DIY Drapery Rod {on the cheap!}

I was inspired to create my own drapery rod after seeing the one Allison Hepworth created on her site. Mine ended up being quite a bit different {since I had to use two along my window wall in my dining room}, but I certainly wouldn't have thought to do this without inspiration from the House of Hepworths. Thanks, friend!

I started out with a piece of electrical conduit in 1/2 inch round thickness. It's only $1.25 at Lowe's. And I was able to get two rods out of it by sawing in half with a common hacksaw. {We do have that vice installed on our workbench that made this job way easy....thanks for installing the vice, Dad! We never even knew we'd need it so much}.

Here's what bummed me...I needed 11 feet of conduit, however the longest they come is 10 feet. Soooo...I decided to flank my windows with demi-rods that don't come across the window, but act as a frame for my window when the drapes are in place. I've seen it done in Ballard's a lot...therefore I deemed it a "normal" thing to do. We'll see if anyone thinks it's totally weirdo.

I purchased super cheap drawer pulls to finish the rods at the ends. These were two per pack for $2.59. I wrapped duct tape {yes, duct tape} around the base to beef it up so it fit nice & snug into the conduit.
Oh, and yes, I was painting that day...ignore my grubby, painted up hands in the photos!

I used the almighty Gorilla Glue around the base.

Then stuck it into the end of the conduit...making sure none of the duct tape actually showed. I applied pressure for all of ten seconds, wiped up the excess glue and let it dry for 24 hours. {I, of course, did this to each end of the pipe...and then repeated on my second rod}.

I used my favorite spray paint, Oil Rubbed Bronze {ORB}, along with primer to take this from industrial to dining roomish.

A little side by side comparison. Pay no attention to the complete lack of care we give our garage floor. We intend to one day paint it & fleck it...but right now, we just get a little wild and don't use drop cloths.

I already had existing hooks from a previous rod to hang these up. I also just finished painting the drapes for these rods {yes...I painted my drapes}:

Click here to see the drapery-painting tutorial.

To break down the cost, I spent $1.95 on the rod, which we got two rods out of. Then, the drawer pulls were $2.59 for a two-pack. I had my spray paint & primer on hand and barely used any of it for these. So, less than $4 per rod. Even if you had to purchase your paint, these would still be under $10...a lot better than Pottery Barn. I also LOVE the thickness of the rod...the cheaper ones in Walmart are skimpy and will easily bow under the weight of heavy drapery.

Love DIYing stuff for a fraction of the cost!









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