How to Use a Carpet Remnant
A carpet remnant is an extra piece of rug which is left over. Usually, you end up with a carpet remnant in one of two ways. You purchase wall-to-wall carpeting, some carpet is left over after installation, and the professional who installed it gives it to you or you buy the remnant at the store. If the carpet remnant is bought at a store, it is what is left after the store has sold most of a roll of carpet.
Carpet remnants can be made of high quality materials, and look quite attractive. They are simply too small to be sold as carpeting for a large room, so you can often get a good discount on the price. But what can you do with a carpet remnant? Well, that depends on the size of the remnant.
If the remnant is room sized, you can actually carpet a small room, installing it as wall-to-wall carpeting. If you decide to use your carpet remnant in this way, it is usually best to have a professional install the carpet for you. You are more likely to get a remnant large enough for a room if you purchase it from a store.
If your carpet remnant isn’t large enough to be used wall to wall, it can be made into an area rug. Area rugs protect your floor or carpeting. They can also add interest to your home décor. Even rather small pieces can make a big difference, like a hall runner, where there is high traffic, or a small mat in front of your door, to catch some of the dirt as people walk in. You are more likely to find a remnant in a classic color than an unusual one however. Don’t expect to make purple area rugs this way, though you will easily be able to find remnants in muted blue or green shades to make rugs in those colors.
The first thing you need to do, in order to have a carpet remnant look like a “real” rug is bind the edges of the remnant. There are people who specialize in this area, and their numbers are easily located, either in the phone book or online. If you purchase wall-to-wall carpeting, you might want to ask the company you buy from whether they have someone who can bind the edges of a carpet remnant.