If you are looking for cheap area rugs you are sure to find some but in many cases you will find low quality to match the low prices. If you want a quality rug, but you don’t have a big budget think about using bound carpet remnants.
Carpet remnants are pieces of carpet left behind after carpet has been cut from a roll for a customer or pieces of carpet which are left over when you have carpet installed in your home.
If you don’t have any suitable pieces of carpet to use (and you don’t know anyone who is just about to order a new carpet) look for remnants for sale in stores. You may have to buy a bigger piece than you need but you can generally pick up something of good quality quite cheaply.
There are a few limitations with this idea (although they may not matter to you) :-
1. Plain and Subtle Patterns
You are unlikely to find remnants with the bright striking patterns that you get in contemporary rugs. You are more likely to get plain colors or subtle patterns and weave effects like you have with Berber or frieze carpet. Also fewer bright colors will be on offer. For example, if you are looking for a bright red rug, you might look long and hard because few bright red carpets are sold. If you want a beige rug however you will have lots of possibilities for using bound rug remnants.
2. No Shag Pile
Not much is sold in the way of shag pile carpeting so you are unlikely to get a cheap shag rug in this way. You will need to save your pennies to afford that leather rug you have your eye on too!
Carpet Binding Tape for DIY Binding (Click Image for Details)
There are no bound carpet remnants for sale. The edges of your remnant will need binding in some way after you purchase it to prevent fraying. This can be done using a process called carpet whipping or binding and is usually done by professional carpet binding services using a special machine (although there is a new option to do this yourself – see below). You will find a number of these services advertised on the web so, although you can’t directly buy bound carpet remnants online, you can arrange the work there and have your carpet picked up and delivered. This process usually takes about a week and the cost is modest (around $1 per foot of binding required)
Making Bound Remnants Yourself
New methods are available which mean that the binding process is something you can do for yourself. It is not exactly the same as carpet whipping as you simply buy an edging that you glue onto your carpet piece. Edges are available in different types and colors to allow you to create a very attractive binding for your rug and you can use a matching or contrast color. To do this yourself need a product called Instabind and you will find instructions and a video on the Instabind website which will help you decide whether you want to tackle this work rather than using a professional carpet binding service.
