Tension Rod Hacks For Every Room In Your Home
One-size-fits-all solutions don’t really help much when it comes to organization, because everyone’s homes and needs are different. It may require a bit of creativity to solve your specific organizational problems, but lucky for us, there are plenty of useful tools out there that can make it easier.
Today we’ll be focusing on one of those tools that happens to be a personal favorite of mine: the tension rod. These inexpensive rods are extremely versatile, easy to install, and can be used to organize nearly any area in your home!
Related: 10 Easy Ways To Solve Your Worst Holiday Clutter Problem
Today I’ll be sharing 17 of the most creative and useful tension rods ideas for all around the house. (And if you have any tension rod ideas that aren’t mentioned here, please share them with us in a comment!)
Check out some of these tension rod hacks in action in the video at the end of the post!
17 Clever Uses For Tension Rods
1. Display Artwork
Thread several curtain clips onto a tension rod to create a quick and easy gallery display anywhere in your home! Clip up photos, mementos, or your kids’ artwork to put them on display, and change them out as often as you like!
Related: 11 Surprisingly Useful Things You Can Do With Shower Rings
2. Organize A Closet
Pairing curtain clips with tension rods can work wonders in your closet, too. Clip hats, clutches, belts, shorts, and even boots! Add one or several more tension rods to quickly add storage space to your closet without making any permanent adjustments.
Related: 7 Clever Ways To Get More Organized By Thinking Like MacGyver
3. Organize A Bathroom
Tension rods can help add additional storage to a small bathroom. Hang headbands, brushes, necklaces, and hair ribbons, and more!
4. Tidy Up Your Shower
Doesn’t it always seem like there’s never enough space for everyone’s stuff in the shower? Add a tension rod across your shower to quickly increase your storage options! Clip up loofahs, washcloths, body brushes, and more. Not only will it give you more space in the shower, but hanging your shower things will help keep them dry and free of mildew.
5. Hang Wrapping Paper
Keep your gift-wrapping supplies handy by hanging them from a tension rod with a few curtain clips. It makes it easy to see what kinds of wrapping paper you have on hand, and you can keep your scissors, tape, and ribbon at the ready too.
6. Organize Spices
Install a tension rod in your pantry as a place to hang packets of spices and other dry mixes. You can also hang bags of chips, pretzels, and other snacks to keep them up and out of the way.
7. Add Storage Under Your Sink
For more storage space, use tension rods for cupboards! Put up an inexpensive tension rod near the top of the cupboard under your sink. It’s the perfect place to hang cleaning products, spray bottles, and scrub brushes! Plus, getting spray bottles up off the bottom of the cupboard will free up valuable storage space for other items.
More Ideas You'll Love
If you have larger/heavier spray bottles to hang, be sure to choose a sturdy tension rod that can stand up to the extra weight.
8. Make A Valance
All you need is a tension rod and a fabric jelly roll to create a unique and beautiful window valance! It’s a quick and easy project that makes a great addition to any room. Get the full instructions at the blog post below!
Related: How To Make A Shabby Chic Window Valance In Minutes!
9. Hang Kitchen Utensils
Use a tension rod and a few shower rings to hang kitchen utensils and dish towels in your kitchen. It’s a functional storage solution, and it looks great too!
10. Organize Jewelry
Make a useful jewelry organizer with a tension rod and a few shower rings. Clip the rings onto the tension rod and hang necklaces and bracelets from the rings. You’ll never have to contend with another tangled mess of jewelry!
Related: How To Get Command Hooks To Stick Just About Anywhere
11. Divide Drawer Space
Deep drawers can hold a lot of stuff, but they can quickly become a chaotic mess. Install a tension rod in the drawer to separate and organize the drawer to help keep the chaos at a minimum. :-)
12. Makeover A Desk
Hate the way all those cords look hanging out from the back of your desk? Use tension rods to hang up a few simple curtains around the sides of the desk! They’ll keep the cords hidden away for a more organized look.
13. Create A Window Awning
From Musings from a French Cottage
Want to bring the breezy feeling of an outdoor cafe into your home? All you need is a couple of tension rods and a bit of fabric to create this cute indoor awning!
More Ideas You'll Love
14. Store High Heels
From Lifehacker
Struggling with storing your extensive shoe collection? (It happens to the best of us!) Aisha from Lifehacker found a brilliant solution for storing her high heels by installing a few tension rods! Just hang the shoes by their heels to keep them organized and off the floor.
15. Hide Bookcase Clutter
Modular shelving units are a versatile storage solution, but they can easily become a cluttered eyesore. But this idea from BHG is a brilliant way to hide the clutter for a more organized look! Just install fabric “shades” using small tension rods to block the clutter from view.
16. Install Pantry Dividers
From Martha Stewart
Pantry shelves looking a bit chaotic? Install a few short tension rods vertically along your shelves. They’ll help you store cutting boards, serving platters, and other items up on their sides to free up more of that valuable shelf space.
17. Make An Easy Bed Skirt
From Seagrass Interiors
Hide the clutter under your bed by using tension rods to install a simple bed skirt. It’s an easy and affordable solution that can make a big difference in the look of your bedroom!
BONUS: How To Use A Tension Rod
To position a spring-loaded tension rod, twist the inner rod counterclockwise to adjust the length until the rod is about 1″ longer than the space you want to put it in. Press one end against the wall, then position the other end of the rod against the opposing wall. Make small adjustments by twisting clockwise for less tension or counterclockwise for more tension until the rod is secure.
Do you use tension rods for storage or organization in your house?
When I can’t or don’t want to span a tension rod all the way across from wall to wall, I put up command hooks and lay shorter rods (tension, telescoping, fixed) across the hooks. Damage free and works well to hang smaller things like jewelry or shower items (loofahs, mitts, etc.) I also hang slim baskets from their back edge for larger things. I use command hooks rated above the expected weight and never had anything come down.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’m using them to keep my robot vacuum where I want it.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I use them to block rooms from my dogs. I put them low between the opening to the room so I can still step over, but they won’t go in. For some reason, this keeps them out of the room so they don’t jump on my good furniture!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Great idea!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I read on the handyman website that to keep the small tension rods from sliding down, screw water bottle lids to the walls to hold up the ends. Don’t forget to make sure they are level across from each other before screwing in the second one.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.If u have to screw the water bottle tops in U might as well install a regular rod
Please log in or create a free account to comment.If you do not want to put a screw in the wood, to hold the water bottle lid. Use command strip adhesive On the back of the water bottle lid.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have learned a lot of good experiences from your site and this is one of the most useful sites I have ever known.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I totally agree. Thank you Jilly. Sue. UK.
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