I had hoped my first experience with choosing curtains and installing a rod would go smoothly. I should have realized – especially after reading other blogs – that sometimes, things just don’t go as planned. Of course, this is not a huge deal but, I’ve been anxiously waiting until I could get this done and now that I can, it does not work. It’s OK tough, it’s a learning experience.
I purchased these curtains from JCP in Tawny Brown for the French patio doors along with some Allen Roth finials, curtain brackets and rod all in Walnut color from Lowe’s. I like everything, but the rod is too wide for the curtain’s grommets. My options are:
- Take the items back to Lowe’s and get a store credit and use the credit for another project, maybe some Olympic paint
- Take the rod back and look for a thinner one and hope it works with the finials and curtain brackets
- Return the items for a store credit and look for something different at Lowe’s or another store
I looked in JCP when I purchased the curtains but the rods were more than what I wanted to spend. I looked in Target to see what I find but I didn’t like the rods available. Campbell Ironworks has this double rod I like. Although it is very nice and I love the style, it’s way out of my budget. World Market has a rod that I like and its only like $60. I have a $10 off of $30 purchase, so it would only cost $50!
Now that I’m back to square one with installing curtains for the patio doors, I’m rethinking the color of the rod – maybe black metal, but I can’t change the curtains because I got rid of the package! Something else I learned is to keep all packaging until I know if everything will work as expected.
I’ll post updates as I progress. I would like to have the curtains up in the next few days.
LOL you sound like my Leilanny. Everytime she puts on a new clothes item I tell her not to rip the tag off until she is sure it fits and she likes it. Everytime I have to dig in the trashcan looking for the tags. I don’t have a problem with her throwing away packaging though, she always leaves it laying around, kids!!
Your curtains are pretty. Since you do like the rod and brackets, just go back to Lowe’s and try getting a thinner one first. I don’t know about the black option with the curtains, the walnut color seems to be a good match. I guess taking into account the whole area including the patio doors will help you in that decision. Wish I could be more helpful.
Update coming soon = )
~ L.
PS. I’m the opposite of a pack rat, I like to get rid of things. And, I want to become more minimalist, but I must admit, sometimes it comes in handy to keep stuff, lol!
I wonder if it would be betetr to have the two outside of the frame and the edges might touch or be close. There is about 3-4″ between the frames of the windows, Or one wide blind (like young house love) over both windows. Also, should it always be outside the frame and go up to just under the curtain rod?
We did install the rod outside of the door frame. If its installed more than 3″, the curtains would cover the light switches. Maybe that would be OK, but we chose to leave them uncovered. I’ll post a picture soon! Thanks for stopping by!
~ L.