Suspending the drapes avoids drilling holes in the walls.
Lightweight drapes stretching from the ceiling to the floor are an elegant addition to a room's decor. A straightforward method for installing a curtain rod without mounting it on the wall or the window frame is to suspend it from the ceiling. This method uses a dowel for a curtain rod, but a cafe rod would work as well and has the benefit of having finished ends.
Instructions
1. Run a stud finder along the ceiling over the window. Mark the joists on the ceiling at the outside edges of the window. Measure 2 inches out from the wall toward the middle of the room and mark the spots. This is where the lag eye screws will be that hold the dowel for the curtains.
2. Paint the dowel and lag eye screws to match the room's decor. Painting them the same color as the ceiling will make them fade into the background. You can also wrap ribbon around the eye hole on the screws to conceal the metal.
3. Cut the dowel to length. It should easily span the distance between the two lag eye screws with about an inch left over on each end.
4. Drill pilot holes into the joists at the marks. Screw the lag eye screws into the joists at the holes until they're firmly seated and none of the threading is visible. Stop when the eye holes are perpendicular to the wall.
5. Slide one panel of the curtains onto the dowel. Curtains with a hemmed top may be hard to open and close when hung by this method, so if you intend to open the curtains, attach large cafe rings to the top and slide the rings onto the dowel.
6. Insert one end of the dowel into one of the lag eye screws. Hold the dowel up so that the curtain panel doesn't fall off while you slide the other curtain panel onto the dowel. Insert the other end of the dowel into the other lag eye screw.
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