Apartment Hack: Hanging Curtains Without Damaging Your Walls
who knew diy was so easy?!
Okay I am so excited about this curtain hack you guys!! Since Matt and I live in an apartment, we definitely have to be cautious about the amount of damage that we make on our place, and I have always been super cautious about the holes we put in our walls. Thankfully most of our picture frames, canvas art, and anything else we usually hang can be hung with a small push pink, however curtains are the one thing I have always wanted in our room and have never been able to put up since they always require drilling holes to hang the curtain rod! So if you are like me and are worried about putting holes into your walls, or even just want an easy DIY hack for hanging curtains, you should totally try this out!
I was scrolling Pinterest a few days ago and saw these Command Strips, but were meant to be stronger and shaped like hooks to hold anything that you hung off of them. I thought they would be the most perfect curtain rod hooks if I could find a curtain rod that was light and thin enough to fit perfectly into the hook! I ended up finding everything I needed at Target, and I have linked the Command Strip hooks below! The curtain rod was also one I found at Target, but can not find it online so I found the most similar sized curtain rod at Bed Bath & Beyond and linked that! Basically you want to make sure that the curtain rod will slip into the hook on either side of the window; so just make sure you measure your window and get the right size curtain rod! Most, like the one I purchased, can extend to reach a longer window. My window is about 60” wide, so I just made sure the curtain rod that I bought would reach that length.
Okay seriously this is SO easy and I wished I had thought of this years ago haha we have never had curtains before so I am pumped honestly! Keep reading for my best tips and instructions!
What You will need
command hooks & a lightweight curtain rod
easy guided instructions
First:
Before you can buy curtains or even the curtain rod and hooks, you should make sure you measure the window you are trying to hang curtains on. Start by measuring the width of the window, so you know how long of a curtain rod to purchase. Then be sure to measure the height of the window and what length of curtains will fit in the space. You could always hem the curtains to make them shorter, or even hang the curtain rod up above the window, but regardless you would want to measure everything to make sure the pieces you buy will fit.
Next:
Once you have the supplies (curtain rod, Command Strip hooks, and curtains of your choice) it is time to get everything set up! You will start by applying the Command Strip hooks to the wall, on either side of the window. I applied mine about an inch above & to the side of the top of the window. You want to make sure that when the curtain rod sits into the hook, that it is even with the top of the window, so keep that in mind when placing the hooks on the wall. The best part about Command Strips is that you can easily take them down without any damage! The first time I put the curtains up Matt noticed that they seemed slightly too low and he could see a gap between the window and the rod, so I was able to take them down really easily and readjust! A pro tip with the hooks is that you can always buy packs of the adhesive for cheaper than buying new hooks; so if you need to readjust or move the hooks, just buy a new pack of adhesives and use those for the backing - no need to buy a whole new set of Command Strip hooks!
Lastly:
Once you have the hooks in place on either side of the window near the top, you can now put your curtains on the rod and hang it across the two hooks! Remember that the curtains will have to be lightweight, because the hooks usually only hold about 3-5lbs each! The lightweight curtains that I purchased from Target are perfect because they are thin enough to let light in, but seriously add so much color to our room and have the perfect pop of pattern that our simple white walls need! Keep the curtain weight in mind when picking out the perfect curtain to hang. Other than that, this is the easiest DIY project; it took me all of 10 minutes once I had the supplies I needed!
shop my curtains & the rest of my room: