Nursery Makeover Part 3 - Window Treatment DIY

Pinterest Nursery Inspiration

 The windows in our nursery are one of my favorite aspects of the room because they let in SO much natural light.  I always prefer natural light to artificial, however, I knew that in the baby's room I wanted to find a way to continue the dainty feel of the room, while also shutting out light when needed.  Because we have two windows on the same wall, I decided to do one long curtain rod to make the windows appear even larger, and in turn, make the room appear larger as well.

I absolutely LOVE the wooden blinds and sheer curtains used in the image above, but when I started looking into costs for window treatments, I knew that I was going to have to compromise somewhere. Thankfully, Tyler and I have already had this discussion previously when we first were prepping to move into our apartment.  It was a bit of a disagreement between us - I insisted that I wanted curtains and curtain rods for all of the windows in the apartment, but Tyler was not a fan of the cost associated with finding window treatments for 9 windows (we're talking close to $500 because I wanted two panels for each window...)

Our compromise was to purchase $4 twin sheets from Walmart to use as curtains, and to make our own curtain rods.  Since we already have experience in making curtain rods, making a rod for our nursery was fairly simple!

I'm glad we had already done the research and work to make our own curtain rod, because when I looked into a rod for the nursery, just for fun, I found that a sturdy 10 ft. curtain rod can cost between $150-$300.  WAY more than I was willing to spend.

If you're looking for a way to make an inexpensive curtain rod, this is the way to go!

Needed Materials:
$0.98 - Hooks to hold rod (comes with hardware!)

$2.98 - Brace to attach to wall (also comes with hardware!)

$3.59 -Electrical Conduit (we used a 10ft pole at 3/4in diameter)
Drill
Knife

*Optional:
$5.98 - Spray Paint (We used a can we already had, just be sure that it is appropriate for metal!)
$2.00 - Finials  (We wanted our curtain rod to have a more finished look)
Free - Wine Cork

Since Tyler and I had already conquered this project previously, he decided to take care of putting together our curtain rod while I was away at work.  I am so thankful for a husband who is handy around the house and willing to take part in my crafting!

Tyler started by painting the 10ft conduit and curtain rod hardware with the gold spray paint that we already had.  He then gathered the materials he would need to add the finials to the ends of the curtain rod while everything was drying. 

The "finials" we used for this project were really leftover crystal cabinet knobs that I purchased for the dresser.  I thought about trying to find something larger, but I already had these and they matched the knobs used in the nursery, so we just went with them.

Because these aren't true "finials," in order to attach them to the curtain rod, we had to get a little clever.  We decided to attach the knobs to a cork, and twist the cork into the ends of the rod.  In the images above, you can see that the hardware that came with the knobs was too short to fit in a full sized cork, so Tyler cut it down to size.  He then drilled a hole into the cork, screwed the screw through the cork, into the knob, and twisted the cork into the curtain rod.  

Voila!  An affordable and cute finial.

The next step is to put together the hardware to hold the curtain rod on the wall.  We created our own hardware, because the hardware that comes with curtain rods is way too expensive, and not as sturdy.

The "hooks" we used here are actually a type of hardware made specifically for electrical conduit.  It has a long name, so I added a link above to what we purchased!  But for ease of explanation, I just call them "hooks."  They are made to several sizes, to fit whatever diameter electrical conduit you choose.  In this case, we chose a 3/4 in. diameter conduit, so these hooks are also 3/4 in. 

We also grabbed a pack of four small brackets.  They come with screws, which was nice because we did not have to purchase any additional hardware for this project.  Once the paint had dried on the hook and bracket, Tyler connected them together with the screw and nut that came with the packet.

Then came the hard part!

I had to decide how high I wanted the curtain rod to be hung.  I prefer to hang my curtain rod as high as possible, but for this particular room, I wanted the curtains to hang lower below the window.  Looking back, I wish we had hung them up a little higher, but that's okay.  I can't expect perfection!  Thankfully, Tyler found studs exactly where I wanted the rod hung, so he did not have to use drywall anchors.  

Once the curtains are slipped on, the curtain rod can be clicked into the hook.  It won't be going anywhere!

The only other expense we had for this project was obviously, the curtains.  Although I didn't find the "perfect" curtains, I found curtains that were perfect for us.  I was able to find 2 white, 84 in. (length) room darkening curtains for $10 a piece.  They were regularly $40 at Bed Bath and Beyond, but someone returned them, so they were discounted.  Thank you unknown friend!

I then searched for a long time to find curtains that would look elegant, but also cut out light, so I wouldn't have to spend money on blinds as well.  I finally settled on these curtains from Amazon. They are 84" in length, room darkening, pink, and only $17.48 a panel.  

 

After subtracting the cost for the unused items that we will save for later projects, as well as the cost of the paint since we already had that, our total cost for the curtain rod was $7.57.

Our cost in curtains was obviously higher, coming to a total of $51.87.

Our total for the entire project was approximately $60. 

I am pleased with the way this project turned out, and that we were able to keep the cost to a minimum!  I'm also glad that because we were able to find such thick curtains, they will serve a practical purpose, cutting out light for baby to sleep, as well as keeping the room warm in the winter and cooler in the summer.

I hope you've enjoyed another sneak peak at our nursery DIY!  Keep your eyes open for our upcoming full nursery reveal!

~ Ty, Kay and Babe