Hanging Curtains Without a Rod

Curved rods are very expensive, I need something else to hang curtains, from the ceiling, like the ones used in the hospitals.

By Fairy from FL

Answers: Hanging Curtains Without a Rod

Read answers for this question below.

By 01/29/2011

See if there is a freecycle group in your area, on yahoo groups. Someone may have extra curtains rod that they will give to you.

By 01/29/2011

Go to the hardware store and check out the price of doweling, or if you need something that curves, check in the plumbing section for PVC pipes and their different joints. PVC can be painted, and drilled, is also very light weight.

By 01/27/2011

If the curtain has to curve around a bed or desk, it is going to be either expensive, or time consuming. The rail is easy, but the curtain needs open hooks, like a clothes hanger.

For the rail get 1" black flexible plastic pipe and enough 2" open screw-hooks, that look like a ?, to put one every three feet along the planned track. Put the hooks into the ceiling so that the open end of the upside down question mark faces out from the sheltered area. Lay the pipe into the hooks and then starting at one end, melt a hole into the bottom of the pipe big enough to slip over the hook end.

A cheap $1.98 pencil type soldering iron works fine for that.

As soon as you melt through and the plastic around the hole is still soft, force it onto the hook. Then do the next, all the way around.

After you are done with that, you can paint the pipe the same color as the ceiling.

For the curtain you have to either buy or make open curtain hooks. They are easily enough to make from coat hanger wire, preferably plastic coated ones. If your curtain has hook pockets in the pleats, you can bend the coat hanger wire so that the straight pin end just about touches the ceiling, when the round end is over the rail.
That way, the curtain will almost touch the ceiling and hide the rail.

Have FUN!
DearWebby
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Hanging Curtains Without a Rod

I am trying to do some decorating on a tight budget. Does anyone have some ideas for hanging curtains that does not involve buying curtain rods?

Tammy from MO

RE: Hanging Curtains Without Buying Curtain Rods

You can hang them on a string hung between 2 nails or hooks, hang them with push pins, use existing hardware and use plain shower curtain hooks. (03/19/2007)

By pamphyila

RE: Hanging Curtains Without Buying Curtain Rods

This is the cheapest way I know to hang curtains. We did it when we were selling our house. It works wonders. Get a length of 1/2 inch PVC pipe, about a dollar or 2 for a 10 foot length. Cut down to the size you need. Buy some 1/2 inch cup hooks, you will need to bend the end out a little with a pliers to better fit the pipe, but its very easy. Screw one hook on each side into the wall above the window. Then just put your curtain on the pipe and hang up there.

We spray painted the PVC to hide it better and you can put a cork or something in the ends to hide the hole. I made some little end caps with clay to match the curtains. Hope this helps, it will only take you about 10 minutes, 2 or 3 dollars, but that cost will cover a few windows. (03/19/2007)

By Designersheets

RE: Hanging Curtains Without Buying Curtain Rods

I used PVC pipe also for a large window, to hang lightweight curtain panels. Works great. I had to put an extra support hook extending from the wall to hold the center of the pipe, because it is so light and flexible that without the center support it wanted to bow in the middle. My husband cut the pipe with a jigsaw. I used regular curtain brackets on the ends. (03/19/2007)

By tismom

RE: Hanging Curtains Without Buying Curtain Rods

The string is a good idea, but I used heavy twine that made a "roughing it" look. If your curtains were plaid or masculine, this would be a good choice. (03/19/2007)

By love2decorate

RE: Hanging Curtains Without Buying Curtain Rods

When my husband and I moved to a new house my daughter's room had no windows and we had just bought her curtains to go with the theme of her room. So I removed the folding doors over her large closet and used push pins to hang her curtains over the opening. She's nearly two and goes in and out of the closet constantly and the curtains haven't budged. (03/20/2007)

By Racheal

RE: Hanging Curtains Without Buying Curtain Rods

To get string through your curtains, tie it to a big safety pin or a paper clip, you can feed the string through just as you would elastic through a band on a sleeve or pair of pants. (03/20/2007)

By duckie43

RE: Hanging Curtains Without Buying Curtain Rods

Have you considered a length of plastic coated clothes line? Comes in white and blue and could be attached to the window frame with tacks after curtains were strung on it. You could use it in a kitchen and bathroom most effectively I think (03/20/2007)

By thriftmeg

RE: Hanging Curtains Without Buying Curtain Rods

We had a fish themed room. We took bamboo poles and used them for curtain rods. Looked really cute. Also, we hung up a clothesline. Then we used clothespins we painted and hung material up for curtains. It was really cute and much cheaper than curtains are. Plus, we could take them down and put up material for each holiday. My kids loved it. (03/20/2007)

By Judy

RE: Hanging Curtains Without Buying Curtain Rods

I too was looking for an inexpensive way to hang curtains and came up with this idea for my bedroom and bathroom. I took a square of material that would be wide enough to cover the window and give a little drape. Now at the top and on each corner, grab a handful of material and wrap a rubber band around it tight. This makes it look like a flower. Now just put a tack or small nail at the top of the window and hook your flower on it. Cute and not curtain rods. (03/20/2007)

By Barbi

RE: Hanging Curtains Without Buying Curtain Rods

You can also use shower curtain rods and there are also "spring loaded" curtain rods that fit on the inside of the windows. (03/20/2007)

By GrammySheila

RE: Hanging Curtains Without Buying Curtain Rods

Been there done that in the mountains of NC no less.

We took a plastic roll of dental floss and put the whole plastic roll of floss inside the top section of a flat sheet (depending on what length you need, twin, full, queen, or king lengths). We used a white sheet dyed black at the launder mat, making sure you run another large empty cycle and soap through so the next patron will not have dye on their clothes. Anyway, we did all of this for a darkened room for day (3rd shift) sleepers.

Take the floss end and tie it to a door knob, feed the plastic floss container through the sheet until the floss is running the entire length of the sheet. Next tie the floss ends around nail heads that are embedded into the walls opposite of each other (nails pounded in and tapped up into a form of an L shape) making sure to pull up any slack there may be (depends on how wide the area is on if the floss will give but ours didn't and we had to cover a large bay window on a 16 foot wide wall). Good luck. I know that this works as we have continued to use this very thing in other homes that we have moved into within our lives. Ingenuity is the mother of invention they say, I say being broke has an awful lot to do with it though, ha. (03/20/2007)

By Paula Jo, Mebane, NC

RE: Hanging Curtains Without Buying Curtain Rods

Listen, you can buy a basic curtain rod at Wal-Mart for $1. I'm reading all these ideas, from PVC piping to using dental floss, to shower curtain rods. Unless you already have this stuff at your house, it will cost you just as much or more than the cheap curtain rod. You can buy cheap material sometimes at Wal-Mart for $1 a yard. 1 yard, cut in half and hemmed, will make a nice valance. Pair it with the cheap curtain rod, and you have a nice, not tacky, window dressing. (03/20/2007)

By Jess

RE: Hanging Curtains Without Buying Curtain Rods

I've successfully used broom handles and cup hooks all round the house they can even be painted any color you like with emulsion or even spray paint in aerosols.

Carol (03/21/2007)

By cazpumpkin

RE: Hanging Curtains Without Buying Curtain Rods

I don't have curtain rods right now either. I stapled mine to the window frame with my desk stapler. My frames are dark wood and the staple holes are not visible and my curtains are not injured either. (03/22/2007)

By Karen

RE: Hanging Curtains Without Buying Curtain Rods

I think the dental floss idea is clever. Besides, it is white and if your walls are white, it blends in. My only concern would be "sagging". IKEA (ikea-usa.com) has inexpensive wire systems ($14.99 or so). (12/12/2007)

By Marie

RE: Hanging Curtains Without Buying Curtain Rods

I saw a really inventive idea in an Arts and Crafts home. The homeowner had used a branch, a little twisty which made it quite woodsy. The curtains that were hung on it were very expensive sheers and the whole thing really worked, so it's quite a classy treatment in the right setting. I have a friend with a very beachy style, and she used old paddles. Very cool. (10/25/2008)

By chickadee101

Hanging Curtains Without a Rod

How do I hang floor to ceiling drapery panels from the ceiling on either side of a shower/tub enclosure without using a shower curtain pole?

By Memory from Raleigh, NC

RE: Hanging Curtains Without a Rod

Assuming the drapes are lighter in weight (just guessing for a shower area) I would try hooks in the ceiling that could fit the adjustable cafe curtain type rods. (01/05/2010)

By caninecodependent

RE: Hanging Curtains Without a Rod

Double Velcro attached to the curtain and then mounted on a piece of wooden trim. Attach the Velcro with staples, tacks, or contact cement to the trim. Affix the trim to where you want it to be, using wall plugs and sturdy screws, then attach the curtain to the trim. No rod, no fuss, all done. (01/09/2010)

By hedera

RE: Hanging Curtains Without a Rod

I just did this recently, as our new apartment has a separate bath and shower. However, it is very white: walls, fixtures, etc. Since we can't paint, I wanted to add a bit of colour into the bathroom. There was no shower curtain rod installed, which allowed me to put up some floor-to-ceiling curtain panels (like sheers). I used a tension rod (spring-loaded, adjustable) for putting in a closet. They come in different lengths, colours, and finishes and are fairly affordable.

One other option you might consider is a wire system. I know they have these at Ikea, but are likely available elsewhere too. That might look better if you want to have the curtain open, since you mentioned wanting them on each side. I keep mine closed since they are kind of sheer and just use a hook to hold them back when I want to use the bathtub.

Tina in QC (01/09/2010)

By tchase65