DIY Electrical Pipe Drapery Rods

I wanted lots of sheer drapery panels when we planned our new sunroom.  We created our own DIY electrical pipe drapery rods to make this happen.

This post contains affiliate links that help to support this blog if you were to purchase anything through these links, at no additional cost to you.

Our new mid-century modern-inspired sunroom has large windows that we planned for along two main walls of the room.  I wanted lots of light and warmth in the room.  However, I also wanted privacy and a way to block the harsh sun off the TV screen during certain times of the day.

The best way to do that is with outdoor-rated sheer drapery panels I purchased from Wayfair during the special Way Day Sale. However, I decided to add panels in front of the kitchen’s sliding doors, and the ones on Wayfair were on backorder. I found similar outdoor sheer panels on Amazon for the second set. In all, I purchased eight sheets that are 96 inches long.

I needed to cover two long walls, one door, one sliding door, and five windows.

The two windows that needed the sheers were 14 and 18 feet wide, respectively. I also needed a third drapery rod and two panels to cover the kitchen’s sliding doors on a third wall.

I would need four sheer panels on the two longest walls on one side and six on the other. With the weight of this many sheer drapery panels and the long length of windows on each wall, it would take a very strong drapery rod or multiple heavy drapery rods to hold them up.  

I also wanted to be able to push the panels together in the corners to enjoy the windows as much as possible or move the drapery panels to the middle of the wall without the drapery rod bending under the weight.

That was a lot to ask for, most drapery rods available in stores, and to afford it on a tight budget. I didn’t have the budget to purchase the drapery rods needed for the room. 

So we created our drapery rods out of 1/2 inch electrical conduit pipes and connectors.

Metal electrical conduit pipes are strong and can hold the weight of several drapery panels pulled together without sagging in the middle of the pipe.

Since I wanted the drapery panels to hang floor to ceiling, the brackets needed to be installed close to the ceiling and could not be large brackets.  My husband worked out the details of my vision for the drapery rods and purchased the supplies from Home Depot. 

It was so hot that day!

To start the project, I removed all the stickers from the conduit pipes and wiped them with mineral spirits to remove the dusty coating. Conduit pipes are dusty and have markings and writings on them.  The mineral spirits helped to clean them up and make the pipes a bit shinier, like drapery rods should look.

I wanted to keep the pipes’ silver color because the grommets on the drapery panels were silver. We decided not to spray paint them black or even a brighter silver. Another thing I was worried about was that the spray paint would scrape off the pipes each time I moved the drapery panels. Not having to paint the electrical conduit pipes saved us some time and effort.

We had to cut two pipes for each long wall since the electrical conduit pipes were available in 10-foot pieces.  Each wall would have two equal lengths of conduit pipes cut down to be connected in the middle and hung by a metal rigid conduit hanger.  This was done by using an Electric Metallic Tube (EMT) inserted in clamp-style metal brackets in the middle of two equal sections of pipe for each wall.  My husband cut the pipe to the needed lengths using a handheld conduit tubing cutter.  Then we both had to tighten the screws on the metal tubes to keep the pipes from sliding out of the tubes and out of the hanger.

I wanted each length of drapery rod to touch the far walls and wrap around the corner as well, so it became part of the room’s architecture. The drapery rod and panels looked like a continuous loop around the perimeter of the room. 

In the corner, my husband installed a 90-degree curved piece of electrical conduit to connect the two lengths of the wall sections using metal tubes and more hangers.

The picture above shows an up-close view of the clamp-style bracket that is screwed to the wall, then the electrical metal tube (EMT) with the screws that tighten around the two ends of the cut pipes, inserted into the hanger, and tightened down with a large screw.

It takes at least two people to hang the rods.

Even though my husband installed the metal hangers, it took both of us to hold the long lengths of the electrical pipe, slide the grommet-style panels on each pipe, slide the pipe into the metal hangers, and tighten down the screws. 

He would be on a ladder holding one end of the pipe, and I would be on a ladder holding the other end of the pipe, which explains why I don’t have pictures of this part of the process. We were both on ladders holding up the pipes to put them in place. If you try this same project at home, be aware that it is a two-person job. 

Of course, the panels can’t slide all the way around the room on the pipes because of the necessary brackets. But it does make the pieces look like one long length of pipe—just like I wanted it to look.  

Thankfully, the electrical conduit pipe is strong enough not to need extra brackets to hold it up along its length, so the drapery panels still have more movement this way.

Now, I can pull the drapery panels closed to cover all of the room’s windows, bunch them together in different places in front of the windows, or hang one panel in front of each of the windows with a decorative tie back. 

The look of the room can change with the placement of the panels, whether open or closed.

These panels also add the benefit of softening the room.

The best part is that these DIY electrical pipe drapery rods cost less than $50 to make and install. That’s much less than I would have spent trying to find drapery rods to go the length of the two long walls.   

This type of drapery rod may be too industrial for some rooms, but it blends nicely with the architecture and style of my mid-century modern sunroom. 

Until next time,

Psalm 130:5 “I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.”

This project is part of our Completed Mid-Century Inspired Sunroom series.  I hope you will visit and enjoy the posts that were part of the One Room Challenge event in 2020, and see how this project was a fun part of the entire room.  

Our Mid-Century Inspired Sunroom – Week 8 – The Reveal

DIY Mid-Century Inspired Side Table