Stair Runners

Discover Unique and Stylish Carpet for Your Stair Runners 

The best carpet store in Portland is definitely the best place to start when you’re looking to add carpet to your stairs.

After all, a staircase can make a statement. Depending on what you select, you can make that statement dramatic or subtle. And since your stairs are unique to your home, you’ll find it important to partner with professionals you can trust who will help you address how to best carpet them.

What Questions Should You Ask Yourself About Carpeted Stair Runners?

What to consider with stair runners?

• Do you have straight stairs, or do they curve? Do they include pie-shaped steps?
• Does your staircase include a landing? If yes, what type of landing?
• How wide is your staircase? What unexpected elements affect the width of the staircase?
• If you choose a pattern, how does the pattern match from step to step, and do you like the visual play from your different vantage points?

Landings and non-straight stairs need to be carefully measured and templated so you have a layout that works for your space. Once you’re satisfied, the carpet can then be cut and bound.

The width of your staircase will affect how wide a carpet runner you decide on. Oftentimes, pre-made stair runners look awkward as they haven’t been customized to fit your exact stairs.

What type of carpet makes the best stair runner?

Stairs take a beating given all of that up & down foot traffic. That’s why the best stair runner carpet is one that will have the best retention appearance over time as it wears given your household:

• Not too thick so the pile doesn’t get crushed.
• Not too high a pile so it isn’t too slippery.
• Not too unforgiving a color (e.g., a carpet is a textile on the floor. Just as a white sweater will get dirty, so too will a white carpet).
• Just the right texture and pattern to look great over time.
• A carpet that works well with a low-profile pad.

What are the different stair runner installation styles?

• Colonial wrap or upholstered outlines each step below the tread.
• In a waterfall installation, the carpet ‘falls’ from one step down to the next.
• Although not technically a stair runner, a wall-to-wall installation for stairs can be extremely attractive.

For colonial wrap and waterfall installations, you’ll see exposed wood edges on each side of the runner.

Note that if your stairs have been covered in wall-to-wall carpet, converting that to a runner can be expensive as you’ll need to refinish your stairs.

What types of patterns are best for stair runners?

• Patterns look great on stairs.
• Carpet is directional and the pattern follows how you walk UP the stairs.
• In fact, that’s how it’s installed; it has to turn with the stairs.
• Depending on the size of the pattern repeat, you may need more material to match the design.
• You’ll want to see a layout of the pattern to see how it looks given the layout of your stairs.

What binding options are there for stair runners?

• Hand-applied cotton binding that blends with the carpet. It resembles piping with hidden stitching
• Serging around the edge of the carpet in a contrasting or coordinating color.
• Fabric binding.

Depending on how your staircase is built, you may only need to bind one side of the stair runner.

The carpet you choose for your stairs can easily be made into hallway runners and right-size custom area rugs for other areas in your home. You can even connect your stair runner to your hallway runners.

What other considerations are there for stair runners?

Carpeted stair runners are a high-touch product that will be custom-made to fit your staircase, and then carefully installed so that the pattern is centered, matches any repeats, and looks ideal for your home.

Given all of that labor, you don’t want to skimp on the carpet you select.

Below you see an example of a custom area rug created to coordinate with a custom stair runner.

How wide should your stair runner be?

Pre-made runners offer you very little choice when it comes to width, and severely limit you when it comes to landings and pie-shaped stairs. For that reason, shoppers like you prefer to design a runner to fit your staircase and show the right amount of wood given your staircase layout.

On average, you’ll want to have 5-6″ of wood showing on either side of the runner. However, that depends on the proportions of your stairs and how your stairs are constructed. You’ll want the runner to feel generous while showing just enough wood. For example, in the image below the stairs aren’t the same width at the top of the stairs as at the bottom. In this case, the solution involved using blue tape to mark off options so the homeowner could decide what looked best.

The blue tape helps to visualize how the final choice will look.

How do you secure the carpet to the stairs?

The carpet is stapled to the stairs. It’s important to have an experienced installer for your stair runners so you can be assured that it has been done correctly.

Note that if you are replacing an existing stair runner, you may need to go wider so as not to expose signs (e.g., faded wood) of the older carpet.

Brass bars are purely decorative touches and don’t hold the carpet in place.

How to Clean and Maintain Your Carpeted Stair Runners?

• As with any textile, it’s important to spot clean immediately.
• Vacuum frequently (you can’t over-vacuum carpet).
• Place welcome mats at any entrances to the outdoors. This will capture dirt and grit that you track in on shoes and help protect all of your flooring surfaces.

Work with Flooring Experts in Portland

Classique Floors + Tile’s goal is to give customers a positive experience: from recommending the right surface to installing it professionally, on time, and with the least amount of inconvenience. Our team provides complete services, including project assessment, material selection, and installation management.

Still, have questions about how we can help you create your dream kitchen or bath? Or what types of flooring would be best in a room? Ready to get your flooring or tile project done right? Get in touch today!

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