Carpeting the Stairs

A staircase runner adds comfort and safety, color, pattern, and a period touch.

- Brian D. Coleman

I'll admit I waited a while before carpeting my stairs. We'd spent a year replacing the worn-out, chipped and painted treads with hand-finished oak and were enjoying the beautiful wood. A couple of winters with wet shoes and muddy paws showed it was time to preserve that woodwork. I decided that a carpet runner would protect the treads but still show off the oak, while making the steps less slippery and thus safer. A stair runner is also period-appropriate for my Victorian house.

The first step was deciding on the installation method: either Hollywood or waterfall. The Hollywood (or French cap or upholstered) method wraps the carpet around the edge of the tread nosing at each step, fastening it to the riser for a fitted look. This is best on stairs that get a lot of attention, as at entries and landings, in principal hallways, in main bedroom corridors. The waterfall method is more casual. Here the carpet is secured to the edge of the stair tread but then drops straight down to the back of the next tread without being tacked to the riser. This technique is usually saved for thicker, harder-to-handle carpet and for secondary passageways such as kitchen or basement stairs. My staircase was meant to be a showstopper, so I chose the more formal Hollywood method.