My Fancy Dancy Curtain Rods

How many of you actually pull your curtains closed? Of course, that may have been their original intention way back when windows didn't keep the cold out and shades had not yet been invented, but I'm guessing that most of us use them for decoration and the much needed sound absorption of our screaming 3 year olds.

Think Debbie, how can you find a creative way to hang your curtains and not spend a gazillion dollars on an unnecessary, super-long curtain rod? ***DING*** (That's the sound of the lightbulb going off in my head). The answer: a towel holder, or bar, depending on your lingo.

For under $5 each, I purchased the wooden honey oak towel holders at Home Depot. The beauty of this baby is you can cut the dowel to the size you need AND you can paint, distress, and glaze them. And I did just that.

After pulling them out of the package, I got out my handy dandy (fancy dancy) can of black spray paint. I gave them a coat or two, not forgetting the little plastic covers that fill the screw holes. After the paint was dry, I took some fine sandpaper and distressed the edges.

Top one is distressed, bottom is not

Next, I grabbed some turquoise paint I had laying around and rubbed it all over the wood. I let it dry for maybe 15 seconds and then used a cloth to pull off the paint. If you don't like the look you achieved, you can do it again and wait longer. After my "glaze" was dry, I coated the towel bars in wax.

Now it was time to hang the babies. I wanted as much light to come in the room as possible, so I decided to hang the curtains just over the outside seam of the window. I hung all four panels for around $19 and got a custom look too. I guess you can't beat that with a stick. :)