Stair Carpet Runner

Stair carpet runners, also sometimes called stair runners, are long thin carpets bound on each long end as well as top and bottom and designed to be placed on stairs.

Other stair carpet options include stair tread rugs, individual rugs placed on each stair somewhat like small mats, or wall to wall carpet which covers the entire staircase and which is popular in rental, commercial, and less expensive construction as the (usually construction grade) underlying stairs are entirely covered.

So we’ll call any carpet or rug (the terms are used pretty much synonymously) that is around 2' x 5' to 4’ x 30'+ to be a runner, and when used on a staircase to be a stair carpet runner. In general, few modern ones are wider than 3 feet or longer than 22 feet.
In contrast to wall to wall stair carpeting, stair carpet runners leave some of each side of the stair treads and stair case visible. This is often done for beauty as many staircases are made of attractive materials such as various hardwoods like oak, cherry, Brazilian cherry, hickory, black walnut, Brazilian walnut, cypress, bloodwood, tigerwood, ipe, cumaru, maple, padauk, mahogany and the list goes on, or another attractive non wood material like marble.

If you have a staircase made of beautiful material you don’t want to cover it entirely, but may want to have a runner down the middle for several reasons, including protecting the stairs from wear and tear, deadening and muffling sounds (especially important with little children and sometimes pets), warmth, safety/non slip characteristics, or décor.
Another reason for installing a runner is if the underlying stair carpet or stair material itself is worn. It is often faster, easier, and cheaper to lay down a runner than replace the wooden stair treads and risers or worn carpet.

The most common runner widths are 27 and 30 inches, and you will find the widest variety that are that length. As you vary from these widths your number of choices diminish. A quick google found stair carpet runners in the following widths: 24”, 26”, 27”, 30”, 31”, 32”, 36”, 38”, 41” and 48”inches. As a general rule, as runners get longer, your choices of widths increase. Of course you could buy any rug you like and having it made into a runner, but that would be expensive both because you would waste a lot and having the edges bound would be quite expensive.

There are hundreds if not thousands of choices available for stair carpet runners. The hard choice often is often choosing from so many choices and so many different prices. I know it took my friend Mimi months and countless hours searching online and at brick and mortar shops; hopefully it won’t take you as long!