Brushed Copper Curtain Rods From Plumbing Parts
Introduction: Brushed Copper Curtain Rods From Plumbing Parts
We bought a house in 2020 (I know, right?!) and have been fixing it up with some much-needed updates. When we purchased, it had some blinds from the 80s that were in good condition but just very dated. My wife and I had always talked about having sweet copper plumbing pipe curtain rods and nice curtains, so I went through and added these to almost every window in our house. They make quite a difference and have really improved the look of our new place!
These are relatively simple to make and you don't need many tools - just a bit of time for finishing and clear-coating, and some planning. All components are plumbing parts that are widely available at most hardware stores. I'm very happy with how they turned out! I've seen some Pinterest pictures of other designs similar to this floating out there, but there was no clearly described way to make these so I thought I would share with the Instructables community some tips I learned along the way, and the technique for creating a uniform brushed copper look.
This Instructable is entered into the Home Decor Challenge. Share your pictures if you decide to make these!
Supplies
* 1/2" copper pipe
* All fittings are copper and 1/2" below, buy a contractor pack if you're making lots of rods
+ 90 degree elbows
+ Tee joints
+ Floor flanges
+ Threaded fitting for flanges
* Drill, 5/16" drill bit and phillips screw bit
* Tape measure
* Tubing cutter
* Hammer
* Screwdriver
* Adjustable wrench
* Vinegar
* Bucket
* Gloves
* Green scrubbing pads
* Copper metallic spray paint
* Clear coat enamel spray paint
* Wall fasteners appropriate for the weight of curtains and rods
* Curtain rings
* Curtains
Step 1: Measure Up Wall and Plan Curtain Rod Length and Design
I learned a lot from my wife about the design and thinking around curtains to make them look nice. If they are really short and close to the window, it just doesn't look quite as striking. We decided for full length curtains ceiling to floor, with plenty of room on each side of the window in terms of rod length to be able to pull the curtain all the way to each side so that you don't see it from outside.
Additionally, consider whether you want sheer curtains, light blocking, or both. For some of our windows I did both, for others we only needed a single set of sheers. We purchased inexpensive curtains from Ikea online that were a bit long, then hemmed them to shorten the length to what we needed. 582
For the larger windows in our house, we had to do two sets of the curtains (so, 4 total panels) to make it work.
For the smaller windows that were only using one set, I added about 20" to the overall rod length to accommodate for the curtains. For the larger windows with two sets, it was more like 30-40" to the overall length. If you have a run of over 4 feet in length, I recommend supporting in the middle with a tee-junction (see an alternate method for making a 4-way junction for double-rod assemblies below). This will prevent the rods from sagging. You might be able to use 3/4" pipe instead, or insert dowels to stiffen, but I didn't do this and our curtains were pretty heavy for the longer runs - all worked out okay.
Step 2: Cut Tubing
Once you've determined the lengths that you need for your curtain rods and your design, you'll need to cut all of the tubing. I bought some new, and also found some at our used home supply store where I live, Home Resource. If you can find old copper tubing that isn't to bent or dinged up, it will work fine - we'll be cleaning it all off very nicely, I even removed some old, thick paint from a few of my pieces.
If you're doing two sets of curtains, you'll need to double all of the lengths of tubing. You'll also need to cut extra pieces for the fittings that we'll be making to attach them to the wall.
For these wall fittings, I found that a good spacing with my rings and to get the curtains far away from the wall that they didn't drag was 2-11/16". This includes the 1/4" on each side or so that they push into the fittings. This is specific to your rings, really - if they are very big, two sets will knock against each other so be aware of that. Ours were a bit smaller, mabye 1-1/4" in diameter so this worked well. 220