Making a Statement with Understated Window Hardware

It's such a tiny detail, but window hardware can make or break a room.  Hanging the most elegant custom curtains from flimsy hardware just ruins the look.  In most of the rooms of my house, my curtains hang from big wooden poles with substantial pineapple or acorn finials.  They are pretty, but they aren't inexpensive (to buy or to install), and more importantly, they often are so ornate and noticeable that they compete for attention with the curtains themselves.

Over the past year or so, I've spotted what I think is the *PERFECT* curtain hardware.  It consists of a simple metal rod that curves at a 90-degree angle into the wall, where it is attached with a small metal plate bracket.  No fussy finials, no acorns or pineapples.  Just simple, beautiful hardware that allows your curtain fabric to be the star of the show.

Meg Braff uses this perfect hardware in brass.

Phoebe Howard uses it in wrought iron.

After looking everywhere online for this hardware, I finally went to Lowe's to see if I could re-create it using basic metal piping.  It's possible, but unless you're looking for shiny chrome, it will still require a paint job.  And like so many things, by the time you buy all the individual pieces, you end up spending more than it would cost to have the hardware custom made. 

So imagine my delight when I saw this in a Pottery Barn catalog...  The PB Essential Cast Iron Drapery Rod:

It's exactly what I have been looking for!  I wish they had it in brass, but the wrought iron is pretty, and the style is so understated that you really can use it in a more formal room.  Of course you can style it better than in this picture (forget the clips or at least hide them, and pleat the curtains), but I think this hardware looks great and is a great price. 

I already bought it for my recently revamped family room!  The hardware is so understated and doesn't compete with the other fabrics in the room. 

I'll post more pics of the room next week.  But I really am obsessed with this window hardware and it's simplicity, especially when used in a room with a lot going on!  Leave it to Pottery Barn to bring high style to the masses (like me!).