I’m excited to share my thrifty window hardware hacks and the big reveal of my GWtW – inspired parlor curtain project with you today!
In the Hobby Lobby clearance section, I picked up these gorgeous antique-y cast-iron cabinet pulls for .99 cents apiece:
I decided this would be perfect to hold curtain tie backs. Check out this awesome tutorial that I (and by I, I MEAN Paul) followed for attaching the cabinet pulls to the wall with cheap and readily available hanger bolts and plastic anchors!
For the tie backs themselves, I picked up a few yards of ball fringe that coordinated with the special-order trim I chose for the curtain edge:
To make the tie backs, I cut the fringe into 20.5 inch pieces, and hot glued 9.5 inch loop of twine to each end. Easy peasy.
I did not have curtain rods heavy-duty enough to hold the velvet curtains, and I was not into spending another $30 or more per window on new rods. Luckily, over the summer, I discovered the magic that is ½ inch electrical conduit pipes at Home Depot. These are beyond thrifty at around $3.50 for a 10-foot pipe, and best of all, if you ask nicely, they will cut them to size for you. I used them to hang my porch curtains this summer, and they worked wonderfully after a quick spray paint.
The rods also conveniently fit into a standard curtain rod bracket, and luckily, I had lots of brackets on hand, left behind by the previous owners of my house. I measured my windows, including trim, and added a few inches on each side. I decided I need 45-inch lengths of pipe for each 42-inch wide window.
But what to do about finials? The flash of inspiration came as I was putting away Christmas décor – I bet the Dollar Tree ball ornaments I bought this year (@ 8 ornaments for a buck!) would be a good fit, especially if spray painted the same color as the conduit rods and brackets. On to Home Depot to test my theory, with a sample ornament tucked in my purse.
Guess what? Perfect fit! I explained my plan to the nice HD employees who were patiently cutting the conduit down into 45-inch pieces for me. The response was classic:
“Hey, she’s – pretty smart. She must work at Lowe’s”
I also picked up a can of Rust-Oleum Forged Hammered Burnished Amber Spray Paint, which I used to paint the rods, finials and brackets. All together, the tab was less than $15 for three curtain rods including paint. Score!
Attaching the ornaments to the rod wasn’t the easiest. I have too much faith in E-6000 glue. That alone could not bond the ornament to the rod. What worked better was taking a wine cork, shaving it down to size, cutting a slit in the side, adding glue the end of the ornament and fitting it into the slit, then stuffing the cork into the rod. Its not a perfect system. But seeing as how it will not be touched or messed with, I anticipate it will hold just fine. I used curtain rings that I already had on hand to attach the curtains to the rod, and slid those on to the rod before I inserted the finials.
Once my lovely, lovely trim arrived in stock after a painful 2-week wait, I gleefully picked it up and got to gluing it on the inside edges of my curtains. The Hobby Lobby staff recommended a pricey fabric glue that the jury is still out on. I think I could have gotten away with hot glue.
And how did Paul handle us spending $50 on totally beautiful but entirely unnecessary trim? Better than expected! He saw the pure glee and he understood. Happy wife, happy life, etc.
I did a bit of a faux pinch-pleat effect by pinching in a bit of curtain fabric as I attached each curtain ring. I used 6 rings per panel, or 12 rings per window. I love the effect of curtain rings – it makes the finished product look much richer and more custom.
After an afternoon’s work (supervising Paul) hanging the rods as close to the ceiling as possible, and installing the tie backs, here’s the big reveal:
Altogether, I covered three Victorian over-sized windows in fanciness, with hardware (and fringe) included, for under $300! Fiddle-dee-dee is that a deal!
Old, Pretty, and Slightly Broken 