Curtains and curtain rods can be expensive. My porch is basically all windows so I knew I needed to be creative and practical when it came to hanging up some curtains. I wanted the look of one continuous wall of curtains times three. Ikea has the Dignitet system but I had no IKEA trips planned in my future. I headed over to Home Depot and was able to create my own system using wire, screw hooks, clamps sets and turnbuckles. The tension rod system cost me $43 for the whole room, besides the 7 sheers I bought to finish the look.

First I decided on where I wanted to place my curtains. I wanted them wall to wall and meeting in the corner. I began by measuring the length of my sheers and then placing my screw hooks in the wall. I then cut my wire rope and created a loop using the clamp set. I just fed each clamp (there are two for each end of the wire) through the wire, and then looped the end back through each clamp. I then tightened the bolts on the clamp. I did one end at a time so that I would have the wire as tight as possible. 

Once the clamps were on I threaded the wire through each curtain panel before adding the clamp for the remaining end. I pulled the wire all the way across and made sure it was almost tight enough first. The turnbuckle was then used to tighten the remaining tension on the wire. A turnbuckle is essentially two screws with hooks on each end that are joined together. The piece which holds them together can be turned to space the two screws closer or farther apart, adjusting the tension. I made sure I had as much room as possible to tighten my turnbuckle before I attached it to my screw hook in the wall. I then adjusted the tension until the wire was perfectly straight across.

Once I reached the corner I place my screw hooks as close together as possible. The sheers overlap at each corner and the screw hooks just disappear from sight. 

and the after…

…they billow! I love watching a breeze come through. This whole project cost about $43 plus the cost of curtains. Much cheaper than buying rods for three separate window which are 8 feet, 11 feet and 14 feet in width!