Back/Side Porch Ideas For Summer and An Industrial Pipe Curtain Rod How To

Hey there!  When we first found our home 6 years ago, I was absolutely in love with this side porch off the kitchen.  At the time of course, it looked awful because it was in the middle of being renovated, but, I saw what it could be.  I pictured pots of delicious herbs just waiting to be harvested for cooking, a cozy table to enjoy lunch or a morning cup of tea or coffee, or just a place to sit and read.  Funny thing was, it wasn't until now, 6 years later, that I finally filled the porch with those things.  I have no idea why.

We have a large vegetable garden in our backyard, complete with herbs, so, it never occurred to me to also have some on the porch.  My hubby came home the other day with a crate that he found beside the road that I just loved.  I had it sitting on the porch for a few days waiting until I decided what to do with it when I realized how much I loved it on the porch.  And an idea was born; fill it with unique herbs that I don't have in my vegetable garden, but that I would like to experiment with in the kitchen.
I like to keep the decor on this porch simple, so, here's what I did.

Last year when I made these porch curtains, I just hung them with rope instead of going to the trouble of installing a rod, very rustic and easy.  This year, after seeing industrial copper pipe curtain rods everywhere, I just had to try making some, so, I went to Lowe's and priced copper.  Uh....yeah, way too expensive.  So I stood in Lowe's for an hour trying to come up with a cheaper way.  Total cost, $25 for two 4 feet long rods.  Here's what I came up with.

 I used PVC pipe and spray painted it with the best metallic copper spray paint.  The quick tutorial will be at the end of this post.

I love how they turned out!  It's like a little surprise inside the porch.

Here's the crate my hubby found.

I filled it with italian parsley, purple basil, chamomile, dill and cinnamon basil.

The hand carved oar is vintage and was found by hubby.
I painted these stripes on our back porch last summer.  They match our front porch, as well.

Hubby also found this metal garden planter.  I didn't care for the brown color, so, I spray painted it with the extra copper spray paint.  The vintage faucet towel rack I made a couple months ago, click here for the tutorial.  It will be the perfect thing to hold my kiddos wet towels this summer from swimming, instead of piling them on the floor.  And is the perfect pop of color.

 And that's it for the back porch!

Best thing is it's exactly like I pictured it 6 years ago. :)  Finally....

Here's what you need to make the pvc pipe curtain rods.

Everything was found in the plumbing department at Lowe's, except the spray paint.  It's important to note that if you make your rod any longer than about 3 - 4 feet like mine, you will need a middle support as they will droop a little from the weight of your curtains.

I started by cutting the pvc pipe to size and then cutting four 1 inch pieces to use to connect the elbows to the adapter.   Then connect the elbow to the pipe.

Next, connect your 1 inch piece of pipe.

Take your adapter/connector and flange......

Screw the connector into the 1/2 inch flange.

Then connect it to the elbow and pipe.

 And that's it!  Spray paint next!

Make sure that when you spray paint, you spray light coats, keeping the nozzle at least 12 inches from the rod, or the paint will run.  Let dry completely between coats.  I painted 3-4 coats.  Then attach with screws through the flanges.  I don't know the exact terms for these parts, so I hope this is helpful.  I should also mention that I had a nice Lowe's sales person help me find the right parts after I told him what I had in mind.  That helps a lot!

See how nice the spray paint goes on, even though it's plastic?  Perfect!  And so much cheaper than real copper!  As always, if you have questions, feel free to ask in the comments below or shoot me an email! 

Note:  After your rod is painted and complete but BEFORE you hang it, you can easily pull off the end to slide on your curtains.  Then reattach the end and hang.  Be sure to do this before you attach them to your wall or you won't have a way to put your curtains on the rod.

I've got so many fun projects going and I can't wait to blog about them all!  And I'm still working on those tutorials, as promised!

Have a great day!

Diana