. It was simple to do, and was significantly cheaper than two 5 foot rods would have been. Gotta love a low budget, high impact DIY!

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  1 question
  • 17335038 17335038 on Aug 07, 2020

    How were you lucky enough to hit solid wood behind exactly where you wanted to hang the brackets?


    Usually mounting the hardware so it stays attached to the wall is one of the biggest hurdles with window coverings.

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  • RichandTammy Whiteside RichandTammy Whiteside on Aug 18, 2020

    This is the $$$best$$$ idea! I paid a lot of money for my old fashioned rods and they drive me crazy with the dangling cords for opening & closing. One window with two side sliders is about 9 feet long and this would be great. Using with stronger angles I could attach multiple rods for sheers + drapes. Thank you for posting this!

  • Sharon Sharon on Sep 26, 2020

    I am going to try this!

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