When you picture a curtain rod, does a gilded pinecone finial on a brushed-brass rod spring to mind? Or a cut-glass diamond knob? They can be so strangely fussy, curtain rods, when all we really want ...

You can have beautiful curtains, well-painted walls, and all the right furniture—but if your curtain rods look flimsy, it throws everything off. Most people underestimate how much impact curtain ...