Foyer Drapery  - Industrial Rods DIY

Our foyer is unique.  At some point in the past, a previous cottage curator, chose to enclose a portion of the "L" shaped porch.  This creative curator also added on to one side of the porch, creating a bump out, lined with French windows - 16' long.  The bump out paired with the original porch, forms a charming foyer; covered in lap board, bead board, an angled ceiling, original porch post, and period doorframe. 





When it came time to consider a window treatment, locating a 16' long rod, proved challenging, and expensive.  While I love all things French, it can get a little fussy and formal. My heart, set upon faux silk, solid bronze colored drapery panels knew the over all design would be formal.  We have six windows, I feared the drapes would resemble ball gowns lined up waiting for a dance partner.  Dilemma; with the exterior lap board, original porch post, and various rustic finishes in the room, I felt the rod needed an edge. 





I decided to make a drapery rod using PVC pipe, electrical conduit cleats, and large "eye" bolts for mounting.  I felt the PVC pipe would be light in weight, inexpensive, and can be purchased in a twenty foot length; allowing a single rod for the entire expanse of the 16' wall. 








Our inherited chandeliers, and  constructed foyer fixture, are finished in oil rubbed bronze  Wanting the rods to coordinate with the chandeliers, I sprayed painted the PVC pipe, and mounting components with Rustoleum, "Oil Rubbed Bronze". 








Plastic PVC pipe laid out and being painted.




The electrical cleats were already a bronze color, the eye bolts, nuts, and washers all needed to be painted. We purchased PVC end caps to finish off the end of the rods, they too needed a coat of paint.





To mount the PVC pipe, "rods" to the window frames; we decided on electrical conduit 1/2" cleats, paired with eye bolts, having  an "eye" large enough for the PVC pipe to pass through.  In order to combine the eye bolts, and 1/2" cleats, we used 1/2" nuts, and 1" washers; applying a washer and nut on either side of the cleat, tightening them down to form a rod mount.  The cleats have four holes, allowing us to screw the mounts to the wall.





The painted eye bolt, 1/2" cleat, washers and 1/2" nuts above. Then connected below.





In keeping with the industrial scheme, I chose simple oil bronze, clip rings to attach the drapes to the rod.




The mounts must be installed first, using four drywall screws.




There's a tricky bit to this.  Because we were working with a long wall, and running the rods into the corners of the room; the drapery rings had to be loaded on to the road before mounting.  I wanted each drape to have 8 rings. The two center window drapes will have the bracket mounts in the middle of the drapes, 4 rings on each side of the mount.   I loaded 4 rings, a mount, 8 rings (for the center of the rod, 4 rings times two drapes), a mount, then four rings. Confused? I was too.




Installed rods, making it around the back corner of the room. 






The longest wall, 16 feet, required four mounts; one at each end, and one in between each window.  Because the rods would run from corner to corner, there was no space in the room to feed the rod through the drapery mounts.  We installed the end mounts first, one in each corner. We then added the remaining two mounts to the rod, along with the rings, allowing them to dangle from the PVC pipe. We raised the pipe to the wall running each end of the rod through the corner mounts.  Once the pipe was suspended by the corner mounts, it swaged due to the weight of the mounts dangling about in the center.   We quickly installed each center mount between the two windows, pulling the rod up straight, and in place from corner to corner.  






Rods installed at front corner of the room, alongside the front door. 




Detail of drapery rod end; showing mount, end cap, and rings.




Detail of one of the center mounts, between two windows.  4 rings on either side of the mount, half of the drapery will be on the right of the mount, and half of the drapery on the left.





We ran our rods around a corner.  In the corner the same thing happens; 4 rings on the outside of each mount.  The drape is split; half to left (side wall), and half next to the front door (front wall).  There are no rings in the actual corner, the drape angles around the corner. 



It's a sticky wicket! My advice, think your design through. Determine how many rings you plan to use on each drape.  Lay the rod out on the floor with the mounts, determine if you need center mounts, then load your rod as it lies upon the floor.  Hopefully, you will not be mounting the full length of the room, in to a corner. The project would be much simpler on a normal window configuration.

 

The rods are up.  The drapes are in production.  I'll keep sewing.  I have motivation; the furniture and accessories planned for the foyer, landed in the dining room. Hopefully, I'll get this mess sorted out over the weekend, and have a reveal for Monday. 






heavy sigh....


Until next time, wishing you all the best -






Comments

  1. One of the most common hardware items that are being used in Ireland as well as other countries are the nuts and bolts. Both these types of hardware items fall in the category of fasteners.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What size are the eye bolts?

    ReplyDelete

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