© 2004 Pamela Cole Harris

If you want something more unique than a curtain rod to hang your window treatments (you are my kinda woman! Or man!), there are many everyday household items you can use instead. Make your own wonderful and unusual window hardware with:

1. Coat hooks. Brass or metal coat hooks can be attached above your window to hold curtain panels. Attach curtain rings or fabric ties to the top of the curtains and place over the hooks. Decorative touches such as bows or silk flowers can also be attached to the hooks for a finishing touch. Just make sure you have a couple of extra hooks to hang your coat on!

2. Glass or brass door knobs. Scour antique shops or thrift stores for old doorknobs (It doesn't matter if they are mismatched!) Attach them above the window. Tie curtains to the knobs with fabric ties. (This idea is also great for a coat rack - just in case you used all the coat hooks for your curtains! Just attach the knobs to a nice sanded, stained, and sealed wooden base, and hang on the wall near your door!)

3. Spoons. Have you ever bought spoons or forks which bent while trying to eat ice cream? Well, here is your chance to use those misshapen tools. Bend the utensils in the shape of a hook! They will make great hardware for kitchen curtains!

4. Cup hooks. Plain cup hooks painted a bright color can also be used. As with the coat hooks, simply attach curtain rings or fabric ties to the curtains and slip over the cup hooks! They look great and they are very inexpensive!

5. If you are a horse lover or have a rustic home, why not try horseshoes? Attach to the wall with a horseshoeing nail (anyone know what those are called?) and use the nail to hold the curtains rings. You can also use the horseshoes as tiebacks!

6. Clothespins. How about trying old-fashioned clothespins? Simply attach the top of the curtain to a cord or thin rod across the top of the window. Paint the pins with colorful acrylic paints or leave the wood natural.

Just look around your kitchen or bathroom for dozens of items you can use for hardware. Be creative, but I would draw the line if the males in your family suggest holding up the curtains with knives! Or staples! Or darts! After all, a woman has her standards, doesn't she? Hmmmm... How about holding them up with 5" stiletto heels attached to the wall! They have to be good for something!

Pamela Cole Harris has been a writer and decorator for thirty-five years (YIKES! Has it been that long?). She is the author of "Home and Garden Design Tips", a free weekly syndicated home and garden content service for your website.