Abstract: A drapery rod includes a substrate covered with a veneer or genuine wood. The substrate is hollow and is preferably made of plastic or metal. The substrate has ribs in an inner surface and has a mounting groove which receives a mounting bracket for mounting said drapery rod to an associated wall. The mounting bracket has opposed prongs which are selectively moveable outwardly from each other for pushing outwardly against an interior surface of the mounting groove to effectively mount said rod to the wall without compressively loading the veneer. The veneer is attached to the outer surface of the substrate via glue. The rod features a slot in an outer surface of the veneer which receives a decorative strip. The rod also includes a pair of returns which also have substrates and veneers similar to said drapery rod and which are oriented generally perpendicularly to the drapery rod at each end thereof. The rod also includes two corners which join the returns with one of the ends of said drapery rod.