Hanging curtains can make a room in your home look more cozy, warm and inviting. Curtains can also make a room look taller. When we moved to a home with shorter ceilings than our previous home, I instantly felt a little claustrophobic. I eventually got used to them, but still recognized the need for making the ceilings appear taller.
Read on to see how I created a cool double wood and leather curtain rod and how I hung them in order to trick the eye into thinking our ceilings are taller than they are.
The leather and wood dowel rod cuff with mirror screws and caps
Photography by Carolyn J. Braden, Graphic by Carolyn J. Braden using Canva
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This is my second time creating a wood dowel rod and leather curtain rod. I created the first one for our last home and it turned out great. This time I needed a much longer rod for our glass sliding door area, and had to make some adjustments to our original plan.
In order to create a wood dowel rod and leather cuff curtain rod, you’ll need the following:
One or Two 1 & 3/4” inch x 6’ foot dowel rods (I used two for this project, as I needed it to be quite long and purchased them at Lowe’s)
One square of 10” leather, 2.2 mm thick (For this project, I ordered mine in the color “Carmel” from Amazon which was enough to cut three “cuffs”)
three 10mm mirror screws and caps (I ordered mine from Amazon and also purchased some separate screws that were a bit longer than the ones that came with the set)
sharp scissors OR a rotary cutter
a drill or some way to cut a hole in the leather and screw the screws into the wall
Make a ceiling appear taller with a wood and leather dowel curtain rod with curtains
Photography by Carolyn J. Braden, Graphic by Carolyn J. Braden using Canva
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For this rod, my husband and I tried using a double ended screw to join together the two dowels, but it always ended up crooked.
So, I brainstormed and figured out I could make my leather strips 2.5” inches in width in order to hold two dowel rods (in the center). So I cut three leather strips into the size 2.5” (W) x 8” inches (L).
Our completed wood and leather dowel curtain rod
Photography by Carolyn J. Braden, Graphic by Carolyn J. Braden using Canva
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For my previous curtain rod in my last home, I made the strips 1” inch wide by 10” inches in length and that fit that particular space. I also needed a shorter dowel rod, and had to cut and sand one. Basically, you can experiment and make adjustments to see what works best for your space.
After you cut the leather strips, you will need to fold them into the “cuff”, then drill a hole in them towards the top. Then you need to insert a screw into the hole (with the brass cuff attached), drill it into the wall (making sure it hits a stud OR use anchors) and place the brass cap over the cuff (to conceal the screw).
My pets, enjoying our light and airy home
Photography by Carolyn J. Braden, Graphic by Carolyn J. Braden using Canva
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Then, place your curtains onto the rods and place the rods in your cuffs. I made a total of three leather cuffs for my space and the center cuff held the end of two dowel rods. It took about 30 minutes to make the rod and hang the curtains.
In order to make my ceilings appear taller, I hung the rod all the way at the top of the wall. This, with the long, airy curtains (I purchased them from Amazon) tricks the eye into thinking your ceiling is quite tall.
To see a great visual step-by-step tutorial for this project, we created a video so you could see our process and learn many helpful tips and tricks (like drilling the screws into the wall vs. using an anchor). It’s for our shorter rod (the one we made for our previous home), but as I said earlier, you can make adjustments to the rod to fit your needs. See the video below, or click this link.