<p>Ok, anyone have any suggestions on how to hang curtains in son's dorm room. My original plan was to use a tension rod, but upon move-in I discovered what he has is 3 windows across without any dividing frame inbetween so I'd need a 10 ft or so tension rod and can't find any down here. (These run across the 2 short sides of the room). The school has hung mini-blinds (horribly dusty btw), 3 of them. Son wants something darker. I was trying to figure out some kind of arrangement to suspend a rod from the top of the mini-blind, maybe some kind of hook deal. Any ideas?</p>
<p>The 3M Command Strips would work. I bought the heavy duty kind with enough room to put a long curtain rod onto. You can probably put up 3 or 4 strips to hold the rod but 3 would be best so that a curtain could open and close across the rod.</p>
<p>Maybe if this is that important to your son, he will figure it out on his own.<br>
Wouldn’t that make you proud?</p>
<p>Hilti 
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<p>Unless the windows go all the way to the ceiling, you should be able to position mounting arms over the miniblinds. 10 feet would be 3 segments of 3.3 feet each, should be doable. What type of wall are we talking about?</p>
<p>Ikea may have a viable, stylish solution. But I like the thought that maybe he can figure something out. :)</p>
<p>" I was trying to figure out some kind of arrangement"
OP,
As a former 5 star “helicopter mom” , I suggest its time to let your DS find the solution to this “problem”. Many college kids have survived those “shudder” nasty blinds. He can ask other kids in his dorm how they would hang curtains, if he needs suggestions. The words " I’m confident you can come up with a solution honey" will place the onus on him to solve this “problem” and will give him a base of self confidence that he will need in college and beyond.
Time to start backing away from being the only one who does the thinking , mom.</p>
<p>Daughter’s problem with the drapes was solved by previous tenant: The c-shaped single curtain rod was still there. DD slid rings over the rod and attached the sharp hooks into chocolate-colored drapes to cover strong morning sun. She’s become an expert in putting them up each year courtesy of previous tenants who have left some semblance of hooks.</p>
<p>Can you put holes in the walls? If so, go to the hardware store, buy a length of closet pole, have it cut to size, buy some brackets and hang. It also might work to wedge in the closet pole without brackets if the walls are cement, but that might prove to be interesting if it falls on someone’s head :D.</p>
<p>S2 had a bright light from the parking lot by his window and the lights of the football stadium across the road. His remedy? A dark blanket fastened to the wall with lots of duct tape…freshman engineering 101…duct tape fixes everything. Kids always figure something out if it bothers them enough.</p>
<p>Another cheap easy solution would be to use the 3D Command Strip hooks, buy inexpensive dark colored flat sheets, make small holes in the top of the sheets and hang them by the hooks.</p>
<p>My son bought a sleep mask in the bookstore - seems to work well and much easier than trying to hang curtains.</p>
<p>I’ve used chip clips and sheets/towels to cover windows when needed as a temporary solution – if there’s something you can attach a chip clip to!</p>
<p>Many residence halls do not allow curtains due to lack of fire retardance. I remember the Seton Hall residence hall fire from some years ago and know some U’s became more vigilant about prohibited materials after that.</p>
<p>One could install fasteners on either end of the bank of windows - either on the window wall, the side walls, or the ceiling. Then a vinyl-coated steel cable (and these can be pretty thin, because they are very strong) can be attached to the end fasteners (hooks or some closed loop end piece - just look around at a hardware store). So there is the “rod.”</p>
<p>Then you have the curtain. Maybe just go to JC Penney or Sears and look for black-out curtains. You may or may not find a size that works well with your windows. Some rarer sizes are available but will need to be ordered.</p>
<p>You’d probably need something to hold the curtains off the window when they are open too, because all that fabric covering that whole wall will add up to a lot on the sides.</p>
<p>So it gets a bit detaily, and whether the time and energy is available for that?..</p>
<p>Ikea is a really good idea - they may even have a cable system with end fasteners ready to go.</p>
<p>BUT, I do think the fire issue is really important. Are there non-combustible curtains? The foamy black-out ones might actually be okay for that. But, yeah, better look into the regulations.</p>
<p>We used Command hooks and zip ties to hang a rod for D. Put up the Command hook (the heavy duty one), made a loop from zip ties and slid the rod into the loops. The drapes are from Ikea and have metal rings set into to the top. Her room temp dropped about 10 degrees once the drape was up, it also helps block light and noise (commuter train).</p>
<p>I love how some people are deciding whether this mom should or should not be involved in helping her son decorate a room with curtains. </p>
<p>You all have no idea what this son does entirely without his mom’s input and I bet he does some things independently that your own child has still non conquered.</p>
<p>I recall one solution that seemed pretty inexpensive. Someone taped newspapers on their windows. It’s not a good look from the outside though.</p>
<p>^
Or maybe the tin foil on the windows? That was always a nice look, and a dead giveaway. ;)</p>
<p>Is this a common thing to do? It would never have occurred to me to buy or provide curtains. The school provides window treatments; they are what they are.</p>
<p>Another idea would be to put in room darkening blinds and just put the school ones back up at the end of the year. You can use the same brackets as the current blinds.</p>
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<p>I think it is more of a girl thing. My daughter used one of the tension rods for curtains in her dorm. It was for the cute look but also to cut out light if needed.</p>