DIY Bay Window Curtain Rod

It all started with curtains.  I saw these curtains on some blogs and a tv show and knew I HAD to have them.  

So I went on the hunt.  I found out that they were sold at Target so I ran over there one day thinking I would pick some up.  SOLD OUT.  I called other Targets in nearby towns. SOLD OUT. I thought surely I could order them online. NOPE.  The color that I wanted was... SOLD OUT.  I called my mom who lives 12 hours away to help.  She was able to get a hold of one panel. After months and months of waiting and stalking Target every day that a new shipment came in, I FINALLY got a hold of another panel.  I bought two just in case. 

That was a year ago. You would think that when I finally got my hands on them that I would put them up right away. Nope. They sat in my closet for an entire year.  I knew that I wanted to put them in my dining nook bay window but did not want to fork over the cash for the bay window curtain rod.  I had read some DIY tutorials but thought they looked too complicated.  Last weekend, I decided to try it. I'm not sure why I waited so long.  This turned out to be so easy.



Here's how you can make your own bay window curtain rod.

Measure the distance along the wall from the outside of one window casing to the outside of the other casing.  Allow for any overhang that you want.

Purchase this length of metal conduit at your local home improvement store.

Measure from the outside of the casing to the first bend in the wall.  Place a mark on the conduit. Do this for the other end of the conduit also. This is where you will bend your rod.

Make a template out of cardboard, a nail and a clip. Use this template to measure the exact angle of the bend. Adjust it to the correct angle and secure with the clip.

Now to bend the conduit:  you will need help with this.  Have one person hold one end on the floor and have the other person bend the other end. Use your foot for leverage when you bend it.  Bend it until it matches the angle of your cardboard template.

Everyone needs a little helper :)

After you bend your conduit, hang it up to make sure that you have it exactly the way you want it. You may have to do some more bending to adjust it a bit.



After you have your conduit exactly the way you want it, spray paint it to match the other rods in your house, if needed. I spray painted my conduit an oil rubbed bronze color to match the 

curtain rods in my living room. 

The hardest part was finding finials to fit the ends of the conduit.  The finials that we had on hand were too small but the rod that they were attached to was just the right size to slip into the end of the conduit.  We simply cut the rod and slid it into the end of the conduit.  

Here is my window before:

And here is my window after:

I think it looks better all dressed up, don't you? 

The cost of this project was less than $10!  A couple bucks for the conduit and about 7 bucks for the spray paint.  We had everything else on hand.

Now I just have to figure out how to revamp that ugly light fixture!