Talk to me about stair runners

[Comps83]

I've always wanted stair runners
The house we are buying was built in 2002 and I have no idea what the stairs are like under the carpet
Where have people bought them from and what preparation is involved?

Bump

We have a stair runner but only to the first floor, after that we have full carpet.

Prep needed: take up existing carpet, remove grippers and any glue residue, sand and paint the sides of each stair tread (about 1/4 to 1/3 on each side) in your chosen colour. Staircase skirtings will now be exposed down to the base rather than having carpet hiding the bottom of them, so will also probably need sanding and repainting and maybe cracks filling where the skirting meets the stairs.

Most carpet suppliers can supply and fit runners. We got ours from a local independent carpet and flooring shop. There’s specialist companies like Off The Loom who make runners ready made ie already the right width for a runner. Or you can just get any normal carpet and the carpet fitters will cut it to the right width and add an edging.

Things to consider:
It does get quite dusty in the side bits where there is no carpet, or rather the dust shows more than on carpet
Normal twist carpet doesn’t look great as a runner (IMO)
You will need to work out how you want to deal with any turns in the stairs and landings - look on Pinterest and online generally for examples

@minipie thank you !