Industrial Curtain Rod DIY August 14, 2013 | Are you guys ready for a killer DIY?! Our dear friends in St. Louis (you may remember their adorable family from this post) completed this project and I had to share! We’ve all been there…seriously, why are curtain rods so expensive…and UGLY!? Thanks but no thanks, I would rather not pay $300 for sticks of wood with large, unsightly wooden knobs on each end. And let’s also talk about how there’s never ever a length long enough…then you’re paying $600 only to connect two rods and in the end you’re not even able to close your curtains because of a brace in the middle. Can you sense my frustration?! Been there. Done that. So how genius is this…they used plumbing hardware and retrofitted it into industrial chic curtain rods. Love! And to top it off, they were kind enough to share (in great detail) how they did it all…down to the adorable nautical tie backs. They did it so well that West Elm even decided to copy! Awesome job you guys…thanks for sharing with us! See their fabulous notes below with tips, tricks and suggestions if they were to do it again. All materials were purchased at their local Lowes. Here’s what’s needed: 1. Pipe. I chose the iron gas pipe for the black industrial look. You can also get other materials (stainless steal or PVC for example) and paint them. I wanted something quick and easy. I will probably paint the couplings now that they have oxidized. Lowe’s sells the cast iron pipe in 10′ runs and my longest run was around 14′ so I had them cut two pieces for me (which they do for free). 2. Floor flanges. These are the round bases (looks like a donut) with 4 screws around the perimeter. These are what anchor the rod to the wall. I had 4 of them – one at the end of each run. 3. 90 degree bend and extension nipple. The nipple screws into the floor flange and the rod screws into the other end of the 90 degree turn. IMPORTANT: You need the nipple to be long enough to accommodate the rings in your curtains. Put another way, the rod needs to stick out far enough from the wall to allow the curtains to slide. I used a 2″ nipple. 4. If you have a run longer than 10′ you will need the coupling to connect two pieces. If I could do this project over again this is the only thing I would have changed: I would have bought a coupling with an arm on it to secure to the wall. 5. Anchor screws. This depends on where you are installing the rods. Our house is over 60 years old so the building materials aren’t quite what they are today. I used 3″ wood screws because I figured there was some type of wood frame behind the white metal trim. I got lucky and it was only 1/2 inch or so behind it. So my rods are VERY securely attached. That’s important because the cast iron is heavy. Installation notes Account for the size of the floor flanges and 90 degree turns to determine the length of the rod. The flanges are about 3.5″-4″ in diameter and the 90 degree turn is about 1″-1.5″ in extra length. For example, if the wall was 10′ long, I would get a rod cut to be 9’6″. The extra 6 inches would be attributed to 1.5″ of floor flange and 1.5″ of 90 degree bend on each side. This way the edge of your floor flange would touch the corner. If you don’t have a boundary above the rod use a level of course. COST I was so proud of myself that the total bill for everything listed above was right around $100. To buy adjustable or custom rods was approaching $300. Nice savings! Curtains We bought these online. They are Sunbrella fabric and were $50 per panel. We have 4 of them. They make all kinds of colors and patterns (the stripes are really cool). We were originally going with black/white stripes but then switched to add color. Glad we did. One more IMPORTANT note: you will need a helper when installing. Someone to hold one end of the rod while you attache the other end. You also MUST remember to install one end then slide on your curtain panels because the rings are not notched to put on an existing rod. You don’t want to have to pull the rod back off the wall. OPTION The curtain ties are self-explanatory by the pictures. I bought 6 feet of the old-fashioned nautical rope at Lowe’s ($20 I think) and then 6 of the little fasteners. I was looking for a cone that would wrap around the end of the rope with a hook on the end but they didn’t have anything like that. So I used the next best thing I could find. Those fasteners are around $4 each. And yes, the black tape is just electrical tape. Just measure enough rope to wrap around the curtains and cut with a razor blade or heavy duty scissors. So I would say all in it was about $300 ($350 with the ties) in cost and 3-4 hours of time/labor. The pure satisfaction of doing it yourself and having it turn out great is priceless! Okay, I told you guys this was awesome…and they literally spell it out for you. Please tell me someone is going to do this and paint them antique gold in a romantic bedroom or use the galvanized in a little guys nursery?! Please oh please! Thanks again to the Kraudels!