Curtain Rods and Hardware: What Is Not in the Box

Here is the part the product page does not put in the price. On a made-to-order curtain, what ships is the panel and its hooks. Everything that holds it up is a separate purchase, and on a long window it is not a trivial one. This is the checklist, component by component.

What the three brands actually include

Read these as published, because they are unusually consistent:

Two Pages: “Curtain hooks are included. Curtain Rings and Rods are not included.”
Neutral Curtains: curtain hooks included, rings to be selected according to need, and the rod “is sold separately.”
Half Price Drapes: offers the panel with a pole pocket, back tabs, or rings with drapery pins. The pole itself is yours to supply.

So the pattern across all three is the same: hooks yes, rings no, rod no. Budget for it before you compare panel prices, because a curtain that needs rings and a rod is not competing on equal terms with one that threads onto a pole you already own.

The exception is worth knowing: shades often go the other way. Neutral’s Belgian flax roman shade ships with its header and its installation hardware included, because a shade cannot function without its headrail. Same brand, opposite convention, decided by the product type.

What ships, and what you buy separately

Half Price Drapes Glass Sphere Nickel Extendable Metal Rod Set	included: telescoping rod, mounting brackets, removable finials, screws and wall anchors
Two Pages Lark Motorized Curtain Tracks	included: track and motor; curtain panels sold separately; Zigbee gateway not included

Source: official product pages from Half Price Drapes, Neutral Curtains, Two Pages, checked 2026-08-22 and 2026-09-02. Fold & Light does not measure products; any percentage is the one that brand publishes.

The rod

The main structural choice, and it has three constraints.

Diameter has a ceiling if your header threads onto it. A rod pocket is a sewn channel of fixed size, and it either accepts the pole or it does not. Half Price Drapes publishes the limit for its Signature Velvet pocket: a pole up to 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Grommets have the same constraint with a different number. Measure the inner diameter of the eyelet.

Length includes the extension past the frame, not just the window. If the plan is to clear the glass when the curtains are open, the rod has to be meaningfully wider than the opening, and that is the length you buy.

Weight is a real consideration on heavy fabric. A velvet panel at 285 to 300 gsm on a long drop is substantial, and doubly so on a wide window. We are not going to quote a load rating, because none of these brands publishes one for a rod they do not sell, but a heavy pair on a wide span is exactly the case where a centre support bracket earns its place. If you want the number rather than the rule, the calculator works out what your panels will weigh on the rod from the published gsm, and says so when a bracket capacity is not published.

Half Price Drapes Glass Sphere Nickel Extendable Metal Rod Set, official catalogue photo — **Half Price Drapes · Glass Sphere Nickel Extendable Metal Rod Set**
Listed at $52.49. complete single-variant kit: telescoping rod, brackets, removable finials, screws and wall anchors
Catalogue photo from Half Price Drapes, retrieved 2026-08-22.

Brackets and supports

Two at the ends, plus a centre support on anything wide or heavy. The centre support is the component people skip and then regret, because the sag it prevents does not appear on day one. It appears three months in.

Fixing matters as much as the bracket. Into a stud or solid timber is straightforward; into plasterboard alone, use proper cavity fixings rated for the load. Neutral notes on its own shade listings that the supplied screws are intended to go through drywall and into a stud or solid wood member. That is the standard assumption, and if your wall does not offer one, the fixings are your problem to solve before the rod goes up.

What these listings do not tell you

Half Price Drapes Glass Sphere Nickel Extendable Metal Rod Set: weight capacity lb, bracket count
Two Pages Lark Motorized Curtain Tracks: weight gsm, noise level, motor brand

Missing from the product page, so missing here too. A brand that prints the number is doing you a favour worth counting.

Rings, hooks and pins

If you chose a pleated header, this is the layer that connects panel to rod, and it is the one most often forgotten at checkout.

Hooks come with the panel, at all three brands.
Rings do not. Count them properly: you need enough for even spacing, and pleated panels have a defined number of pleats to hook into. Two Pages links to its own pleat-count guidance for exactly this reason.
Drapery pins are the Half Price Drapes route on a ring-hung panel, the same idea, different name, and the same “buy the rings” conclusion.

Grommet and rod pocket headers skip this whole section, which is a genuine cost advantage and part of why they are popular.

Two Pages S-Shaped Metal Pin Hooks, official catalogue photo — **Two Pages · S-Shaped Metal Pin Hooks (Pack of 32)**
Listed at $20.00. single price, one pack of 32 pin hooks
Catalogue photo from Two Pages, retrieved 2026-09-02.

Tracks, when a rod will not do

If you want a true ripple fold, or a curtain that runs across a very wide opening, or a ceiling-mounted line, you are looking at a track with carriers rather than a decorative pole. It costs more and it looks more architectural. Decide this before ordering the panel, because the header has to match the system.

Two Pages Lark Motorized Curtain Tracks, official catalogue photo — **Two Pages · Lark Motorized Curtain Tracks**
Listed at $205.99. lowest of six size x power variants (205.99 / 233.89 / 249.99 / 277.89 / 289.99 / 317.89 by track length and power type)…
Catalogue photo from Two Pages, retrieved 2026-08-22.

Shade hardware is a different problem entirely

For roman and cellular shades, the hardware question is not what to buy but whether it fits. The headrail has to sit inside the reveal for an inside mount, and the published minimums differ by brand: Two Pages asks for 2 3/8 inches of depth on its Patti shade, Half Price Drapes for 2 3/4 inches on its roman shades.

Motorization makes the headrail bigger, and the brands say so. Two Pages publishes both: a wooden headrail of 3/4 by 1 1/2 inches on the manual version, and 2 3/4 by 3 1/2 inches once motorized. A recess that comfortably takes the manual shade may not take the motorized one at all.

What each price actually covers

Brand	Listed	Basis
Half Price Drapes Glass Sphere Nickel Extendable Metal Rod Set	$52.49	complete single-variant kit: telescoping rod, brackets, removable finials, screws and wall anchors
Two Pages S-Shaped Metal Pin Hooks (Pack of 32)	$20.00	single price, one pack of 32 pin hooks
Neutral Curtains Adjustable Pin Hooks (Pack of 10)	$12.00	single price, one pack of 10 pin hooks
Half Price Drapes Heavy Duty Drapery Pin Hooks (22 per bag)	$4.99	single price, one bag of 22 pin hooks; final sale, no returns
Two Pages Lark Motorized Curtain Tracks	$205.99	lowest of six size x power variants (205.99 / 233.89 / 249.99 / 277.89 / 289.99 / 317.89 by track length and power type). Sold as a finished track in three fixed lengths; curtain panels are not included, and the Zigbee gateway is not included either.

Not like-for-like. These figures rest on different bases, so they cannot be ranked against each other. Read what each price covers before comparing.

The pre-checkout list

Rod of the right diameter for your header and long enough to clear the glass. Two end brackets, plus a centre support on anything wide or heavy. Rings, if the header needs them, in the right quantity. Fixings suited to your wall, not to an imaginary stud. And for a shade, a measured recess depth checked against that brand’s published minimum, in the version (manual or motorized) you actually intend to buy.