A curtain rail or traverse rod is a device used to suspend curtain

Curtain

A curtain is a piece of cloth intended to block or obscure light, or drafts, or water in the case of a shower curtain. Curtains hung over a doorway are known as portières...

s, usually above windows or along the edges of showers, though also wherever curtains might be used. When found in bathrooms, curtain rods tend to be telescopic and self-fixing, while curtain rods in other areas of the home are often affixed with decorative brackets

Bracket (architecture)

A bracket is an architectural member made of wood, stone, or metal that overhangs a wall to support or carry weight. It may also support a statue, the spring of an arch, a beam, or a shelf. Brackets are often in the form of scrolls, and can be carved, cast, or molded. They can be entirely...

 or finial

Finial

The finial is an architectural device, typically carved in stone and employed decoratively to emphasize the apex of a gable or any of various distinctive ornaments at the top, end, or corner of a building or structure. Smaller finials can be used as a decorative ornament on the ends of curtain rods...

. New "pin-on" curtain finials are an example of a decorative curtain finial for use on any "curtain rod" or "traverse rod".

Making

Curtain rods can be made of many materials including- wood, metal and plastic. Curtain rods come in almost endless styles and designs. Not all curtain rods are simple straight poles, curved and hinged poles are available from numerous companies, allowing installation in bay windows and around curved walls and corners. Curtain rods can also be of a crane or swing arm design. Prices and quality of curtain rods are as varied as designs from inexpensive big box store products to high end specialty products made by companies catering to interior designers and architects.

Invention

The flat, telescoping curtain rod was invented by Charles W. Kirsch, of Sturgis

Sturgis, Michigan

Sturgis, is a city in St. Joseph County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 10,994 at the 2010 census. The city is located at the northeast corner of Sturgis Township and at the intersection of US 12 and M-66....

, Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

, in 1907. However, they were not in use until the 1920s. Kirsch also invented the traverse curtain rod in 1928.