"Free" Curtain Rods


      I checked out curtain rods at the store today.  $25 per rod (for the ones I liked).  I just couldn't bring myself to pay $50 for the two rods I need in my upstairs loft yet.  Call me cheap.  The thing is, I know there are "free" rods
out in the woods.  It takes a little work to find a nice straight branch to make your new rod, but they do look neat, and you will get lots of compliments on them.  This works best for tab curtains so you can see through to the wood rod.


Box elder curtain rod for my curtain
 panels downstairs.  As long as it is fairly
straight, I love all the nooks and crannies.

 The rods I have downstairs are made out of box elder branches, which

gives me a beautiful blonde color.  Spring is the time to go find your branches

because if you want the bare wood look, the bark just strips off in big chunks



A small plant hanger works
 great for holding them up.



with hardly any work.  When people start putting out their maple syrup buckets you know that the sap is running.  That's when the bark is easiest to get off.  If you wait till the middle of summer that same bark will be "glued" to the wood, and you will be basically carving it off --- a whole lot more

work.

    





Works for me :-)



     How do you hold up the rods?  I buy cheap, ($4.00) short, plant hangers and put them

on the wall.  Walla  --  the rod sits in there beautifully.  If I had small children in the house that could possibly pull on the curtains and pull the whole bit down, I would somehow tie the rods down.  (Maybe with fishing line?)

      Try it, your curtain rods will have character.  If you don't live near a woods, maybe a

neighbor is trimming some trees?  Keep your eyes open, I bet before you know it you'll find something.