Getting Crafty with Pipe Plumbing.

Getting Crafty with Pipe Plumbing | Apartment Therapy
If you have a room under a dormer (like my attic room on the 3rd floor), or a clean basement, screw two heavy duty eyelets into rafters several feet apart, and buy a pipe as long as the space, two threaded eyelets, four threaded chain links and two feet of chain.
Drill holes on the two ends of the pipe, put a threaded eyelet through the holes, and use the threaded links on the ceiling and the pipe ends, and run half your chain through each pair of links.
You now have a closet rod that is as long as the pipe, that will hold 100-30 pounds of clothes on hangers, for a lot less than this $70 project.
We have various bag hangers and such hanging off this pipe, and it's been up for 15 year or more at this point.
I even put dry wall up on the ceiling, behind this pole.
I used 3/4 inch pipe, and thought about using 1 inch, but my costs would have gone up a lot.

Cast iron gas pipes... they actually make great rails for any type of hanging need - such as curtains, closet rails, etc.
Available in long lengths, easily cut to size, fit into curtain rod holders (be sure to buy the size to match the OD of the pipe) and the end caps don't look bad as simple finales, but if you so desire, you can drill them with a metal drill bit and attach your finale to the cap.
They are also black to start with, but can be painted with Hammerite or Rustoleum spray paint.