How can I make a skinny rod and grommet curtains combo look better?

'If you get a Rod too big for the grommet you suffer resistance to closing and opening the curtains. If you get a rod too small you get what you got already'. I know your pain brother. Really, I do. Unfortunately that's Rod and Grommet for you: Besides painting the rod or using some sort of latex covering, there is no way to improve this Circumstance except: maybe get a 1 inch Rod that is white in color.

The diameter of the rod just has to be bigger. I've seen numerous examples and tutorials using pvc pipe. 1.5" diameter x 10 feet of pvc schedule 40 solid core has a high tensile strength so it won't be all bendy-bendy. You will still need brackets in the center or possibly four total if you are stretching 10ft. This pipe cost $6.50 at Lowes. You'll need a can of paint for plastic, the brackets, and whatever you use for the finials on the ends. Google the pvc pipe curtain rods and you will get lots of examples and instructions. This will cost no more than $20 for one 10ft rod and I paid over $100 each for my rods before seeing these great substitutes. These come in different lengths and Lowe's will make one cut for free, sometimes two cuts. You might give special attention to the paint prep and coats due to scratching when sliding the grommets to open and close the curtains. My metal rods are bronze and they scratched from the beginning, an issue I was not happy about. The scratching can be mitigated some by being extra careful but I would just put the effort into good prep before and during painting. If that's too much work you can get good rods at J.C. Penny's and monitor their site for sales and high discounts which occur weekly or bi-weekly. Good Luck! Those are pretty curtains.

P.S. I would use a Rustoleum metallic paint that matches the grommets or color-coordinate with one of the colors in the curtains and part of your theme.

I agree that you must swap out the rod for something more substantial and using PVC is a terrific solution! You will be able to find something to use for the wall connections using other plumbing parts.

Make a coordinating, simple valance to cover it. Can use wood, styrofoam, cardboard, etc. There are ways to make them on this site.

It's the black color that is the problem not the thickness of the rod.