If you're after a completely custom look for your window treatment, finding an unfinished drapery rod and painting or staining it yourself is a fantastic technique to try. You need to thoroughly plan out exactly what kind of pole you're going to buy and think about the style of finish you're going to use before you begin a project such as this. All drapery rods are not created equal. To find out if a pole is suitable for your project, you'll need to find out more about the drapery poles construction.

Make certain that the drapery pole you pick out is constructed from a solid piece of wood if you're going to use a custom stain. Inexpensive department store or home improvement store curtain rods are frequently made out of several wood pieces joined together; a point that a lot of customers are not aware of. The joints used to mend several pieces of wood together present a huge problem if you would like to use your own stain. But, for a pre-finished rod, it's no problem. Joining wood with finger joints is the most popular technique used when combining several sections together to make a drapery rod. These joints become undetectable when painted, but the opposite is true if you stain them. Staining a wood pole with finger joints can make the perimeters of the joint very noticeable and it will ruin your stain finish. Thoroughly study your unfinished drapery rod to make certain it does not have any finger joints. Ask the manufacturer about the construction of the pole before you buy it if you're still not sure.

If you're going to create a fabric wrap treatment, getting a lower cost wood dowel from a home improvement store to use for your drapery pole may be an alternative. If you're certain that the treatment you want to make will totally cover the dowel, you can save lots of money by choosing this option. Wood dowels may have a rough look that's definitely not suitable for stain or paint since they're not produced from high grade cuts of wood. In addition, a consistent problem with wood dowels is bending or bowing over time. The dowel might distort as the wood ages and dries out. Nonetheless, the fabric wrapped all around it will hide this flaw as long as the bowing is nominal. Keep in mind, even though buying a wood dowel may be a possibility, these pieces really aren't intended to be used in a decorative window treatment and they may not hold up effectively with time.

Painting or faux-finishing a drapery pole is one of the best ways to add your own touch to your curtain hardware. When you faux-finish or paint, almost any unfinished drapery pole will do just fine. The painting process will hide any finger joints, so shopping for a cheaper drapery rod is certainly an option for faux-finishing. Always remember that the majority of the accent items you're going to need will probably be made out of resin in most cases. Paint or stain typically looks a little bit different when applied to resin items.

Having precisely what you would like is really easy when you decide to stain or paint your wooden curtain rod. Just remember the few tips about pole construction when you purchase your unfinished pole. And, to ensure you get everything just the way you want, see if you can get a pole a bit larger than you actually need. Trim off the excess and use the drop-off to experiment with your paint or stain technique.