I’m not an interior designer. I have zero training and simply decorated my tiny house to my liking. That being said, I’ve received a lot of compliments on our interior design, so I decided to write a series of posts on interior design for tiny homes. Today I’m going to explain how to make my DIY copper curtain rods!

Interior design for Tiny Homes is a challenge, but perhaps that’s why it is also so rewarding!

I’ve been through dozens of tiny homes, and no two are alike. It’s obvious to me that tiny housers have gigantic imaginations. My design tips are merely suggestions. There are no limitations when it comes to creating your perfect tiny sanctuary. I created copper curtain rods to use throughout my tiny house. They are not only beautiful but also extremely easy to make, lightweight and fully customizable. I love them!

DIY COPPER CURTAIN RODS

I receive a lot of compliments on these copper curtain rods, and people often ask if they serve any other purpose. We did use copper pipes to cover a few exposed wires in our kitchen, but most of my DIY rods are simply decoration. I think they give the tiny house a steampunk / rustic vibe. 

These curtain rods are so easy to make!

All of the copper piping and fittings for these curtain rods can be purchased on Amazon or at any big box hardware store. Choose from a variety attachments and fittings and create your own design!

I used 1/2″ copper pipping and fittings. For the wall mount attachments, I used 1/2″ iron floor flanges (which I spray painted a copper color). Brass colored 1/2″ floor flanges are also available, but I couldn’t find any at the time. 

Materials Used:

• 1/2″ copper pipe
• 1/2″ copper elbow fittings
• 1/2″ copper tee fittings
• 1/2″ copper to male adaptor
• 1/2″ floor flange
• “Hammered Metal” colored spray paint

Tools needed:

• Tube cutter
• Screw driver / drill

How to make DIY copper curtain rods

1). After you’ve come up with a design, attached your wall mounts (the pre-spray painted floor flanges) pieces to your desired locations using screws. Make sure they are level with each other.

2). Screw the 1/2″ male adaptors into your wall mounts. No need to solder.

3). Cut a few 1-2″ pieces of copper pipping using a tubing cutter. These will be necessary to connect your adaptor to an elbow or tee fitting. Place these pieces in the end of your male adaptors with about a 1/2″ of access sticking out.

4). Attach your elbow or tee fittings to the small pipe pieces you’ve just placed inside your male adaptor. There is no need to solder. These will become snug when the rods are in place.

5). Measure your desired rod length. Make sure to leave space for your elbow or tee fittings.

6). Cut your copper pipping (the rods) to size using your tubing cutter. Be careful not to make them too short! You want them to fit snug. You can always trim if necessary.

7). Place your copper rods into the fittings. You may need to remove the fittings and reattach them to get a tight fit. Again, you don’t need to solder. Our copper curtain rods are not soldered and stay up when we are going down the road!

Or, you could do this cheaper option!

Copper pipping and fittings can be expensive. For a cheaper alternative, I used this same method for my shower curtain rod, only with PVC piping and fittings. To cover up the plastic look, I spray painted the rod silver. I also used the same floor flanges for ceiling mounts.

Unlike my copper curtain rods, this PVC rod was secured together before attaching it to the ceiling with PVC pipe glue, therefore it cannot be taken apart. I hang my shower curtain from hooks, so I can still remove my curtain when necessary.

Comments? Are you going to try this at home?

• Our Vintage Home Love, an excellent DIY vintage design blog, deserves the credit for my copper curtain rods. I was inspired by this post.
• You may also be interested in my DIY Copper Pipe Lamp tutorial