If you need to hang long or heavy drapes, you can increase the strength of your curtain rod or traverse rod by ordering a telescoping rod with a minimum width near your window size.
For instance, for a 48" window, order a telescoping rod that fits a 48" to 84" window and you'll double-up the rod thickness making for a studier rod.
The type and style drapery you want to hang will help you determine the correct rod. For valances or stationary panels or sheers, choose a Curtain Rod. For draperies that will open or close, choose a Traverse Rod.
If your drapery isn't going to open or close (draw), then you'll probably want to use a curtain rod.
Stationary sheers are typically hung on a regular curtain rod. We recommend the Kirsch Lockseam Curtain Rod. Lockseam Curtain Rods are great for a top valance with a small rod-pocket too.
Valances with a wide face are installed using either a Continental I or Continental II Curtain Rod.
For other stationary drapes or sheers you can also use sash rods, cafe rods or spring pressure rods.
If you want to open or close your drapery, then you'll need a Traverse Rod. Traverse Rods are available in basic white styles or in decorative styles, like the Kirsch Estate Ultra pictured to your left.
Traverse Rods allow you to open or close your drapery. They can draw closed to the right or to the left. But, split draw (or center draw) is the most common.
You can use Curtain Rods and Traverse Rods together to create a layered window treatment like a stationary valance on a Curtain Rod with sheers underneath installed on a Traverse Rod. Your sheers will open or close because they are on a Traverse Rod and your valance will remain stationary on your Curtain Rod.
It's really not as difficult as it might seem to be. If you need to find Kirsch curtain rods for drapes that don't open and close, then the correct style of rod to search for is a basic curtain rod. The type of non-moving drapery that you're going to hang will tell you which type of curtain rod that you need to look for. For valances with a really wide header or rod pocket, then you should look for Continental rods. And, for valances with a smaller rod pocket, you should try to find a regular curtain rod.
For stationary sheers, you can also use a regular curtain rod. One more issue to consider with standard rods is the clearance. The clearance is the distance between the mounting surface and the back of the drapery rod. If you're layering treatments and using several different drapery rods, then you'll need to make sure that you're using rods with clearances that will allow for others to be installed underneath.
Anytime you need your drapery to open or close with cords, then you're going to want to find a traverse rod. A curtain rod that has carriers to draw your drapery across the rod is classified as traversing. While the traditional white traverse rod is by far the most common, there are a lot of decorative options available for you. Kirsch has two types of decorative traverse rods, Studio Coordinates and Estate. Both of these Kirsch drapery hardware collections are available with cords that open and close your drapery.
If you want the look of a decorative wood pole, but need a traverse style rod, then you can choose Kirsch Estate. If you want a decorative metal pole with traverse carriers, then Kirsch Metal Accessories is the way to go. Both styles will let you specify the draw of your drapery and can be made for pinch-pleat. Kirsch Estate curtain rods can be made for Ripplefold style draperies too. Either of these Kirsch drapery hardware options are a great choice.
If you decide that you want your traverse rod to be decorative, and you choose to go with a Kirsch curtain rods option, then you'll have several more options to choose. For example, a decorative traverse rod may include ornamental items like finials, brackets of faux-rings. You can get faux-rings on both Kirsch drapery hardware collections. Once you add these additional components, your traverse rod will have the look of a decorative piece, but will remain functional so you'll be able to open and close your drapes whenever you want to.