Introduction: Brushed Copper Curtain Rods From Plumbing Parts

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About: Passionate about a lot of things but especially making, tinkering, science and the outdoors. I love to learn about things by taking them apart. Bikes and astronomy are also some keen areas of interest in which…

We bought a house in 2020 (I know, right?!) and have been fixing it up with some much-needed updates. When we purchased, it had some blinds from the 80s that were in good condition but just very dated. My wife and I had always talked about having sweet copper plumbing pipe curtain rods and nice curtains, so I went through and added these to almost every window in our house. They make quite a difference and have really improved the look of our new place!

These are relatively simple to make and you don't need many tools - just a bit of time for finishing and clear-coating, and some planning. All components are plumbing parts that are widely available at most hardware stores. I'm very happy with how they turned out! I've seen some Pinterest pictures of other designs similar to this floating out there, but there was no clearly described way to make these so I thought I would share with the Instructables community some tips I learned along the way, and the technique for creating a uniform brushed copper look.

This Instructable is entered into the Home Decor Challenge. Share your pictures if you decide to make these!

Supplies

  • 1/2" copper pipe
  • All fittings are copper and 1/2" below, buy a contractor pack if you're making lots of rods
    • 90 degree elbows
    • Tee joints
    • Floor flanges
    • Threaded fitting for flanges
  • Drill, 5/16" drill bit and phillips screw bit
  • Tape measure
  • Tubing cutter
  • Hammer
  • Screwdriver
  • Adjustable wrench
  • Vinegar
  • Bucket
  • Gloves
  • Green scrubbing pads
  • Copper metallic spray paint
  • Clear coat enamel spray paint
  • Wall fasteners appropriate for the weight of curtains and rods
  • Curtain rings
  • Curtains

Step 1: Measure Up Wall and Plan Curtain Rod Length and Design

I learned a lot from my wife about the design and thinking around curtains to make them look nice. If they are really short and close to the window, it just doesn't look quite as striking. We decided for full length curtains ceiling to floor, with plenty of room on each side of the window in terms of rod length to be able to pull the curtain all the way to each side so that you don't see it from outside.

Additionally, consider whether you want sheer curtains, light blocking, or both. For some of our windows I did both, for others we only needed a single set of sheers. We purchased inexpensive curtains from Ikea online that were a bit long, then hemmed them to shorten the length to what we needed. For the larger windows in our house, we had to do two sets of the curtains (so, 4 total panels) to make it work.

For the smaller windows that were only using one set, I added about 20" to the overall rod length to accommodate for the curtains. For the larger windows with two sets, it was more like 30-40" to the overall length. If you have a run of over 4 feet in length, I recommend supporting in the middle with a tee-junction (see an alternate method for making a 4-way junction for double-rod assemblies below). This will prevent the rods from sagging. You might be able to use 3/4" pipe instead, or insert dowels to stiffen, but I didn't do this and our curtains were pretty heavy for the longer runs - all worked out okay.

Step 2: Cut Tubing

Once you've determined the lengths that you need for your curtain rods and your design, you'll need to cut all of the tubing. I bought some new, and also found some at our used home supply store where I live, Home Resource. If you can find old copper tubing that isn't to bent or dinged up, it will work fine - we'll be cleaning it all off very nicely, I even removed some old, thick paint from a few of my pieces.

If you're doing two sets of curtains, you'll need to double all of the lengths of tubing. You'll also need to cut extra pieces for the fittings that we'll be making to attach them to the wall.

For these wall fittings, I found that a good spacing with my rings and to get the curtains far away from the wall that they didn't drag was 2-11/16". This includes the 1/4" on each side or so that they push into the fittings. This is specific to your rings, really - if they are very big, two sets will knock against each other so be aware of that. Ours were a bit smaller, mabye 1-1/4" in diameter so this worked well.

Use a small tubing cutter to do this - it makes cutting a breeze, gets clean results, and you don't have to mess around with a hacksaw. I found that for the short pieces - of which I had to cut many - setting up the tubing cutter in my vise and using a combination square worked very well to make them all the same length. You can also cut one to a precise length and use as a template for the others. It's tricky to get them all very exact, but you have some tolerance in terms of differences between lengths that you can adjust for later. Try to make them as close as possible.

Step 3: Spray Paint Flanges

So that your flanges have time to allow the paint to cure properly, I'd paint them after cutting the tubing. Put down some paper to prevent overspray. If they are very greasy or oily, use denatured alcohol or some other light solvent to clean that off so your spray paint sticks. I used Rust Oleum Bright Metallic Finish Copper Gloss paint for this. It matched the copper tubing well.

You can go nuts with this and get some thick coats on the flanges, just be careful to try and not get much paint in the threads in the center. You only need to do the front, the back of the flange will be attached to the wall.

Step 4: Shine and Clean Copper Tubing

Sure, you could go full industrial and just leave the copper pipe in its original state from the hardware store. But, we are looking for a brushed copper look that keeps the bright, warm tones of the copper for these rods - it looks very clean and professional when you are done.

To get this look you'll need to take some vinegar, a green 3M/Scotch pad, and some gloves and clean the surface. I did this in my shower in the winter, outside in the summer - don't get too much on your grass, though, or it will kill it. I've heard that ketchup also works for making copper nice and bright, but it's way messier and more expensive!

You'll want to work the scrub pad lengthwise in the direction of the pipe - this will make all of those light scratches orient in the same direction to give it a brushed look. Don't rotate the scrub pad around the diameter of the pipes, or you'll get scratches in a pattern around the pipe that you'll have to scrub out.

Simply soak the pad in vinegar - I just dumped a bunch undiluted in a bucket - and scrub until all of the markings on the tubes or paint and light corrosion are gone. You'll end up with a beautiful, warm even brushed look after a bit. Rinse the vinegar off completely in your shower or outside - you don't want any inside or outside the tube, as it eats away at the surface of the pipes. If you're doing a lot of this at a time, probably rinse each pipe as you finish or else you will have to go back and scrub again as the vinegar can make some patterns where it etches the pipe if it stays on for too long.

I highly recommend wearing gloves for this unless you want your hands to smell like vinegar for days. I didn't do this process to the fittings at all, just the pipes.

Step 5: Dry Fit Rod Assemblies

Now it's time to start putting the rod assemblies together. Thread all of the adapters into your painted flanges. I had one that was stubborn, and just screwed it onto a scrap 2x4 temporarily to get better leverage. You can do this by hand but it helps to have a large adjustable wrench. Put all of the little pipes you cut into the fittings, and see if your rods line up across the fittings when set on a flat surface such as a smooth floor. If there's more than about 1/8" difference in their height, you'll want to adjust by threading or unthreading the adapter from the flange.

See photos for what the various fittings look like for each type of rod assembly.

I'll make one note here about the trickiest assembly to make - a 4-way center piece. For all the others, you don't have to do anything to your fittings. I had one double set of curtains that was a very long run of about 10 feet over a picture window, so needed to be supported in the middle. You can buy 4-way copper fittings that look like a plus sign on like Amazon but it's not something that I think is regularly used in plumbing, and they are kinda expensive.

I decided to try and drill a hole in the back of a tee to make it 4-way, then cut an extra long little pipe and JB weld it inside. This worked, but was a pain. If you have to do it, what worked for me was to center punch the back of the tee and put it in a machinist's vice, then drill out with a small diameter drill bit on the drill press, working up to my largest 1/2" bit. That was still a bit too small, so then I had to ream out a bit with a round file - a reamer would probably work too. It was very difficult to drill and file, these fittings are tough (or maybe my large drill bits are dull...) If I were to do again, I would maybe just thread a longer piece of copper pipe into a flange with the adapter, and mount it underneath the exact center of the window with the two longer rods running over the top, then finish with a cap on the end of the small pipe. Feel free to put other suggestions in the comments for ideas you may have!

Step 6: Glue Wall Fitting Assemblies

You'll want to glue some of the pieces together so that the whole thing doesn't fall apart. It's important to note that you DON'T want to glue the long rods into the fittings - they will just press fit. This is so you can get the rings on and off, adjust number of them, or switch out curtains in the future, etc.

Mix up some JB Weld - I used quick set, regular JB Weld is great too. I put inside the fittings, then pressed the tubes into it and wiped off any excess for a clean look. To make the double-rod assemblies so that the elbow and tee are flush, get them both glued on and then press against a flat surface so that the holes where the long pipes will enter are oriented parallel to each other.

Another note on orientation in this step - it helps to have the elbows and tees point between two of the mount screws on the flanges. If your pipe is coming out right above a screw, it's hard to attach it to the wall. If you forget or mess up, you can always thread/unthread the adapter on both of your fittings to achieve the proper orientation later.

Lastly, if you cut a bunch of the small tubes and some are a bit longer or shorter, you can always match them up according to length so that the two longest are paired together, the two shortest, etc. before you glue up.

Step 7: Assemble and Clear Coat

Once your JB Weld has cured, assemble the rods as they would be attached to the wall and then spray clear coat. Clean off with denatured alcohol or acetone or whatever solvent of choice to remove any fingerprints. I liked to do a good coat, then rotate the long pipes in the assemblies and do another to get the underside. 2 or 3 coats is good, make sure you get the tubes evenly coated and all of the fittings, and you can clear coat those spray painted flanges as well. If you miss any spots, that spot will turn the dark brown that copper gets over time when it oxidizes, so take care to get every part of these coated.

If you open/close your curtains every day you may want to do an extra coat on the longer pipes - it will wear off over time, but you can always remove and re-coat if that happens. Plus, it will be on the top where nobody can really see anyways.

Step 8: Attach to Wall and Put on Curtain Rings

Once your clear coat has cured completely - at least 48 hours - you're ready to attach to the wall! Measure and find the center of your window, then either place a tee joint fitting directly above that measurement if you needed one for your length of curtains, or determine equal placement of your end fittings.

You can use a level for this, but I honestly didn't - the ceilings in my house are old and not entirely level, so the rods would look crooked if they were level. I measured from the ceiling for the attachment of each fitting and this worked fine. I used my level as an extension straightedge to get a good measurement off the side of the window for the wall fitting placement close to the ceiling.

It helps to have a partner for this step (a human preferably, not a cat). Measure out and then place the assembled fitting onto the wall, having your helper hold the other end. Mark the four holes of the flanges with a pencil, then set the assembly aside. Drill out these holes and insert your drywall fasteners - I have plaster walls and really like these Toggler alligator-style fasteners, the screws that came with the 5/16" diameter ones were big enough for the flange holes and they hold a lot of weight. I used a 5/16" masonry bit and it always helps to have something to catch all of the plaster or drywall dust to make cleanup a bit easier.

Attach one of your assemblies - if you are doing a center assembly, do that one first. Once you get the first one attached, simply place the whole thing including the long rod up on the wall to mark the others for drilling and attachment. Put your curtain rings on or curtain loops before finishing each section! If you forget, it's pretty easy to take one side off by unscrewing from the anchors once you get all attached to the wall.

I'll note that attaching close to the ceiling like we did poses some challenges with regards to getting that top screw in - it's hard to get your drill or screwdriver in there for enough leverage. I have a flexible right-angle drill attachment that came in handy for this part.

Step 9: Hang Curtains

Once you get the rods up, simply attach your curtains to the rings and enjoy! If you ever need to change curtains or add anything, you can always unscrew from the wall anchors one section at a time to make adjustments or additions.