A Thrifty Way to Upcycle Old Curtain Rods

Hey guys! It’s time for another Thrifty Style Team! Every second Friday of the month I join a group of super-talented ladies to bring you awesome DIY projects and decor inspiration that won’t break the bank hosted by Julie at Redhead Can Decorate!

You can catch all the thrifty projects and decor through the links at the bottom of this post.

I have some old brass colored metal curtain rods that I used in the house I lived in back in the 90’s. In the 90’s, brass was very popular in decor. Whether it be chandeliers, lamps, bathroom and kitchen faucets, or curtain rods like mine – if it was metal, it was more than likely brass colored. I have nothing against brass and it is making a comeback with decor like candlestick holders, but I wanted curtain rods that matched what I already had going on in my master bedroom.

A while back I made over some curtain tension rods and curtain rings Rust-Oleum Metallic spray paint in Oil Rubbed Bronze to hang cafe style curtains in my master bedroom. I am using these curtain rods for valances on the same window so I wanted everything to be the same color.

I sprayed one side of the curtain rods, allowed them to dry thoroughly, then rolled them over and sprayed the other side. Always use spray paint in a well ventilated area. I prefer using spray paint outside when the weather permits; otherwise I use it in our shop with all the roll-up doors open.

You will notice that I didn’t spray one rod in the middle. I meant to only spray one side of it because since one rod fits into the other rod, there is no use spraying the part of the rod that won’t show. However, I wasn’t paying good attention to what I was doing and started spraying the wrong end! I guess I didn’t get enough coffee that morning! 🙂

I really love this paint as it gives anything I paint a gorgeous metallic finish.

These are the screws for the rod holders, which I also spray painted. A little tip for spraying screw heads – stick them in a piece of cardboard to hold them right side up and in place while spray painting them.

Once everything was completely dry, I got the “valance” I planned to use ready to string it onto the curtain rod. I put “valance” in quotes because it’s actually a table runner I bought at Amazon! I put it below under “Project Shopping List” along with everything else I used in this project.

Some of the links in this post are Amazon affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, I may make a small commission at no additional cost to you. If you do purchase through one of my links, thank you so much for helping keep my blog content free for everyone to enjoy!

Here’s how I strung the table runner onto the curtain rod. If you try this yourself, play around with stringing it on until you get a look you like.

I really love how it turned out! 🙂 I’m sharing the tension curtain rods and curtain ring clips I used to hang the cafe curtain, which I made out of a vintage pillowcase. I’ll share how I made it in a future post.

I hope you enjoyed a thrifty way to upcycle old curtain rods! Please check out all the other awesome thrifty projects and decor from the other talented members of Thrifty Style Team through the links below!

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!