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Sorry, I disagree that runners are dated. It really depends on the home and the look you are going for. Personally I would go for a runner - we actually had one put in about 4 weeks ago. We went from all carpet on the stairs to a runner after I refinished the steps and treads (PITA!!)
Don't limit yourself to actual runners either. Any good carpet place can cut and bind any carpet into a runner for you. We found a carpet that my wife really liked and the place ordered it, cut it for us, bound it and installed it. It looks very professional - we even have a turn at the bottom and they matched the pattern perfectly at the turn so it looks completely seamless.
A pattern will be more forgiving with lint, etc, but a plain carpet will look less formal if your house has a less formal feel to it. We went with a brownish background with a slight pattern that has been pretty forgiving so far...
Thanks for the pros and cons list. I hate to vacuum both staircases and am trying to get away from as much carpeting as possible. However, I am afraid that someone will fall down the steps. Since we have a dog and a cat, the hair can be impossible in carpet. I think we will probably go with the runner.
Bare stairs aren't slippery with bare feet. I'm all in favor of no shoes in the house. Less dirt gets tracked in.
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Originally Posted by SXMGirl
I have looked at lots of patterns and unfortunately, I always go to gaudy. We selected a really nice pattern but DH likes the darker blue, which will show every bit of dog and cat hair, so we are really looking carefully at what we select. An oriental pattern might work. Thanks.
Oh, no! Don't buy a pre-manufactured runner! No patterns!
Have a carpet company cut and bin the edges of REAL carpet for custom runner.
Go with a berber or another style with a low pile like berber.
Thanks for all of your suggestions. Apparently, this is going to be a major production to find what we are looking for or at least what we think we want. Our LR and DR furniture is all Victorian tiger oak and so we need something formal for the stairs. Family room is traditional but very comfortable but the back staircase has to match the front. We have been told that since we have two landings on the front staircase that it will be difficult to match identically. I guess we will spend part of the weekend at a few carpet places. Thanks again for the suggestions.
i'd be interested in what you eventually go with perhaps some pics. same situation. at the time it involved more time than we had to spend, so we just put some tacky treads so the new pup could get used to navigating steps. fortunately, from lr, the treads are so thin, you can't see them. we didn't put them on the bottom front landing and the 3 steps below that.
why do the front and back steps have to be the same? can you see both at same time? just curious
I just wanted to throw in that I have slipped and fell on bare stairs while carrying my baby. It was horrible. I took the brunt of the fall thankfully, but I could barely walk for a few days and was badly bruised. I was afraid of the stairs after that. (We have moved since) I hope you find a good solution.
I absolutely hate vaccuming any carpeting on stairs but IF I were to go with a runner, I was always a fan of the seagrass ones. Of course, I live near the ocean, so take it with a grain of salt!
Thanks for all of your suggestions. What I had hoped to be an easy task is turning into a major ordeal. Hopefully I will have something by the holidays.
I'd use a runner with the mounted brass rods holding it down for that elegant touch.
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