Does anyone have a stair runner - good idea or not?

[O0oO0o]

They seem very fashionable right now, and i like the way they look, but what are they like to actually live with?

Are they hard to keep clean? Are you more likely to trip on them?

I want one as well as our stairs are really slippery - waiting for advice with you OP

I'm tempted too, but concerned that the side bits of the stairs that would have to be painted will be dust traps. And I'm not very good at cleaning my stairs at the best of times.

I have this. I don't think it's any more difficult to clean than fully carpeted stairs. You just vacuum the painted parts too. I like the look of it, it's an old house.

That's what I'm worried about.

We took the old carpet up about 2 weeks ago, and you definitely notice the dust and hair (where does all the hair come from?) more on bare stairs than carpet!

Also, although most of the stairs are in good nick, 2 have cracks in the wood on the vertical part of the stair and I don't know how to repair them.