Please help me choose a carpet for the stairs

[Activemum81]

I'm rubbish at interiors. Please can someone help me choose a carpet for my stairs (ONLY stairs, not landing).

Our house is a 3 bed semi - it was fully refurbished to a good standard just before we bought it 4 years ago. The house has engineered oak flooring throughout, white walls, cream blinds. Our maindoor is white but all other doors are wood (vertical stripes design - IYKWIM)

We replaced the stairs carpet 4 years ago. I chose a plain brown one which looks so cheap and no matter now much I clean it, it looks tired and dirty.

Please can someone help me choose a nice carpet. We are planning to sell the house soon, so looking for something nice but not very expensive. Also, no light colours, I have 2 kids under 5.

Every house on ‘homes under the hammer’ get stripped carpets on the stairs, I’m not keen personally, but someone must think it’s a great idea! The stripes go vertically.

80:20 wool:synthetic mix is hardest wearing and the heavier the weight of the carpet the better too for stairs. Heather carpets where there are flecks of different colours in mid tones, rather than solid colours light or dark, hide dirt better. We have a lot of solid colour carpets in our house and they show every speck of dust, etc. quickly.

I think darkish grey heather (for the speckles) would be a safe choice and easy to live with.

Also you need very small square footage of underlay for stairs. We put expensive underlay under cheaper carpet and thought it gave quite a luxury feel for the money. However if you go very thick you might have to trim doors, which adds hassle.

I love this

www.stonegatecarpets.co.uk/collections/stair-carpet-runners/products/axminster-carpets-royal-borough-geometric-kensington-egyptian-dark-cotton-stair-runner

Oh sorry, I see you don’t want light colours.

How about this then?

www.stonegatecarpets.co.uk/collections/stair-carpet-runners/products/axminster-funky-geometric-brintons-carpets-gorgeous-plum-runner-per-m

Consider putting in a runner, with stair bars if budget allows. If a runner isn’t in keeping with your home style/age/design then go for at least 60oz very heavy duty 80:20 wool heather twist. Whichever you go for, get it fitted professionally with proper underlay. It is one of the first things buyers tend to see when stepping into your home and as they say, first impressions count.

I would make a feature of it using a strong accent colour to bring together your landing and hallway decor.