Acrylic curtain rods with brass hardware… could there be a more gorgeous combination?! If you’re looking for curtain rods that add style and glamour to your home, they’re it! I hung acrylic curtain rods and patterned drapes above the large window in our home office and couldn’t be happier with the new look of this space.
Today I’m sharing everything you need to know about acrylic curtain rods and all of your options for DIYing and buying them. Let’s get to it… (post includes affiliate links; full disclosure statement available {here})
Want to first see how they look in our home office? I wish I could have you all over to see the acrylic curtain rods in person because the pics honestly don’t do them justice:
Sources: Desk (similar) | Upholstered chair (similar) | Rug | Semi flush mount ceiling light | Drapes – no longer available
I love how they stand out against our black walls and add a touch of glam! Before I decided to go with acrylic curtain rods, I did my research to make sure they would be able to span our long window without sagging and. that they would hold up over time. Here’s what I found through my research and also my own personal experience.
Are All Acrylic Rods the Same Quality?
Nope! There are two basic types of acrylic – cast acrylic and extruded acrylic. Cast acrylic is made by pouring the acrylic liquid ingredients into molds where it hardens as it cools. Extruded acrylic is made by pushing acrylic mass through a form to produce a seamless shape (think Playdoh Fun Factory if you’re old enough to remember that!).
Which is better? Cast acrylic is the superior type of acrylic and much more expensive than extruded acrylic. It’s stronger, clearer, more rigid, and won’t break down or yellow when exposed to sunlight. Definitely the better choice for curtain rods and what I went with for mine:
Where Can I Buy Acrylic Curtain Rods?
I bought my acrylic rod from Nationwide Plastics (now Curbell Plastics) {here}. They sell the higher quality cast acrylic at a less expensive price than you can get at a design shop because you’re skipping the middle man. Their rods come in lengths up to 96″ long with diameter options ranging from 0.5″ to 2″. I usually choose 1″ curtain rods, but ordered a 1 ½″ acrylic rod in this case, figuring it would be more rigid and less likely to bend under the weight of heavy drapes. While you have to buy the full rod from Curbell, they will cut the rod to the specific length you want.
What if you need a rod that’s greater than 96″? You’ll need to splice two rods together. Curbell Plastics can machine a special end that allows the two rods to connect for an additional (not cheap!) fee. It’s best to put this joint in the middle so that it’s hidden by a center bracket (for ex., if you need a 120″ rod, join two 60″ rods so the joint is in the middle).
You’ll also need to decide whether you’re going to use end caps on your rods or not because if not, you’ll want to select the option with polished ends that’s an additional $15.
Another option for high quality cast acrylic rods is the Etsy shop Lux Holdups that you can find {here}. Their rods are more expensive but they’re one stop shopping and have a gorgeous product. Your brackets are included with the rod (you have your choice of polished brass, satin brass, polished nickel, and satin nickel), the rod ends are polished so you don’t have to add end caps unless you want to, and they sell curtain rings {here} that are a perfect finish match to the brackets. They also sell rectangular curtain rods {here} with rectangular rings {here} which I think are super cool:
Other sources include acrylic rod and bracket sets from Ballard Design {here} and Amazon {here}. They don’t note the type of acrylic their rods are made from. If any of you have tried either of these, please share your thoughts!
Where I Bought My Rings, Brackets, & End Caps
If you buy your acrylic curtain rod from Curbell Plastics, you’ll need to source your rings, brackets, and end caps on your own. I chose polished brass for my metal finish. I needed three support brackets (two on the ends and one in the middle) and went with the Lavi Industries 00-340/1H brass railing brackets that you can find {here} and {here}. These supports fit my 1.5″ rod perfectly!
I used these brackets to hang my acrylic rod about halfway between the top of the window molding and the bottom of the the crown molding. See my post on how high to hang curtains for more tips on the best height to hang your own acrylic rods.
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I bought my 2 ¼″ polished brass curtain rings from Van Dyke’s Restorer’s {here} – they are the perfect size for a 1 ½″ rod.
The price on these curtain rings has gone up a lot since I bought them so you might want to shop around a little for less expensive polished brass rings. {These 2″ gold curtain rings} that I used for a different project might be worth a try.
I bought {these 2″ end caps} that were a little looser than I would have liked so I put some double-sided duct tape on the inside which worked fine for keeping them in place (and FYI, the 1 ½″ end caps of this style were too small so don’t try those!):
Since they didn’t fit as snuggly as I’d like, the next time I buy acrylic rod hardware, I would go a different route and instead order {these end caps} or {these end caps} that are sized to fit a 1 ½″ rod perfectly.
Be aware that a brass finish from one manufacturer can be different from the brass finish of another manufacturer so when you piece your hardware together from different shops, they probably won’t match perfectly. If that’s going to bother you, pay a little more and get your brackets, rings, and endcaps all from one place such as {this Etsy shop}. Or you can use one of the many Rub ‘n Buff colors on everything so they’re all one unified color.
Will My Acrylic Rod Sag Over Time
I had our acrylic rods for over five years before we moved from this house and can happily report that they held up really well. There was a barely noticeable sag between the brackets a few years after I got my rods so I simply rotated the rod in the brackets 180 degrees and that totally took care of it. Also, there was no yellowing of the acrylic during that five years. I would absolutely buy the same acrylic rods again!
So what do you all think? Are acrylic rods for you?
Yvette says
Hoping you still have this active even though its been a couple years. I bought my pole, the hardware and end caps for my curtains. Received and I am so excited to put up. My only issue is I bought the 1 1/2″ thick pole and it seems that its hard to find an end cap that fits this size. Did you buy the 1 1/2 or 2″ size from Van Dykes because they now offer both. I wonder if these were ( like every where else) originally to fit inside a tube for banisters and maybe you bought the 2″. I had to return one set already that I bought from another site that were 2″ and way too big and could not be used at all. Thanks for the help and for taking this diy a whole other notch. I am looking through fabrics on the same site you got yours. I’m in love so many options!!
Kris Jarrett says
Hi Yvette! Yes the 1 1/2″ end caps are too small to fit a 1 1/2″ rod – I used 2″ end caps and they are a little too big so that’s why I used the double stick duct tape. The good news is that they don’t look too big and they’ve never fall off in the two years that I’ve had them.
Yvette says
I did find an etsy shop who sells exact 1.5 inch caps but they are a bit pricey ($30 each , highly robbery!) if anyone wants to try that option if not slightly bigger is okay as long as it isn’t huge like my last ones were. Do you mind explaining how you got your curtains made? I want to get a fabric and take to a shop but don’t even know where to begin. How do you know what to hooks to buy and from where? How do you know what to ask for? How many circles do you need to hang? Thanks for all the wisdom this might be a ton of info maybe a future post idea.
Kris Jarrett says
Hi Yvette! I had mine made by someone local and they helped make all of those decisions! The main things you have to figure out for yourself are how full you want your drapes and how you’d like the top of the drapes done (like a simple pinch pleat or something else). The person making the drapes will typically add the hooks themselves and tell you how many rings you’ll need!
Allyson says
Thank you for this post!!!! I “ordered” a set of these rods from well known company on line and after I ordered them I realized the ship date was February! I came across your post and I am going to try to DYI! I bet your version will come out far better quality than the ones I will be stopping my order on! Stay tuned!…..
Kris Jarrett says
Good luck! I’ve been really happy with mine!
Elizabeth Kay says
I love this idea! How did you attach the curtain rings? Are they sewn on? Just wondering how I could take the curtains down to wash them. Thanks 🙂
Kris Jarrett says
Hello! My curtains have hooks sewn into them at the top that hook onto a little loop at the base of my rings. I wouldn’t be able to throw them in the wash because of the hooks but my drapery fabric isn’t machine washable anyway – they are easy to take down for dry cleaning though!
Kris Jarrett says
Hi Debbie – I actually just used double sided duck tape to stick the two ends together. I figured that was enough for them to not jiggle apart and it’s worked just fine. I didn’t want to glue mine together because then I’d never be able to take them down if I wanted to without removing all of the drapery hardware along with the rods. Hope that helps!
Joy says
Hi,
Thanks so much for sharing this tutorial. I have two questions for you:
1) was the acrylic a tight fit through the brackets, to where you had to be careful how you moved it through the bracket to avoid scratching the acrylic and
2) do you think end caps that were the exact size of the rod would be easily removeable to where you could take them off when you wanted to switch out which curtains you had up? I may purchase tube curtains without the hooks…
Kris Jarrett says
Hi Joy – the acrylic isn’t too tight of a fit in the bracket – I’ve never had any concerns about scratching it. As far as the end caps, the 1 1/2″ end caps (in the same style that I used) actually don’t fit the rod – they are too small. The size that I used is the smallest that will work with the 1 1/2″ rod. Hope that helps!
Eileen says
Do u make lucite shower curtain rods for a standard 60″ bathtub?
Do u have lucite shower curtain rings?
Kris Jarrett says
Eileen, I don’t cell the acrylic rods directly but if you contact Nationwide Plastics I’m sure they can help you out – they will cut acrylic rods to the exact size you need.
Jean from Georgia says
I feel a room redo in the works. Love, love, love the rods!!!
Kris Jarrett says
Thanks Jean – they really make a difference in a space!
Kris Jarrett says
Thanks Annslee! I actually tried the 1.5″ end caps first and they were too small – they are the exact same size as the rod so they won’t fit over it. Since I ordered my curtain rings from Van Dykes, I just ordered the end caps from them too and didn’t look at other places like buyrailings but they look like the same thing!
Annslee Hillyer says
I appreciate your response. Thanks so much!
Bree says
Love this Rod so much and thanks for the info on how you put all of this together!! Looks amazing in your soace against those dark walls????
Ren says
This is stunning! I will be doing this when the good Lord blesses us with a house to settle into. I am just floored by how sophisticated, sleek, stylish, classy, sassy and a host of other words this looks. Job well done!
Kris Jarrett says
Thanks so much! They are definitely the most glam drapery rods in our house!
Christiane says
I have a question about the brass brackets – looks like they stick out from the wall (pardon my expert language) only about 2 inches. Other brackets (meant for curtains) are generally 4″ or so… Do you find that really close to the wall like that is a problem?
Kris Jarrett says
Hi Christiane! The measurement from the wall to the center of the hole that the rod goes through is 2 3/8″. It definitely hasn’t been any problem in our space. The only issue that I could see would be if you have window molding or sills that project quite a bit from the wall – our window molding is only about 3/4″ deep all the way around so there’s still plenty of room for the drapes to be pulled back and forth on the rod.
Sharon says
I have been searching for acrylic rods and brackets to use as a handrail for the stairs leading to our basement. I really liked your curtain rod with the brass brackets in the office. Question – Is the rod fixed (non-moveable) when attached to the bracket? Or does the bracket screw directly into the acrylic rod? Enjoyed your website.
Kris Jarrett says
An acrylic and brass handrail would be beautiful!! For my drapes, the acrylic rod is not in any way attached or fixed to the brass brackets. The brackets are actually meant to be used as part of a railing system though. I would think that you’d just need to use an end bracket (that has a cap to keep the rod in place) at the bottom of your rail and it would work.
Nancy Powell {at} Powell Brower Interiors says
Kris, I adore your office! Love the space, bright and dark, bold and chic-all at the same time. Thanks for the DIY sources for the rods- Yours are the least expensive ones I have found. Great help!!! xo Nancy
Kris @ Driven by Decor says
Thank you Nancy! Acrylic is surprisingly expensive stuff!
Julie says
This room is a stunner! That drapery hardware against the black wall is gorgeous. And I love your subtle use of color in the space!
Kris @ Driven by Decor says
Thanks so so much Julie!
kate@willowinteriors says
Aside from my children, that is absolutely the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!! BTW, I am totally stealing this idea!!!! Beautiful!!!!
Kris @ Driven by Decor says
You crack me up! I’m pretty smitten with the gold, lucite, and black combo myself. Will love seeing how they look in your home!
Tiina says
Oh my, those rods are amazing! Now I can’t think of anything else for our living space! Just managed to track down a supplier of acrylic tubes in Germany, I think I’ll order some tubes 🙂
Have a wonderful day!
Tiina / Stockholm Sweden
Kris @ Driven by Decor says
So glad you were able to find some of the acrylic rods – you will love them!!!