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The Crazy Craft Lady

You are here: Home / Home Decor / Short Drapery Rods

January 5, 2014 · 23 Comments

Short Drapery Rods

Home Decor

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Short Drapery Rods

 A very chilly Hello to everyone out there.  I hope you are all staying inside and warm today.  I ran all of my errands yesterday, so the twins and I are inside all day today.  We are deep cleaning, re-arranging, and working on blog projects all day.  What a great way to keep our minds off the sub-zero temps outside!

I have been wanting to hang curtains in the living room for a few months, and now seems like a safe time.  The twins are walking on their own – no longer holding on to anything within reach as they stumble around.  But here’s the challenge: my budget.  Under no circumstance was I willing to spend more than $60 on this project.

It started about 2 months ago when I found drapery panels for $25 at HomeGoods.  $25 for TWO!  Sold!  They are short drapery panels, which is perfect since I didn’t want to weigh down my large living room window with a long drapery rod and heavy curtains.  Plus, with our heavy-duty shades, I have no need to ever “draw the blinds.”  I just wanted to hang decorative curtains.  No need to be functional.

I was off to a great start.  Then I started looking for short drapery rods.  Either I was shopping at the wrong stores, or these simply do not exist.  Seriously.  The only short drapery rods I could find were 1/2-inch in diameter.  This was not the look I was going for.  I wanted something at least 1 inch in diameter.

Off to Home Depot.  They have a selection of “build your own” drapery rods from Martha Stewart.  1-3/8 inch end caps were $3.97 for a set of two, and brackets were $7.97 for a set of two.  I was willing to pay a bit more for heavy-duty wooden brackets since I knew I would have two toddlers pulling on the curtains and testing the strength of the brackets.

short drapery rods

Then I started looking at drapery rods – thinking I could just cut one into two shorter pieces.  But one drapery rod was $20.  This would be a budget breaker.  Then I asked myself, “What’s the difference between a drapery rod and a wooden dowel?”  Not much.  So I bought a 1-1/4 inch wooden dowel for $4.10.  That’s 1/5 the price of a regular drapery rod!

use painted wooden dowel instead of a drapery rod

I took the wooden dowel to work and had one of the guys in the shop cut it into two 17-inch pieces and drill a hole in each end.  I spray painted the dowels white, and I had two DIY drapery rods for a fraction of the price.  I took everything home, screwed the end caps into my dowels, and hung my drapes.  Done.

Now for the most important part.  Did I stick to my $60 budget?  Here’s my budget breakdown:

Short Drapery Rods - Budget

$58.58!  That’s a number I like – I like it almost as much as I like my new curtains.  They really brighten up my gray living room.  And R likes them too!

toddler-approved short drapery rods

I plan on incorporating more “ice blue” in my neutral living room, and can’t wait to share more projects with you.

Short Drapery Rods

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Comments

  1. Lynn says

    January 6, 2014 at 9:07 am

    Awesome idea with the curtain ‘rods’ – I want to do this in our bedroom…………..soon…………
    Lynn

    Reply
  2. Sheila says

    January 6, 2014 at 9:58 pm

    Okay that is a great idea – been thinking about adding curtains to soften some windows here. Thanks for the idea!

    Reply
  3. Teresa Britton says

    January 11, 2014 at 12:38 am

    Excellent idea! I love it. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  4. Antionette Blake says

    January 11, 2014 at 7:30 pm

    Great job and the baby loves it too,

    Reply
  5. Sarah MSM says

    January 13, 2014 at 8:22 am

    Love this!!! We’re getting ready to move, so we may try this out in our new house 😉

    Thanks for linking up with us at our Weekend Wind-Down Party!

    Reply
    • aimee says

      January 16, 2014 at 11:13 pm

      Thanks Sarah… Good luck with the move!

      Reply
  6. Julia @ Happy House and Home says

    January 13, 2014 at 9:56 am

    You did great! They look awesome. I’ve been thinking about this idea for my house – I have all sorts of crazy window treatments that need to be “fixed”. Thank you for sharing. I’m pinning. Julia (CUTEST helper you have there!)

    Reply
    • aimee says

      January 14, 2014 at 12:01 pm

      Thanks Julia! He loves being involved in whatever I’m working on 🙂

      Reply
      • Ren says

        November 27, 2016 at 3:11 pm

        Quick question- how are the curtains staying in one place with just one bracket each? Thanks!

        Reply
        • Ren says

          November 27, 2016 at 3:16 pm

          Nevermind- just realized on homedepot.com the brackets come in a set of 2.

          Reply
  7. Barbara says

    January 18, 2014 at 7:20 pm

    Just ask a woman to do a job! Great job. And, oh those beautiful eyes peeking from behind the curtains even better.

    Reply
  8. Nicole says

    June 11, 2014 at 6:48 am

    I have been looking high and low for short curtain rods. NEVER crossed my mind to make them. Thanks for sharing your tip!

    Reply
  9. Aimee says

    January 2, 2015 at 6:25 pm

    Thank you for writing about this! I too, just bought cheap drapery panels at Home Goods and have been searching for short drapery rods. Now I can build my own! They look awesome….and you’re name’s not too shabby either 😉

    Reply
    • aimee says

      January 4, 2015 at 3:22 pm

      Glad the article could help! Happy decorating 🙂

      Reply
  10. Staci says

    September 18, 2015 at 2:48 pm

    Thank you! I just started a search for “short curtain rods” and found your post. This just saved me a long search. 🙂 Clever solution.

    Reply
    • aimee says

      October 2, 2015 at 9:51 am

      Thanks Staci! I’m so glad you liked the article!

      Reply
  11. Dianne says

    September 14, 2017 at 4:14 pm

    Just picked up all the stuff. Can’t wait to see how they look. Thank you for this awesome idea. !!!!

    Reply
  12. Precious says

    January 2, 2018 at 9:32 pm

    Hi there! Thank you for a great idea. Do you know where I can have my dowel cut? I don’t have the tools to cut. Thanks in advance.

    Reply
  13. Dina says

    November 16, 2018 at 4:16 pm

    Wooden dowels make a great drapery wand too. I got some Miracle Wand dowel cap drapery wands and love them!

    Reply
  14. Diana says

    February 25, 2019 at 8:27 am

    Question…….I had purchased some simply GORGEOUS short panels at Home Goods, in Scottsdale, Az for our new home in Prescott. I can not find anywhere, how wide I should place
    Them on the window. How much should the rod be placed on the outside of the window? Does that make sense?
    I have a handyman coming tomorrow to do some jobs and want him to hang them but my CPA hubby insists there should be a formula. LOL
    HELP?
    Much thanks,
    Diana

    Reply
  15. Nelly says

    August 1, 2019 at 8:58 pm

    Hi, which store drilled the rod? lowes or home depot would not. thanks

    Reply

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About Me

I’m Aimee, The Crazy Craft Lady. I strive to make my home a more stylish, organized, and creative place, while keeping things uncomplicated and budget-friendly. Here you will find DIY projects, seasonal decor and crafts, recipes, and organizing tricks. I hope you stay awhile and leave inspired.

Let’s “make everyday creative” together!

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