How To Make A Curtain Rod and Finials with a Tennis Ball
Here is a budget friendly window treatment that is easy to complete. In this post you will learn one way to make a curtain rod using PVC pipe along with two different ways to make decorative finials for the curtain rod.
The first curtain rod and final idea uses an actual wood finial and a creative hack, the other a tennis ball. Yes, a tennis ball! Keep reading to learn how to make these cost saving decorating ideas.
For the window in my guest room, I wanted a large diameter curtain rod. To keep the cost down, I opted to use a PVC pipe that cost me only $4.00 instead of a pre-made wood rod that would have costs much more.
How to Make a Curtain Rod Using a PVC Pipe
You can find white PVC pipes at any home improvement store in the plumbing dept. They come in many different diameters and lengths.
There are two types of PVC rods – lightweight and heavyweight. If you have a very long window span – get the heavier pipe. A heavier pipe will stay straight across the window and won’t bow down so no need to add a center support, otherwise the lightweight pipe will be fine.
The pipe I bought is a 1-1/4” diameter pipe. Cutting the pipe is easy with a simple hand saw.
Helpful Tip:
If you know the exact length rod you need, have the home improvement store cut it for you – one less step for you to do.
I used wood rod hanging brackets that I bought a thrift store to hang my PVC pipe curtain rod.
PVC pipe has writing on it. Depending on the manufacturer you may be able to remove the writing with nail polish remover.
You can spray some white primer over the pipe and then paint it any color you wish. I chose to keep my rods white and just turned the writing to the back so no one wold see it.
Clean any home improvement warehouse grime off using hot water and dish detergent.
How to Attach Ready Made Finials to PVC Pipe Curtain Rod
Finials known as the decorative ends of a curtain rod are where you can add your own personal style to the decor. I had leftover gilded finials in my basement from a past window treatment.
My finials had screws that are meant to screw into the end of wood rods. Since a PVC pipe is basically a hollow tube there was nothing to screw the finials into – time to come up with a way to make the finials work – corks and hot glue to the rescue.
1. Screw the cork on the finial.
2. The opening on my PVC pipe is 1-1/4” so I needed to cut another cork in half. Depending on the size of the pipe you use – you may not have to add more corks. I used a very sharp bread knife and laid the cork in a channel on my kitchen cutting board to cut the cork in half.
3. I then hollowed each half out with a nut pick. (I was in my kitchen and it was handy – it worked well.) You could use a craft knife – a Dremel drill with a bit that hollows out would work well also.
4. Glue the corks together, then push it into the end of the PVC pipe.
No one will ever know how you faked it out – except you.
How to Make a Curtain Rod Finial With a Tennis Ball
To make a curtain rod finial using a tennis ball, you will need 2 tennis balls – old ones that have lost their pep are much easier to cut than the brand new balls.
- Carefully jab the tennis ball with the closed tip of a pair of sharp scissors. Make another jab about 1-inch away from the first. Cut in between the two holes. Once you have that cut line you kind of keep digging your scissors in and cutting off more of the ball.
2. You want to make the hole a tiny bit larger than the diameter of the pipe.
3. Choose a fabric that will coordinate with your drapes.
4. Cut a 12-inch square of fabric and wrap it around the ball. Use your fingers to make sure the fabric pleats around the ball evenly. Push the excess fabric into the ball.
Then push the fabric covered tennis ball onto the end of the PVC pipe curtain rod.
More DIY Curtain Rod & Finial Ideas
Tennis balls and PVC pipe are not the only things you can use to make a affordable decorative finials and curtain rods.
I used glass door knobs to make these rod finials. You can read how do to is in this post, Doorknob Finials on an Industrial Pipe Curtain Rod. I liked how these doorknob curtain rod finials turned out that I made them again for another room, but using a store bought curtain rod.
Look around your house to see what you may have laying around that you could use as a finial?
There are many options – old door knobs for bigger rods – cabinet knobs for thin rods.
For more window treatment ideas check out my Window Treatment Project Gallery
