Rugged good looks: Carpet Binders
The city’s best-kept secret for affordable custom rugs with heart and heritage.
From soft textures to subtle patterns, a beautiful wool rug is the quickest and easiest way to transform a room, instantly adding warmth and style.
Few know the power of a rug better than siblings Michelle MacWilliam and Richard Cassidy. Together, they run local company Carpet Binders, Christchurch’s best kept secret for custom rugs and mats made from high quality, New Zealand wool carpet. Now located at 100a Hayton Road in Sockburn, the business has been in the family since 1972. Michelle and Richard took the reins in 2018, upholding their family’s traditional values of quality, affordability, and personal service. “We’re a tight team of eight, and we value the diversity and unique perspectives that each member of the team brings with them to work at
Carpet Binders,” Michelle says. “We’re proud of our community focus, supporting the Kaiapoi East Resident’s Association and their pocket forest initiative, and lending a hand to the Rewi Alley Foundation of New Zealand.”
Michelle is also proud of the excellent reviews her team gets on platforms like Google and Facebook. “My team are fiercely focused on superb customer service. Our reviews evidence that.”
So what exactly is carpet binding? Put simply, it’s the act of hemming an edge onto a piece of carpet to make a rug. Customers who have leftover carpet from a recent installation can have their offcuts transformed in mats with a finish of their choosing, including woollen overlocking, sleek slimline tape, and designer widetape. Those without spare carpet are able to choose from a wide range of New Zealand wool carpet squares from the Carpet Binders’ showroom, and have them cut to size and bound.
“We can handle up to ten by four metres in size, for a rug. So if you’ve got a large, hard floor in an open space and you want a large area rug, maybe for children to play on, we can provide that.
“We also have a lot of freedom to offer different shapes like ovals and circles, we’ve even made a rug the shape of a tiki.”
Carpet binders have a selection of pre-made mats in varying sizes and styles, and can offer same day turnaround for custom jobs.
“You can walk in and choose your carpet in our showroom at 10am, and walk out by 2pm with a custom bound mat,” says Michelle. “That’s a service our out-of-town customers appreciate.”
As a proud supplier of Wools of New Zealand wool carpet, quality is guaranteed, but compared to larger competitors, Michelle’s pricing is significantly more affordable, for the same product.
Whether you’re refreshing your home for Christmas or looking for a unique floor solution, Carpet Binders delivers smart, sustainable, and stylish rugs with heart. Browse online at carpetbinders.nz or woolarearugs.nz or visit their vibrant showroom Monday to Thursday from 8am to 5.30pm, Fridays 8am to 5pm, and Saturdays from 9am to 2pm.
