Repurposing Curtain Hardware Five Ways

Happy Friday! Time for the Friday Five. Today, I’m going to show you projects repurposing curtain hardware five ways!

Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of teaching a DIY class at the Atlanta Habitat for Humanity ReStore. I teach DIY classes there every few months (for example, I taught a class on how to breathe new life into old dining chairs). I focus on repurposing items in the ReStore into new, functional, and fun pieces for the home.

My challenge for this class was repurposing curtain hardware – curtain rings, curtain rods, tiebacks, and more – into functional home decor. Challenge accepted! Here are the five projects repurposing curtain hardware!

1. Scarf and Tie Holder

Photo credit: Cher Hains

The project we made in the DIY class was this scarf and tie holder. We made it from a 1-inch-diameter curtain rod, curtain rings, and jute twine (although you can use sisal, cotton, or any other twine that’s tie-able). Here’s how to make it:

First, cut the curtain rod (or, if you don’t have a curtain rod, a wooden dowel) down to the size you want. We cut the rods and dowels down to 17 inches long, so that it was about the length of a regular-sized hanger. You can cut the rods using a miter saw, circular saw, or even a hand saw (or, if you buy the dowels at Home Depot, they will cut them for you, so long as there is at least 10 in. remaining on each piece – FYI).

Next, cut the twine. Cut pieces to 36-inch lengths. Cut as many pieces as you have rings, because you’re going to tie them to the rod and to each other, when they can’t be hooked together, with the twine.

Photo credit: Cher Hains

If the curtain rings have hooks on them, like the ones in the above picture, then you can hook the rings together (rather than tie them together with twine). To do this, take pliers (needle-nose ones work better here) and open one of the hooks’ loops. Slide the other hook/loop into it, then close the one that was open. If you need to turn the hook a quarter turn to make them line up, that’s fine. They should now be hooked together (as they are in the above picture).

I hooked the rings together first, before tying them to the rod. It’s just easier this way, because then you aren’t trying to maneuver the whole rod with the first ring tied to it while you are hooking the second ring to it.

To tie the ring to the rod, first, knot the twine around the curtain rod. Then, loop the twine around the ring and rod together, until you have about a five-inch length of twine left. Then, wrap the twine around the space between the ring and the rod – the looped twine that you just created. Tie the end to the piece that you originally tied to the rod. That should secure the ring to the rod.

Make sure that you tie it tightly, but leave a little give so that the rings still can move.

Do this for as many rows and columns of rings as you want!

Photo credit: Cher Hains

To hang it, take another length of twine, and either (1) tie each end of the twine to the rod to create a half-loop you can hang on a hook or rod; or (2) run the twine under each loop you created when you attached the rings to the rod, and then tie the ends together to create the half-loop to hang.

What I love about this project is that it’s totally customizable to your space and hanging needs. You could even paint it to customize the color.

You can also hot-glue hooks or clips to each ring and hang photos or art from it, or use it as a jewelry holder. The options are unlimited!

Photo credit: Cher Hains

Look at these amazing ladies who DIY’ed with me on Saturday!

OK, four more projects…

2. Craft Paper or Paper Towel Holder

For this project, you will need two curtain rod holders and a curtain rod or dowel cut to the size you want (I cut mine to 24 inches).

Gail from My RePurposed Life suggested this project when I told her that I was teaching a class on repurposing curtain hardware.

All you do is attach the curtain rod holders to a cabinet door, or a scrap piece of wood if you are hanging it on a wall or door. Then put the roll of paper (whether craft paper or paper towels) on the rod/dowel and put the dowel into the rod holders.

You’ll never lose your grocery list again!

I used chalkboard paper for my rolled paper, but you could use craft paper or butcher paper.

3. Bookend Made from Finial

The ReStore had buckets of finials, so I turned one into a bookend!

This is a super-easy project you can do with wood scraps you may already have! I just found two scrap pieces of 2×4 pine. I drilled a hole through the middle of the one that would be the base of the bookend, and screwed a long deck screw into the wood to hold the finial.

Then, I added a bead of hot glue to the end of the screw and screwed the finial into it. I then screwed the side piece into the base piece, using wood screws. Predrill your holes so that the wood doesn’t split!

Sand lightly, then paint. I used Rust-Oleum Chalked Spray Paint in Country Gray. The spray paint worked really well, because it covered evenly. Brushed chalky-finish paint just didn’t go on evenly enough. The spray was perfect. Covered perfectly with about three light coats.

4. Coat or Towel Rack from Repurposed Tie-Backs

Mindi, who blogs at My Love 2 Create and as a contributor at My RePurposed Life, created a functional towel rack for her kids out of curtain tie-backs and scrap wood. The ReStore had curtain tie-backs for about $1.50, so I decided this would be a perfect project to do!

I just found a piece of reclaimed wood in my scrap pile (you can find reclaimed, scrap wood at the ReStore, at estate sales, at salvage yards, even in trash piles!), and screwed the tie-backs into it from the back of the wood. Add D-rings to hang, and you’ve got an easy-to-make towel hanger rack.

I need to add cute letters or numbers to the wood piece.

5. Jewelry!

This project was done by reader and DIY class friend Mistie. She turned curtain rings into jewelry!

Photo credit: Cher Hains

How awesome is that?!? She made earrings and a pendant necklace, wrapping the curtain rings in beautiful, brightly colored thread.

The ReStore has tons and tons of curtain hardware just waiting for you! So get creating! Happy weekend, friends!!

FYI: Rust-Oleum provided me with the spray paint used on the bookend but not specifically for this project. For my full disclosure policy, please click HERE.