When you’re just renting a space, you might not be able to drill massive curtain rods into the wall above your bedroom window. And there might already be blinds in place with the apartment! What’s a stylish renter to do? Surely you don’t want to do something that voids your deposit. Don’t fear, there are ways to impress your house-guests and still get that deposit back by the end of your lease. In this post, we’re going to explore some great window treatments for apartments.
Hardware to Hang Window Treatments in Apartments
Lightweight Extendable Rods
On many blogs, you’ll see homeowners obsessing over the type of wood that should be used in the curtain rod to get the perfect curtains for the master bedroom. If you’re renting, there are so many things about that sentence that you can’t even begin to relate to. You don’t need heavy, wood curtain rods. You needs something flexible and lightweight that can move with you. Invest in curtain rods that are super light and that can extend to a variety of lengths. That will help you set things up and tear them down without tearing holes in your walls.
Command Hooks
3Ms line of command hooks has built a reputation for helping college students put up pictures of stuff. But the usefulness of command hooks extends far beyond that cheap poster board. There are kinds of command hooks that are specially built to bear far more weight than a simple wood frame. You may not be able to hang heavy blackout drapes, but you can certainly support your lightweight rods and light fabrics.
Command sells some metal hooks that are specifically built for a bunch of curtain rods. Also keep in mind that you’ll be able to tell what works and what does not once you’ve got everything home. Command’s products are really easy to combine until you’ve created a DIY solution. When you own a home, you might be able to drill and hammer until you get it right. When you’re renting, don’t be afraid to command strip and glue until something sticks.
Velcro and Command Strips
Not all fabric needs a super big rod. With a little bit of creativity, you’ll be able to put up some great curtains and window treatments with a little bit of velcro and command strips.
Types of Window Treatments for Renters
Valances
Become really good friends with valances. Get to know them. Hang out with them on social media. Valances are going to be one of the easiest ways to get up a window treatment without completely knocking holes in your walls. A valance is a smaller strip of fabric that frames the top of the window. They usually go up on square and rectangular windows that already have blinds on them. Since most of your renters’ windows will have a cheaper kind of blinds set up, it’s a great way to automatically increase the class of your space without any extensive work.
Darker color valances will help you create rooms and spaces that are more defined. They also tend to create a natural contrast with the sunlight and lighter walls, giving your room a little more comfort and definition.
Curtains
Curtains really are the high-point of window treatment class. If all of your friends are also renting spaces, and you’re the only person who has curtains, then you’ll come out ahead of the pack if you can just find a way to get those curtains to stay put. Luckily, there are a lot of different options to get curtains up in a rented space.
Keep a few things in mind when you’re shopping for curtains. First, make sure that you’ve got a great return policy. When renting a space, a lot of window treatments are going to come about through ad hoc methods. You’ll need to actually buy the materials, get it home, and see what works. If you purchase curtains that don’t have a great return policy it can be a pain to get your money back when things don’t quite work out. Second, remember to keep things light. You can save yourself a lot of time and hard work by only selecting curtains that are light and easy to hang. Curtains that are really heavy will be difficult to work with.
Tension rods can be a great way to install curtains without drilling anything into the wall. IF you have a window frame with an inside mount, a tension rod can bridge the gap. If you have a smaller space, you may also consider a wall-to-wall tension rod that can span all the way across the room. Tension rods basically are spring loaded rods that can stay in place simply by using tension up against both sides of the room or window frame. Generally speaking, you don’t want to use tension rods as a window treatment option that are longer than 4 feet.
Command Hook Tips
Command hooks are going to be one of the most surefire ways to get window treatments to stay put without drilling. Still, there are right and wrong ways to use command hooks! When putting up the hooks, make sure to mark the exact spots with a pencil. Then press the hook against the wall for at least a minute without moving it at all. After you’ve stuck it to the wall, walk away from it for at least 15 minutes. This is key! Many people simply try to hang their stuff immediately after posting the command hooks on the wall. The adhesive needs a little bit of time to generate cohesion with the wall before you go and drop a bunch of weight on it.
Alternative Window Treatments
Also keep in mind that there are more ways to treat your window than just curtains! You can always use plants, furniture, and hanging decorations to generate a little bit of depth and dimension without fully committing to heavy curtains. If you buy command hooks, consider dropping fabrics or hanging plants over your window instead.
