7 Creative Curtain Rods You Can Make

Pruners, a relatively straight tree branch, white spray paint -- voila! A nature-inspired, functional work of art. Use tie-top curtains to adjust for the curves of the branch -- no rings or clips needed.

Glue decorative bone-inlay orbs to 1-1/2-inch wood rings (ours are wood toy wheels from a crafts store) and glue onto a 7/8-inch-diameter dowel painted black.

Saw off part of two trowel handles and insert them into a 1-inch-diameter PVC pipe. Leave one trowel unglued so you can slide on curtain rings or clips.

Select the thicker piece of a two-part bamboo fishing rod. Glue lures (snip off the barbs first) to ring clips. The finials? Orange poly stringer, floats, and more lures.

Hang a hockey stick on hidden brackets. The puck look-alikes are shower curtain hooks we painted black, then squeezed with pliers for a snug fit.

Attach red-handle boiler valves with adapters to a 3/4-inch galvanized pipe and floor flanges. Secure the flanges to wall studs. The rings are steel clamps.

Cut a doorknob set in half, and push each knob into a plastic plug of a curtain rod you've wrapped with ribbon. (You may need to carefully enlarge the plug openings with a drill.)