DIY Outdoor Curtains in One Day for under $70


After four years, see the Update to these Outdoor Curtains

Under the deck we have a patio, which is a perfect place to sit except for a couple hours in the evening when the sun blares in.  We loved the look and practicality of outdoor curtains, but not the price. 

After a trip to Lowe’s, less than $70 and an afternoon, we wound up with these.

outdoor curtains diy
For the actual curtain, we used painters drop cloths attached to clip-on curtain rings. The drop cloths are pre-hemmed canvas that come in a variety of sizes and weights.
8 oz 6 ft x 9 ft drop cloth
Here’s how we did it.
floor flange and street elbow
For each curtain we used
  • 2-floor flanges
  • 2-90 degree street elbows
  • length of pipe
pipe sections
We screwed the street elbow onto the pipe, then screwed the floor flange onto the street elbow
elbow and pipefloor flange to elbow
Before attaching the second floor flange, we slid the curtain rings onto the pipe.
Next, we determined how high we needed the rod to be.  We did not want the curtains touching the patio or the ground. 
Then, Ryan attached the rod to the outside of the deck, making sure it was level.  We chose a shorter rod, because we only needed the curtain to be 4 feet wide to give us the sun blockage in the afternoon.  This set up is strong and sturdy enough to support a much longer pipe. You could do chin ups on this bar (…you could, I can’t.)
Ryan hanging the curtain rod



After the rod was hung, it was a simple matter of attaching the fabric to the curtain rings
attaching the fabric
and then putting in some brass cup hooks for the tie backs.
tiebacks and cuphooks
They’ve been up for over a month now and are doing very well.  We’ve had some big winds and thunderstorms, which they have been fine through.  Unfortunately, they have been getting regularly watered by the sprinklers recently.  There is a bit of mildew on them, but nothing horrible.  I plan on bringing them in this winter. I’ll give them a good bleaching and treat them with a water repellant spray before rehanging them next spring.
outdoor curtains
Not only can we open them up to block the sun, we like the finishing touch it gives to the space.  A fun and easy project!

Linked to A Bowl Full of Lemons and Wow Us Wednesday.

11 comments:

  1. These look fantastic!!! Just might have to try this on a work-project very soon. If I do, I'll post a pic!

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  2. Love this idea! I might do this in my dark and dingy basement laundry to hide cinder block walls and plumbing!

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    1. That's a great idea! I never even thought about using them inside. They could look really good!

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  3. Great idea! I wonder if the RIT UV fabric dye would work on that Drop cloth. It makes the fabric UV and weather proof. I am looking to do the same thing under my deck and use the RIT.

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    1. I'd love to hear/see what happens. I think I am going to try that, too!

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  4. Fantastic, inexpensive DIY tips! Thank you! Wonderful step-by-step photos as well!

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  5. Great idea on the drop clothes! I was looking for outdoor curtians and hadn't thought of that, even though my husbands a painter.

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  6. outdoor curtains Information is appropriate and I can understand all the aspects that are of significant importance in this task.

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  7. I love this idea! We spend so much time on our back porch, but the summer sun beats down on you. Since curtains are so high, I was considering using sheets until I found this. I love the idea of using the canvas drop clothes. Thanks!

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  8. We loved the look and practicality of outdoor curtains, but not the price. ... ooutdoorcurtains.blogspot.com

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