Create Large Area Rugs With Carpet Remnants

If you’ve been shopping for large area rugs, you probably already know how expensive they can be. A room-sized rug can cost hundreds – if not thousands – of dollars. So what do you do if you have your heart set on a large area rug, but your pocket book is squealing “ouch?”

Creating large area rugs from carpet remnants may be the answer you’re looking for.

Carpet remnants are what left from a carpet installation job. There generally isn’t enough material to do another whole room, much less a lot of rooms, so these bits and pieces of carpet are sold at huge markdowns. These small pieces till have lots of useful life and many people find remnants a cheap carpet alternative to paying full, retail prices. Carpet remnants are especially useful for creating large area rugs.

When you’re creating your own large area rug, you’re not bound by conventional sizes or shapes. Your only restriction is finding the right size piece of remnant and your imagination. If you’re sticking to classic shapes, like rectangles or round rugs, then at most you need your dimension. If you’re creating a uniquely-shaped large area rug, then you’ll need a pattern. The best way to create one is to get yourself a roll or two of brown craft paper.  Roll out and tape together with masking tape until you have a large piece of paper that’s slightly larger than the rug you intend to create. Draw out the rug shape. If you’re satisfied, cut out the shape. Roll it up and head out to find your carpet.

Local carpet stores or outlets have a huge stock of carpet remnants to choose from and the right place to find carpeting for your large area rug. The biggest problem you will  have is choosing a color or style. It’s a good idea to bring along a few decorative pieces (or photos) from the room you’ll be using your new area rug, such as paint chips, fabric swatches, wood, decorative object. The carpet samples will be marked with their sizes, so it’s just a matter of finding a remnant that’s slightly larger than what you need. Don’t despair if you don’t find you don’t find a piece big enough. You can piece different sized together to create the right size.  

The salespeople at the carpet store or outlet are familiar with creating area rugs, so they’ll be able to arrange cutting and binding. That will cost an additional fee, but you’ll find that it’s still much lower than buying a regular area rug (and easier than doing it yourself). The last choice you have to make is choosing the type of binding you want for you rug. Of course, you could just leave it, but you’ll find that the rug will fray and start looking bad with any wear and tear. You have a couple of choices to finish your large area rug, either bindings (and there are various types available) or serging the edges. You can also get fancy and add fringe or other decorative elements.

Creating your own large area rug gives you lots of options. First you get exactly what you want. You can combine different types of carpet, choose your binding (even fabric  for a really cute and unique look)  to create a one-of-a-kind rug.