Do you have a large wall of windows and struggle to find an affordable curtain rod solution? Find my solution for covering 222″ of windows for less than $200!
As I was mulling over my living room makeover plan, I was stumped on creating inexpensive window treatments for the room. One whole wall is windows – 222 inches of windows to be exact!
I had decided to remove the wood blinds because even when they were open, they still blocked some light. (Although it’s hard to tell in the picture below. The magic of photo editing. 😜)
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There’s a screened in porch on the other side of the windows, which limits the light already, so I wanted to open the windows up as much as possible. And I just love the texture and warmth curtains brings to a space.
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That wall of windows had a lot of hard lines and was just begging to have some softness added to it. I’m a huge fan of curtains, so that was a no brainer, to me! And once I decided on Hale Navy for the walls, choosing solid white curtain panels was an easy choice. Navy and white is such a classic combo.
Sectional Sofa (in Twill Parchment) | White Curtains | Curtain Rods | “Midnight” Blue Throw Pillows |Brass & White Lamp | 55″ TV (that looks like art) | Faux Hydrangeas | Grapewood Branch Decor
The blinds also fit the windows in my kitchen perfectly. I wanted to replace those blinds in there because they had hunter green cloth tape on them, and that wasn’t my vibe.
So, finding an affordable window treatment situation in the living room was high on my radar. I searched for weeks to find extra long curtain rods. And while I found some extender hardware out there, it was going to be more than my budget could afford. I realized I was going to have to figure out some kind of DIY project curtain rod solution.
Sectional Sofa (in Twill Parchment) | White Curtains | Curtain Rods | “Midnight” Blue Throw Pillows | Faux Potted Plant | Brass & White Lamp | Faux Hydrangeas | Large Basket | Palna Pillow Cover | Abbeville Blue Area Rug
I considered using electrical conduit, wooden dowels or tension rods for the actual rods. But in the end I wanted a substantial curtain rod with nice finials and I didn’t want to have to paint anything. 😜
So I turned to my favorite cheap curtain rods. I needed 3 rods, so they ended up costing a total of $100 (on sale). But you could go even cheaper if you want to use something like a totally DIY curtain rod with electrical conduit, galvanized pipe or cheaper rods.
There are 3 sets of two windows on the wall. And I couldn’t just buy 3 separate curtain rod sets and put them up individually, because there’s only 1.5 inches in between each window. So, I was going to have to figure out a way to join them all together.
Each set of window is exactly 73″ wide, so a 66″-120″ extendable rod would work over each window. My idea was to put a bracket over each of the spaces between the windows.
Solution for Making an Extra Long Curtain Rod
I didn’t know how I would join them together, but it worked just fine to tape them with electrical tape and set them into the bracket. The bracket and curtains hide my tape job. 😜
Then finding some cheaper curtains to go on the rods was my next mission. I learned that IKEA makes a really nice white drapery panel that is only $30 for a set of 2! I needed 3 sets, so that brought my total under $100. Yay!
I’ll be doing a more in depth review of the curtains soon, but if you get them and want to hang them on rings, be sure to grab some curtain hooks while you’re getting the panels. I bought these curtain rings from Lowe’s. That added about $60 to my total, but I wanted really nice rings. You can definitely find them cheaper!
Sectional Sofa (in Twill Parchment) | White Curtains | Curtain Rods | “Midnight” Blue Throw Pillows | Faux Potted Plant | Brass & White Lamp | Faux Hydrangeas | Large Basket | Palna Pillow Cover | Abbeville Blue Area Rug
I love how my semi-DIY extended curtain rods worked out! They give so much personality to the room and I love the amount of light that now comes into the room. The curtains don’t really block the light since I have them on rings. They tuck nicely in between each of the windows.
What do you think? Are you more of a blinds or a curtains person? Or both??
PEGGY SCHMIDT
Hi Laura,
I have a very large window like yours. I just don’t know what do do with it. I originally had cellular shades covering it but then we had to replace the window so now the shades do not fit. I have 3 top windows over the larger window and would like to keep those 3 open but with the shades I can’t seem to do that. Curtains would probably be a good idea but finding ones that are big enough I’m not sure about. Any thoughts would be so appreciated.
Thank you,
Juju
Hi, Laura–You’ve probably found a solution by now, but just in case you haven’t, you might consider using painter’s canvas drop cloths as curtains. I think there are some ways to do this on this website somewhere, and there are also ideas all over Pinterest.
I have a stretch of about 190″ of windows in my living room, so I sprung for a single long rod. I could afford that because I got six $10 canvas drop cloths from Home Depot for curtains. I attached them to the rod using clip rings. I didn’t even do any sewing. I dealt with the extra length of the drop cloths by flipping over about 12″ at the top to make a valance. I eventually added some blackout curtains behind the drop cloths, but again, I didn’t mind spending money to get those because my “curtains” were so inexpensive.
Good luck with your project!
Juju
Oops–that comment was meant for Peggy!
Laura
I gotcha!! 🙂 I know for Peggy, but I thought I’d chime in too and say I’ve used drop cloths as curtains in the past – and they are a great option!!
Ivory
I love this. excellent idea. Thank you. This will help me to save lot of $$. I love the word savings.
Patti
The windows look lovely. Good job Laura! I am a just a valance gal but I don’t have privacy issues. Living room in the back facing the woods. I have blinds in the bedroom and bathroom. I am also in my new smaller home, and loving it, Enjoy your new home, I enjoy seeing what you do in each room. Thanks for sharing.
Jo McCready
I really like this post. My question is did you make some sort of pleat when you attached the curtain rings? It looks very finished and I want to attain the same look.
Thank you. Your room is lovely.
Laura
Hi Jo! The pleats were created when I put the curtain hooks on the backs of the curtains. If you look at the curtain hooks I used here: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/riktig-curtain-hook-40212203/ – you’ll see how they slide them into the pockets in the back of the curtains. I left several spaces between where I slid in the curtain hooks, if that makes sense. And it gave it that pleated look. I should take a picture and share it, because it’s hard to describe. LOL
Doris
Vicki I was thinking the same thing about the double ended screws but if the electrical tape does the job no one is the wiser. Great job in thinking outside your box for affordable rods!
Laura
Thanks Doris! I originally thought about the double ended screw, but I would have had to make a hole in the ends of the rods and they are metal, so I didn’t feel like messing with it. We close and open the curtains every day and so far so good!! 🙂
Vicki
Thanks for sharing! We are about to move into a new house, and I am seriously stressing over the window treatments! I want plenty of natural light, and we live in the country so privacy is not as much of an issue, but I definitely want to be able to cover windows at night, and on the front of the house as needed so people coming to the door can’t just see in. It’s hard to know what you want until you live in a space and I don’t want to put up anything expensive until I know for sure it’s what I want (like blinds and bamboo shades). Not to mention, the thought of drilling holes into pretty new woodwork is hard for me to do! I also ordered some of the same rods you shared from Target, they are so nice! I know the tape is a quick and easy fix, especially when you don’t want to go to the store, but if you want to do something sturdier in the future, double ended screws would also be an option. But if you don’t open and close the curtains, I’m sure it will work fine. I enjoy seeing how you are updating your beautiful new home, so happy for you! Take care and stay safe!
Laura
Hi Vicki, I originally thought that I could do a double ended screw in each one, but like you said, I didn’t want to go out and get those during this time. I would have had to screw into the ends, because they are solid metal, but I’m sure I could have done that. We open and close them every night and because of the curtain rings, they don’t pull on the rod at all. So far, so good! 🙂 So exciting about your new house!! That is so fun!