Curtain Rod with Distressed Frames

I am still trying to get rooms and walls in our house decorated since we moved in this past September.  I think it will always be a work in progress, but right now we have too many BARE walls that are desperate for decor!

A while back I bought a double curtain rod with the intention of making this cute book sling for Mariah's room.  Well, when we moved and she got her new room, she had MUCH more space and plenty of room for a bookshelf.  Thus, a sling was not really needed.

When I came across the curtain rod in the closet the other day it immediately made me think of the cute projects I have been seeing on Pinterest for a while with the picture frames hanging from the curtain rod.  It got me thinking - maybe that would be a fun way to dress up a blank wall!

I choose the little wall between the closets in the master bedroom for two reasons - it was an awkward little space that needed something and it isn't a high traffic area where I would worry about frames hanging out away from the wall.

Lately, I've really enjoyed "shopping my home".  In other words, looking around at the items I have (in storage, closets, or even something being used elsewhere), repurposing it, and using it in a new place.  I also like to shop second hand stores for certain items - like picture frames!  It's the perfect place to find cheap frames - they are just begging for a quick touch up or a coat of paint to make them new again!  A couple weeks ago I had picked up 3 frames - 2 5x7's (99 cents each) and 1 8x10 ($1.99) with the intention of distressing them.

The idea was born: Hang the distressed frames from the curtain rod!

I had never tried to distress wood before so I spent some time doing research and came across a tip to use vaseline to help with the distressing.

Here's the process I went through.

First, I painted the frames a dark color (black) as this was the color that I wanted to show through once it was distressed.  One thin coat is fine, it doesn't even have to be a full coat.  I used acrylic paint and it worked great!

Once dry, I applied the vaseline to the corners and various places on the frames (wherever you want the distressing to happen)

Then I painted right over the black and vaseline with the top color (I chose an off white).  This took a few coats to fully cover the black and achieve the color I wanted.  Let the paint dry in between coats.

Soon after the top coat was applied you could begin to see the spaces with the vaseline underneath start to separate.  Once the top coat was dry (I let it dry overnight) I VERY lightly sanded the areas where the vaseline was applied until I achieved the look I wanted.  I finished with a clear coating to seal it.

Next, Mike helped me install the curtain rod on the wall and I cut 6 ribbons to the desired length (based on where you want the pictures to hang), melted the ends (to ensure they would not fray) and looped it through the frame before I put the glass and photo in place.  

I tied the ribbons in bows around the curtain rod and that was it!

I love the depth!

The distressed look was EXACTLY what I was hoping for :)

EASY project that makes such an impact!

I was nervous that the double curtain rod might stick out too far (since all the examples I had seen used a single rod), but it turns out I actually LOVE that the bigger frame sticks out further than the smaller frames.

The best thing about this project is that it is so versatile and will be super easy to change out photos or even add additional frames without putting any new holes in the walls.

I bet you have a wall in your home that would be perfect for this project, too! :)