The humble tension rod is far from the most exciting or decorative home purchase. More often than not, they are used to hike up a shower curtain when we can’t drill into tiled bathroom walls or otherwise left to collect dust in the store.
However, these no-drill hanging rods have a whole range of other uses around the home, from improving home storage ideas to increasing privacy, and all without any need for serious DIY.
Here, H&G’s Solved editors share six ways we've cleverly used tension rods around our homes to inspire your creativity and boost functionality in your vital spaces.
Our tried and tested alternative uses for tension rods
One of the best things about tension rods is they are adjustable, meaning that they can often slot into any space needed, with no DIY finesse or extra tools required. Better yet, they are incredibly affordable, helping to spruce up or organize a home on a budget or in a rush.
1. Alternative cabinet door
If you are looking to replace kitchen doors for an easy update or have an open cabinet you want to conceal the contents of, a tension rod can be a simple solution, allowing you to hang a curtain.
Punteha van Terheyden, head of solved at Homes & Gardens, says, 'We had a repeated hinge problem on one cabinet door in our kitchen where the particle board inside had disintegrated and nothing we did would keep the hinge in place. Our kitchen cabinets were not replaceable like-for-like as the doors had been discontinued.
'I bought a thin tension rod that fit across the width of the space along with a cutesy cottage-style linen fabric material and slid the rod through the loop space. Now it looks like an intentional cottagecore addition to my kitchen and serves its purpose well, hiding my slow cookers, freezer bags and other day-to-day kitchen items.'
2. Organizing cleaning supplies
One of my least favorite parts of organizing a kitchen is organizing cleaning supplies. I have so many bottles and products shoved into the cabinet under my sink that it was hard to grab what I need quickly without battling through the mess – not to mention that they always fell over when I had them on shelf risers.
The solution? To use a tension rod to hang the spray bottles from.
I used an extending tension rod along the top of my cleaning cabinet and simply hooked each spray trigger over it, suspending the bottles at the top of my cabinet so that I could use the base of the cabinet for heavy containers.
To reduce the weight on the tension rod and stop it from falling down, I split up my cleaning supplies into rooms. Any bathroom cleaning products are now stored in my bathroom cabinet instead. Not only does it help to reduce clutter, but it makes following my different day, different room housekeeping schedule a little easier.
This extendable telescopic rod has an upper weight limit of 30 pounds, making it ideal for hanging full cleaning bottles from and free up space under your sink.
3. Doubling hanging closet space
Organizing a small closet with lots of clothes can be tricky, especially if you don't want to declutter. When you need to make a little extra space, a tension rod could prove to be your saving grace – especially when organizing children's clothes.
Punteha van Terheyden, Head of Solved at H&G shares, ‘My daughter is now nearly eight but two years ago we upgraded her cute clothes hanging rail to a three-door closet. It had a single hanging space on either side of cubbies and drawers which was a great set up, but after using it for a week or two, I realized there was a lot of dead space on the bottom half of the hanging area.
‘My daughter also couldn't reach the top half to grab things herself in the morning so I decided to get a small tension rod that would fit the small width of her closet and double her hanging space on that side. Now, her school uniform goes on that bottom row and she can access it easily herself. I bought a pack of two tension roads and held one back as a spare. We store her foldaway Barbie house under her clothes in the other closet and so far, the tension rod that's in play has not budged an inch.
‘I bought spring tension expandable rods from Amazon that come with these little brackets for extra support and they have been fantastic. Easy to install, customize the size, and they haven't moved in two years.’
4. Hanging kitchen utensils
If you have ever seen pictures of beautiful hanging kitchen storage, displaying matching brass kitchen pots and utensils, and been incredibly jealous – you are not alone. Not only is wall-mounted kitchen storage beautiful, but it is incredibly practical too, helping you grab what you need quickly and with little to no fuss.
Luckily, all is not lost if you cannot drill into your kitchen walls. Ottilie Blackhall, Solved news writer at H&G, says, ‘You can use a tension rod to organize kitchen utensils underneath wall-mounted cabinets. Picking a rod that stretches the entire span of the cabinets gives you loads of vertical storage to save space. You can then use small hooks to keep utensils and mugs close to hand and hang kitchen towels to keep your countertops clear.
‘Keep in mind that too much weight on the tension rod may make it fall, so try not to hang anything too heavy, such as large mugs or pans, to prevent any damage beneath it’ Ottilie adds.
To make taking utensils on and off of utensil rods easier, consider getting hooks with safetly clips. This way, the hook will stay behind on the tension rod so you can easily remove your utensil.
5. Hanging a privacy curtain
Living in a rented home means I am limited in what I can do when drilling holes, but I still want the same levels of privacy as any other home on the street. Given that my kitchen window looks directly into the neighbor's house, and my bathroom window overlooks everyone's gardens, I wanted a little extra piece of mind that not everyone could see me showering or moving around in my pajamas.
The solution was to follow the cafe-curtain trend and install some temporary privacy curtains for each room. I used a tension rod fitted into each window recess and cut one pair of sheer opaque curtains down to make two sets that would hang perfectly from the midpoint of the window to the windowsill. This still lets plenty of light in while obscuring the view outside. The best thing? It added a little touch of whimsy.
6. Storing craft supplies
If you are a keen crafter like me, then you will be familiar with the pains of trying to organize art supplies neatly without making them hard to reach. A tension rod was the perfect solution for keeping ribbons and strings for gift wrapping neat and organized without the need to tuck them all into a box. Better yet, it prevents things from unraveling and becoming tangled in storage.
Similarly to hanging my essential cleaning supplies, I ran the tension rod along the top of one of the cabinets in my home office and threaded the string and ribbon reels onto it. Now all I need to do is open the door, pull a length off and cut it to size as I need it.
Remember when using tension rods that unless they have wall brackets, they may be prone to slipping when put under too much weight. Pick rods with brackets or sticky rubber stopper ends to help limit falls and prevent big messes to clean up later down the line. Ensuring your tension rod sits perfectly in the space and is not too small also helps.
