By Christine Graf
Carpetland recently celebrated the grand opening of its 5,800-square-foot showroom at 11 Aletta Street in Saratoga Springs. Prior to moving to Aletta Street, the business was located at 78 Church Street.
Carpetland was founded 77 years ago by owner Kate Morrell’s great-grandfather. The company’s flagship store was located in Amsterdam, and a Saratoga Springs branch was opened 50 years ago.
“He started it in Amsterdam in a 1,000-square-foot building, and they just kept building and building until it ended up being about 20,000 square feet,” she said. “It ended up in the Mohawk River when Hurricane Irene hit.”
Over the course of seven decades, many members of the Morrell family have been involved in day-to-day operations of the business. Morrell’s father, the late James Morrell, bought out his partners after the Church Street property was sold for $1.4 million in October 2022.
Morrell worked alongside her father for eight years before taking over the business after he passed away in April 2023. Six months after his passing, she opened the Aletta Street showroom with a staff of three employees.
“People think that because we’re called Carpetland that we only have carpet. But, we have all types of flooring,” said Morrell. “We have hardwood, luxury vinyl planks, rollout vinyl, laminates, solid core vinyl, stair runners, and area rugs.”
One of Carpetland’s main distributors is NRS, a company based in Maine. NRS specializes in localized products including northern hardwoods.
“Northern hardwoods are better because they are stronger because they grow slower,” said Morrell.
Carpetland is a member of Flooring Network, a network of retailers that stands behind their products with the best performance warranties in the business. Flooring Network members are dedicated to providing customer satisfaction that exceeds expectations, and they work with a team of accredited and professional installers.
Although big box home improvement stores sell flooring, Morrell said customers will find many advantages to shopping at Carpetland.
“When people bring in their estimates, those stores usually end up being more expensive. We also specialize in flooring, so it’s not like someone from the refrigerator section is going to be helping you with flooring. We are part of a flooring network that has access to all types of different flooring which gives the customers more options. We also are a family-owned business, so to get ahold of somebody, you don’t have to call a corporate office,” she said.
Since the company’s inception more than 75 years ago, Carpetland has relied on word-of-mouth to build its business. In fact, Morrell said her father never advertised.
Although she has no current plans for expansion, she hasn’t ruled out the possibility.
“Hopefully in the future I will, but right now I’m just getting settled,” she said.