Embracing My Inner Rental Guru
A few years ago, I went through a phase where I didn’t want to do fake things to our rentals. I wanted our solutions to not just look like the real deal but also be the real deal. But my perspective has changed in recent years. The reality is that we live in a rental home and likely will for quite some time. And while there are a lot of things I can do for real, there are still times when we just need a clever rental hack.
I really wanted curtains up in our Master Bedroom, but for a bunch of reasons, I just didn’t want to install a curtain rod. So I decided this was a great time to experiment and figure out if you can hang a curtain rod without drilling into the wall. Spoiler alert: you can! And there are some easy and clever things you can do to still make it look amazing. Let me show you how.
Choosing the Right Command Hooks
If you’ve been coming around here for any length of time, you likely know I have a pretty serious passion for hanging some sort of window treatments on our rental windows. You can read why here. When we first moved in 2 years ago, we immediately hung curtains in almost every single room. The one exception was our Master Bedroom, simply because I ran out of curtain rods.
I bought a curtain rod shortly after – these are my favorite inexpensive rods – but it sat and sat and sat in our garage while I tended to other rooms and projects. Once in the final stages of finishing up our Master Bedroom, I of course wanted to hang up my curtains. But here’s the reality: we are less than a year away from moving again – can you believe that? Although this has rarely stopped me in the past, I just didn’t have it in me to do a full-fledge rod installation with drywall anchors, screws, etc. So I decided to embrace my inner rental guru and attempted to hang a curtain rod without drilling into the wall.
It is likely no surprise that I turned to one of my favorite renter-friendly products: Command Hooks. And while this really is a simple and clever way to hang curtains in a rental, there are a few tricks I learned along the way to make it look and feel like a real curtain installation.
I’m not going to lie – this project actually took me a few tries to get juuuuust right. As such, you might see some variations as we move through the tutorial. But the good news is, since I’ve troubleshot everything, you won’t have to, and now you should be able to hang a curtain rod without drilling into the wall in no time.
| Hook Option | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Jumbo Utility Hook (Slate) | – Large size to support heavy curtains – Inexpensive bulk packs |
– Less decorative appearance |
| Oil Rubbed Bronze Large Hook | – Decorative bronze finish – Large size |
– More expensive per hook |
| Forever Classic Metal Wall Hook | – Decorative metal finish – Sturdy construction |
– Limited color options |
| Jumbo White Utility Hook | – Large size – Blends in with light walls |
– Not as discreet as decorative options |
| Brushed Nickel Hook | – Decorative metal finish – Matches other hardware |
– More expensive per hook |
| Value Pack Brushed Nickel Hooks | – Decorative finish – More affordable bulk pack |
– May not be as sturdy as single hooks |
| Curtain Rod Command Hooks | – Designed specifically for curtain rods – Minimal visible hardware |
– Limited weight capacity |
After much hemming and hawing, I decided on the Jumbo Command Hooks. Although they are bulkier and not quite as pretty as the other options, I liked the way the rod fit into them best. And since I was trying to hang 10 lbs worth of curtains (2 panels on each side), I liked that each hook could hold up to 75 lbs on its own. Finally, they were also the cheapest and came in bulk sets, making them the most economical option for adding extra support as needed.
Perfecting the Height and Placement
When you hang a curtain rod in the traditional way, the rod is usually even to the top of the bracket. In the case of Command Hooks, though, the rod nestles into the hook, making the rod even with the bottom. This can be a little tricky to gauge visually, so I suggest first taping the Command Hooks to the wall as shown below to test different heights.
Even though I originally placed my hooks at what I thought was high and wide, it wasn’t near high enough once I placed the rod and tested a panel. I personally prefer my curtain rods halfway between the ceiling and the window trim, so once I figured out that placement, I made a quick cardboard template using this curtain hack from Young House Love. Using a cardboard template allows you to skip the measuring and leveling and can really save so much time and hassle.
Hanging the Curtain Rod and Panels
Once you have your rod and hook placement settled, it’s time to hang everything up. I can’t overemphasize enough how important it is to follow the package directions on whatever Command Hooks you’re using. Especially if you are hanging something big and heavy like curtains. So although it’s a bit of a pain to 1) clean the wall and 2) wait the designated cure time, it will make a big difference in your hooks actually staying put.
After adding the Command Strips to the back of my hooks, I used the cardboard template to place my hooks on either side of the window. Once I followed all the instructions and the hooks were fully installed, I hung my long, thin curtain rod across the two hooks. The curtain rod is now in place – let’s add the curtains!
Perfecting the Curtain Hang
One of the biggest challenges in using Command Hooks to hang a curtain rod is that the rod ends up significantly closer to the wall than when hung with standard brackets, which usually hold a rod out from the wall a good 4-6 inches. As you can see, there is less than 1 inch of clearance between the wall and the rod on my setup.
Years ago, I invested in a ton of grommet-topped curtain panels so that I had enough for our entire house. However, when you place a grommet-topped panel onto a rod so close to the wall, the rings project way forward, and the panels don’t hang nice and straight. I really didn’t like the way it looked, so I explored other options.
One great option is to use curtain panels that either have a rod pocket or tabs across the back. This allows you to thread the rod across the top of the curtain, but all the excess fabric either gathers or pleats toward the front. Many stores sell both rod pocket and tab-style curtains, and I’ll have a tutorial showing how to add tabs to any panels coming up in a few weeks.
One of the biggest benefits to using back-tabbed curtains is that it camouflages the Command Hooks really, really well. However, using either rod pocket or back-tabbed panels causes them to sit fairly wide on the bar because they are essentially squishing an entire curtain panel together horizontally. This can be great in some instances, but since I wanted to hang two panels on each side, I needed something a little more compact, which lead me to curtain rings.
I was 99% sure I was going to hang my panels with back-tabs, but on a whim, I hung a set up with some curtain rings I had on hand. The result looked so much cleaner since it allowed me to make crisp, clean pleats and easily adjust how wide the entire arrangement sat on the rod.
Camouflaging the Hooks
Although the curtains themselves looked and hung so much better on the rings, the large, chunky Command Hooks were suddenly in plain view, which really, really bothered me. Had I picked more decorative hooks, it likely wouldn’t have been an issue. But my eye kept getting distracted by the big black blobs on the wall.
This next step is 100% optional, but if your eye gets easily distracted like mine does, and you really want to use rings to hang your curtains, it’s well worth a little paint and time to camouflage the hooks with some matching wall paint. Start by using some painter’s tape around the edges of the hook. If you work carefully, you can likely slide tape between the wall and hook itself. Then paint the exposed areas of the hook with matching wall paint. If you use dark hooks, it may take a few coats to get good coverage when using a light paint color.
Once you remove the painter’s tape, the hooks fade into the background and become much less noticeable. An added bonus is that the bottom, non-painted parts of the Command Hooks almost appear like finials at the end of the rods.
Embracing the Rental Hack
Is this a perfect solution for a forever home? Probably not. But is this a great way to hang curtains in a rental home without inflicting a lick of damage to the walls? Absolutely. By using Command Hooks to hang a curtain rod without drilling into the wall, you do have some flexibility. I experimented with hanging my curtains fuller and wider, and all I needed to do was simply extend my bar past the hooks.
So far, my rod hasn’t sagged at all, but if it did, I could easily add another hook along the middle. You will likely notice that I still used my grommet curtain panels – they are just hung upside-down. I hemmed and hawed about whether I should doctor my photos so you didn’t see them, but I opted to keep it real instead. In all honesty, I thought they would be hardly noticeable once hung and would even serve as curtain weights to keep the pleats looking nice. Although they seem fairly obvious in photos, I don’t even notice them when I’m actually in the room.
Our curtains have been hung for a few weeks now, and I have the utmost confidence they will stay put for the remainder of our time here. However, I do want to point out that these curtains are 100% decorative. Thanks to the blinds on the windows, we never have to pull these curtains open or shut. If you need your curtains to be a bit more functional, I would suggest adding an extra hook to the center of the rod to absorb some of that weight down the bar.
Looking for other great solutions for your windows? Home Curtains Philadelphia has you covered with a wide range of custom window treatment options, from classic drapes to innovative shades and blinds. Their talented design team can help you achieve the perfect look for your space, whether you’re a seasoned homeowner or a savvy renter like me.
Although this was a project I really had to figure out, I am so glad I took the time to work through it. We’ve never shied away from hanging curtain rods in our rental homes the real way, and I’m not sure we will abandon that method entirely. But it’s really nice to know we still have options should we ever find ourselves in a home where we can’t put holes in the wall. If you can’t or don’t want to add holes to your walls, too, I hope this tutorial proves useful in getting some curtains up on your windows.
