Choosing A Drapery Rod For Faux-Finished Or Custom Stained Treatments

Think about the drapery rods construction if you choose to paint or faux-finish your treatment yourself. Different rods styles are required for either paint or stain.

If you're after a totally custom look for your window treatment, getting an unfinished drapery rod and painting or staining it yourself is a terrific method to try. You'll need to completely plan out exactly what kind of pole you're planning on buying, plus - consider the style of finish you're going to use before you begin a project like this. All drapery rods are not created equal. To determine if a pole is appropriate for your project, you'll want to learn more about the drapery poles construction.

For a custom stain finish, make sure the drapery rod you choose is made from a solid piece of wood. Many shoppers don't understand that low-cost department store or home improvement store drapery rods are typically made from several pieces of wood joined together. The joints used to mend several pieces of wood together presents a major problem if you want to add your own stain. However, for a pre-finished rod, it's not a big issue. Combining wood with finger joints is the most common technique used when joining several sections together to create a drapery pole. When painted or faux-finished, these joints disappear, but if you stain over finger joints, they really get noticed. It will completely ruin your finish if you try to stain a wood pole with finger joints because the joints will soak up more stain than the rest of the pole and seem very dark. Thoroughly examine your unfinished drapery hardware to make certain it doesn't have any finger joints. Ask the supplier about the construction of the pole before you decide to buy it if you're still uncertain.

If you're going to create a fabric wrap treatment, getting a lower cost wood dowel from a do-it-yourself store to use for your drapery rod may be a possibility. You can save a lot of money by selecting a wood dowel, but you have to be sure that the treatment you're making will totally cover the dowel. Most wood dowels aren't made from top quality cuts of wood and they may have a rough overall look that's certainly not appropriate for stain or paint. In addition, a frequent problem with wood dowels is warping or bowing after a while. As the wood ages and cures, the dowel may distort. However, as long as the bowing is nominal, the fabric wrapped all around it will disguise this flaw. These pieces really aren't supposed to be used in a decorative window treatment and they may not hold up well as time passes. So, bear this in mind when you consider the wood dowel alternative.

One of the best ways to highlight your own personal touch for your curtain hardware is to faux-finish or stain a drapery pole. When you faux-finish or paint, pretty much any unfinished curtain pole will do just fine. The paint process will disguise any finger joints, so shopping for a less expensive drapery pole is certainly an option for faux-finishing. Don't forget that most of the accent items you're going to need are going to be made out of resin in most cases. Paint or stain typically looks slightly different when used on resin items.

When you decide to paint or stain your wooden drapery pole yourself, it's very easy to get exactly what you want. Just don't forget the few suggestions regarding pole construction when you purchase your unfinished pole. Plus, to ensure you get everything just the way you want, see if you can get a pole slightly bigger than you actually need. Cut the pole to your finished size and use the extra pieces for refining your stain or paint technique.