Carpet on stairs. Runner or not?

[L500]

We’ve just moved and we are having the carpets replaced because they’re probably as old as the house (21 years). We’re not super trendy, our decor is greys and whites, so we’re going Ash colour for the stairs and landing.

However, not being down with carpet trends, I’ve noticed from the telly that many homes now choose a carpet ‘runner’ rather than full width for the stairs.

It’s going to be down for a few years so I’m just asking what others think. Picture of the lovely current carpet attached for reference.

First world problem I know.

[Catz]

It probably depends what’s under that carpet.

I just replaced full width carpet on a narrow stair in a cottage. The stair itself was pitch pine but had been painted at the sides so had a runner at some point. I toyed with the idea of just painting the stair but decided it might be noisy and slippy. So I ended up painting the edges white and put a stair runner in grey which is bound at the edge. It’s a fairly narrow runner but I think it looks good. No stair rods though as that would have been a bit much on the cottage style of the stair.

[Simpo Two]

Runners look old-fashioned to me and will make the staircase look narrower. I expect the idea dates from the time when carpet was a luxury and expensive, so you could use less.

Nice in a stately home though, with 10' wide staircases.

[WelshRich]

Catz said:

It probably depends what’s under that carpet.

This…

Our stairs are older than the house (they were re-purposed from another property) and we toyed with the idea of a runner but the state of them when we took up the old carpet put paid to that idea.

One tip though, once you have the old carpet out, take the opportunity to bang a few screws in to fix any creaky steps

[Keypad]

My mother had a stair carpet with runners, which meant a gap either side. The painted gap always looked scruffy.

[L500]

Thanks for the feedback (and nails tip!). I think it's decision made. Stick to plan A - full width. Cheers.

[craig1912]

Definitely full width. Had a runner in last house and looked scruffy and showed all the bits of fluff etc.

[Baldchap]

Assuming you're going with the same carpet throughout? Always looks far better than different carpets in different places.

[L500]

Baldchap said:

Assuming you're going with the same carpet throughout? Always looks far better than different carpets in different places.

We are indeed. Not one for mixing and matching...

[Boosted LS1]

My staircase was fascinating as you could tell from the old paint colours how the carpets got wider over the years. Now I've painted it all white and don't have a carpet. It makes the hallway really bright.

[HRL]

Ours is painted white with a navy patterned runner. Personally think it looks nicer than a full width carpet but only as long as the paintwork is nice and tidy, IMO.

[jrb43]

We thought about this but:
1) Runners cost more than a full width carpet (for much less material). This made us grumpy...
2) The upkeep is higher
3) We were told it's an absolute no with a cat in the house (even a previously well behaved one).

[wibble cb]

We have a cat, she doesn’t seem to have any issues with the runner, is not attracted to it as a scratching tool either, we also find that the stairs are much safer than just bare wood:

Main stairs to 1st floor



2nd floor to 3rd floor





We stripped all the old carpet and re finished the wood, then got professional carpet layers in to do the rest.

The runners are actually slightly different shades, but as they don’t directly intersect, we don’t find it an issue.

[L500]

That does look good I have to say. I’m thinking maintenance now though.

[Square Leg]

Use decent paint for the treads and maintenance is just a Hoovering and wipe with a damp cloth.
I had to do a lot of prep to get the treads ready for painting, and used Tikkurila Everal aqua, which is a very hard wearing water based enamel.

The type of carpet makes a big difference too - we originally had a normal twist pile with whipped edging as a runner and it was quite thick, but this one is a NZ wool from Off The Loom and is thinner (but harder to fit as can’t use normal grippers)

[TimmyMallett]

Depends on the property as well. It does need good prep and painting. I wouldn't say it's any more or less practical than full width.

We had ours taped to match the eventual decoration.

[Boosted LS1]

Wow and I thought my staircase was grand. Lovely pics above.

[wibble cb]

L500 said:

That does look good I have to say. I’m thinking maintenance now though.

I just took this picture, it’s been 8 years since we did it



No real maintenance required other than sweeping/ hoovering.

[AlexC1981]

I think runners look better than full width carpet, but you might want to get the old carpet up first. If there are unsightly gaps between the treads/risers/stringer it might be difficult to fill these. Staircases take a bit of a pounding and all that flexing of the timber could see cracks reappearing and they would be very noticeable in white painted timber.

You may find a lot of nails were used to hold the old carpet down on the curve at the bottom. You'll have some filling to do.

[HRL]

This is mine. It was already in place but we like it.