I Tested 5 Renter-Friendly Ways to Hang Curtains Without Drilling and Had a Runaway Favorite

After 20 years as a renter (plus a few intermittent years of owning two 100-plus-year-old houses), I’ve learned a thing or two about making reversible home upgrades. I’ve always strived to make my family’s rental apartments more colorful and cozy, but I never wanted that work to come at the cost of my security deposit! One of my biggest headaches as a renter has been filling holes made from hanging curtains, so I’ve always been on the hunt for actually effective ways to hang curtains without drilling.

So many amazing renter-friendly products have popped up on the market that simply weren’t options 10 or 20 years ago, and one category that’s been particularly impressive to me is that of no-drill curtains. I tested five of the most-talked about options on the internet, and the winner was clear. Here’s how it went.

I tested all of these products on a 43-inch wide window in our guest bedroom with a regular old wood window frame surround, with blinds installed. Once each bracket was installed, I tested to see how strong the connection to the wall was.

Ratings: I rated each of these methods on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 was the worst and 5 was the best.

I took into consideration how long the method took to install, the ease of installation, how strong the curtain rod was, and how much fabric weight it could hold. I also considered whether or not it could be installed along with window blinds. Lastly, I considered how easy the method was to remove and if it left any damage behind, and how it looked overall.

Installation: If you’ve ever installed Command hooks, you can install these self-adhesive curtain rod brackets. The only effort you have to make is measuring out where you want to place the hook, then peeling the sticker back off and pressing the brackets to the wall. The plastic brackets do have tiny holes, giving you the option of adding a screw to reinforce the hold, as well as a little spring arm to hold the rods in place.

I really liked the fact that you can place the brackets at any height on the wall you prefer. They’re so small and come in clear acrylic, so they blend in very nicely.

For this test, I installed the brackets 12 inches above the window trim and was amazed at how much bigger the room felt because I was able to hang the curtains higher to the ceiling. The only thing I was hesitant about was how I would remove the adhesive from the walls, because they didn’t have any tails to pull to release like Command strips.

How well it held up: The brackets held up perfectly, and the adhesion to the wall was incredibly strong. The brackets have a little spring arm that clicks into place to keep the curtain rod from popping out, so the rod stays perfectly in place.

The big downside, which earned them the rating of a big fat one, was when I pulled the brackets off the walls. In the reviews I’d seen people complaining that the paint came off along with the brackets, but when I removed mine, I had to use a putty knife and ended up taking the top layer of drywall off. For this reason, I do not recommend these brackets.

Overall Rating: 1/5

Installation: I probably wouldn’t have been able to actually install the expanding curtain tension rod had there not been a video uploaded by a user in the reviews! It was not very user-friendly at all — so much so that I dragged my husband in on the job to help me make sense of it all.

There are stickers covering the rod giving you step-by-step directions, but instead of being helpful, they were really overwhelming. Take, for example, the sticker on the finial that says “turn this way” with an arrow. What it doesn’t explain is that you have to first turn it the opposite way to set the length, and then you turn it the way the sticker instructs. Not clear at all!

At first glance the rod is ugly. It’s giving ’90s in the least flattering way possible. And when I held it in my hand I realized that the important parts that are supposed to make this tension rod work are actually plastic. One end kept falling off, and I was honestly surprised it didn’t break.

There is a screw hole in the bracket to give extra support if you need to hang anything heavier than a light, flowy curtain — but then that defeats the purpose of a “no-drill bracket.” It took me and my husband about 10 minutes to figure out how to adjust and hang it (which was 9 minutes more than it should take to use a product like this). 

How well it held up: I would not recommend using this rod for anything other than lightweight linen or cotton curtains. You also have to be really careful not to overtighten the rod, because the more you tighten it the more the rod will bow, and eventually pop out of the window. Basically, you have to give it a “good enough” tighten and cross your fingers the whole operation doesn’t fall down in the middle of the night and scare you half to death. 

Overall Rating: 1/5

Installation: The application of the Command Heavyweight Hooks was no different than other Command strips (read: super simple). Putting these up was as easy as peeling off the stickers and pressing them to the wall. I let the hooks sit for 1 hour before putting any weight on and they stayed up perfectly.

The only real effort you need to make while installing Command hooks is measuring to figure out where on the wall you want to hang them, which can sometimes be the step that takes the longest. For this test I just lined the bottom of the hook up with the trim and made sure the sides were flush with the sides of the trim.

The only downside of these hooks is that they are really bulky, so you can see the top part of the hook sticking out behind the hung curtains, which doesn’t really give it a nice finished look, but is good enough in a pinch!

How well it held up: These XL hooks hold up to 10 pounds each, so as long as your curtain rod isn’t excessively heavy, you can hang 20 pounds from the hooks.

The key to keeping the hooks on the wall is preparation! When hanging Command strips, you’ll always get the best result if you first clean the portion of the wall where you’re placing the strips, then let the wall dry thoroughly before pressing the adhesive to the wall. These directions say to let the hooks set for at least an hour until using them.

As long as you follow the directions, the hooks have amazing staying power, and they’re extremely easy to remove by using the pull-down tabs.

Overall Rating: 3/5

Installation: Just like a shower tension rod, you unscrew this adjustable spring tension rod to adjust to the length you need. Then, you place the curtain on the rod, put the rod back inside the window frame at the height you need to hang it, and screw tight until it’s pushing against both sides of the window.

Just holding this particular tension rod in my hands, I could tell it was good quality and could hold a substantial curtain. The tension mechanism worked well, and the only real complaint I have is that if you have blinds installed in your window you can’t use it (otherwise you’d be taking it off each time you needed to drop your blinds down). I ended up placing the rod like you would for a café curtain, and it worked nicely; however, it wasn’t able to provide complete coverage because of the blinds.

How it held up: I gave the curtain a tug, and the tension rod didn’t budge out of place, but a solid yank had it on the floor.

Overall Rating: 3/5

Installation: To install the Tap Bracket, I grabbed a hammer and a step stool, held the bracket over the corner of each window, and gave three to five taps from the hammer on each side. That was it!

It was so incredibly easy to install the Tap Brackets, and they gave virtually instant results. The “nail” that you tap in isn’t even a nail per se — it’s soldered on as part of the bracket, and is incredibly strong, which means you can tap the brackets out and reuse them again and again on a different window.

These brackets are installed on the outside of the top of the window frame, which means they won’t interfere with any blinds that are installed. The only downside is that you can’t choose the height at which to hang the bracket, since they have to go right on top of the window trim.

How well it held up: The brackets were incredibly sturdy. I pulled on them and tried to wiggle them around, and they didn’t budge. I’m sure it wouldn’t hold my entire weight if I tried hanging on them, but it is definitely strong enough to hold a heavy pair of curtains, and I estimate they’d be sufficient for a 5-foot-wide window, so they really are a great fit for most applications.

If you are too intimidated to hang curtain rods or need something temporary, order these brackets! They leave behind the tiniest nail hole, and it’s at the top of the window frame so no one will ever see it. That means there’s no need to patch walls after you move! They’re incredibly sturdy and hide seamlessly behind your curtains. The cherry on top: The only skill you need is being able to tap a hammer. I’m a convert!

Overall Rating: 5/5