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Runner For the Win

Psssst... this post *might* contain affiliate links: see my disclosure here.

January 16, 2014

Do you guys ever get an idea for some sort of DIY and have to do it, like NOW. Well this was my moment of ‘git ‘er done.’ Our stairs needed a little padding, a little cushion and a little quiet…

We installed this custom stair runner for under $50.

I always figured we’d put a runner on these stairs to soften them up both physically and aesthetically, but it was never a high priority. It was also super expensive. Or so I thought.

We installed this custom stair runner for under $50.

There were three posts I read that somehow twisted my brain around to a cost effective solution. This one from YHL that made me realize, bam, there’s no magic to a stair runner… John and Sherry pieced together a number of regular ol’ hallway runners to work on their stairs. Then I read this post by the amazing Jenny who used… wait for it… Ikea. Like my 3-year-old at a Fresh Beat Band concert… the heavens parted and all was right with the world.  I wanted something a little more colorful than the stripes Jenny chose, and whattya know… these throw rugs were my jam. And, hel-LO… $6.99 a piece.

We installed this custom stair runner for under $50.

But would they fit. Time for some measuring. First, some stair terminology: Tread= the flat part you step on; Riser= the vertical portion you might kick with your toe as you walk up each stair; Nose= the little edge on the tread that makes the stairs look nice and finished.

We installed this custom stair runner for under $50.

The tread plus the riser of our stairs equalled 18″. I rounded this up to 21″ to account for the extra rug needed to wrap around the nose of each stair.  I confirmed with my design friends on google, that 5″ on either side of the runner wouldn’t look cray cray and I also confirmed with my design friends on google that I didn’t need to have a rug on the landing either.  Which meant this rug would be perfectorama. Winner winner, Ikea Swedish meatball dinner.

We installed this custom stair runner for under $50.

We’re lucky to have an Ikea about 20 minutes away. It would have been fantastic if THAT Ikea had my rugs in stock. No dice.  Not to be defeated, Louisa and I drove to an alternate Ikea an hour away and broke some sort of Ikea land-speed record for our 15 minute shopping trip and made it home in time for lunch. To install the runner, I needed a few tools (affiliate links included for your shopping convenience):

  • nail gun (I prefer this pneumatic one, but actually used this hand held one for these stairs_
  • upholstery hammer (or SMALL hammer to help you get close to the riser)
  • small nails
  • tape measure

I grabbed an inexpensive rug pad from Homegoods and cut it up to fit each tread.

We installed this custom stair runner for under $50.

Following the advice of Jenny, John and Sherry, I measured and used some painters tape to mark off one edge of the runner in order to make sure it was aligned and straight.

We installed this custom stair runner for under $50.

Starting at the top of the staircase, I used the nails and the upholstery hammer to nail along the top edge of the first rug. It took me a couple of passes to learn what worked best… I experimented with different staples and ultimately determined that the 3/8″ were the best length, but I needed the nails along the top edge  to really secure it. (This also meant I didn’t need to undo the top hem because the nails could easily go through the thicker fabric.)

We installed this custom stair runner for under $50.

Once the top edge of the rug was secure, I stapled it onto the back of the tread as close to the riser as possible. I pretty much jammed the staple gun as far as it would go to the back of the stair and let ‘er rip. For the edges I wrapped the rug around and then stapled it along the underside of the nosing.

We installed this custom stair runner for under $50.

Call it DIY karma or something, but these rugs ended up being the perfect length… I was able to cover two stairs, and then I opened the bottom hem of the rug to gain an inch so that it finished right under the nosing.

We installed this custom stair runner for under $50.

With the next rug and my nails, I started the whole thing again.  Each rug covered two risers and two treads.

We installed this custom stair runner for under $50.

The rugs are a little darker in person than they appeared on the web site, but I love the texture and the color scheme. The greens tie in well with the living room at the foot of the stairs and the colors not only hide dirt, but also keep it sort of interesting. I bought 12 rugs to give me some wiggle room, but ultimately only used 7. Which brings the grand total of this runner to just under $50. (Add another $10-15 for the rug pad if you want one.) I figure I’ll keep the extra rugs in case I need to replace part of the runner going forward… with kids, it’s a safe bet that something crazy will get spilled on it. (Strawberry syrup was my earliest carpet nemesis in this house…)

We installed this custom stair runner for under $50.

We installed this custom stair runner for under $50.

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We installed this custom stair runner for under $50.

XO Charlotte

14 Comments · Furniture Fixer Uppers

Comments

  1. Julie toland says

    January 16, 2014 at 8:43 am

    Fantastic. I might become a copycat as my stairs need a new runner to replace the disgusting one there now. It was ugly to begin with and is now filthy, full of sawdust, plaster dust, muddy footprints, etc.

    Reply
    • Charlotte says

      January 16, 2014 at 10:03 pm

      Do it! They also have a simple striped throw rug that I might have gone with but it felt a little casual for our one and only staircase!

      Reply
  2. Lisa @bitesforbabies.com says

    January 17, 2014 at 8:51 pm

    You are so handy!!! I need some tips asap 😉

    Reply
    • Charlotte says

      January 17, 2014 at 10:53 pm

      Lisa, We can barter! I’ll walk you through the DIY if you can help me get the kids to eat beyond chicken nuggets and hot dogs! 😉

      Reply
  3. Holly says

    January 29, 2014 at 12:19 am

    I have been looking for an inexpensive way to cover/paint the goofy hall type stairs to my son’s room. I took the old carpet off and painted them, but the other day he slipped and came down them on his butt. I think I will be doing his stairs like this now. But I was wondering, do you think it would work if you just covered the run of the stairs and left the rise painted?

    Reply
    • Charlotte says

      January 29, 2014 at 10:04 am

      Hi Holly! In theory that would totally work. In fact, at our Home Depot, I just saw the exact thing you’re describing… precut rectangles of carpet for just the treads. The rugs I used from Ikea will probably fray quite a bit if you cut them apart to cover just the tread. They had some thinner little rugs that might work or at least you might be able to sew to keep from unraveling. I’d say with the right throw rug, you’re onto something! Good luck!

      Reply
  4. Kim says

    February 16, 2014 at 11:48 am

    Here I sit in the WalMart parking lot searching for suggestions on how to turn the 2 hall runners I bought yesterday from Target into stair runners. THANK YOU!
    Any suggestions for how to cover an additional 3 stairs that will still be showing because the runners aren’t quite long enough (UG!) sans spending another $40-$50 on another runner?
    Can’t immediately find the specific one on website, but it’s something like this:
    http://m.target.com/p/threshold-cabana-floral-area-rug-cream/-/A-14141024

    Reply
    • Charlotte says

      February 16, 2014 at 6:56 pm

      Oh no!! I wish I had a great idea for you, but I don’t!! I guess center the rug on the staircase if you don’t want to buy a another runner… leaving the top and bottom stairs exposed. Might not look as awkward? It doesn’t look like it from this link, but if you think your runner could be cut… you could staple the runner only to the treads and leave the risers exposed? Is suspect the rug will unravel on you, but it’s a thought. I suppose the extra $50 is still quite a bit cheaper than an official runner so maybe bite the bullet! Good luck!

      Reply
  5. Candice says

    August 3, 2014 at 11:25 pm

    Hi Charlotte
    I was wondering about the nail gun. Did you rent one or buy one or did you have one on hand? How much do nail guns cost? What size nails did you use? Thanks for the info.

    Reply
    • Charlotte says

      August 4, 2014 at 9:19 am

      Hi Candice! For this one, I actually used a regular ol’ hand-held staple gun, but I did have to go back with some small tacks around the edges… for those I just used a hammer. I’ve recently purchases a nail gun to fit my compressor so if I ever need to replace this runner, I might go with that! I suspect it has to do with the type of wood used on your stairs and how thick your carpet is… the staples weren’t going through the carpet in all spots for me, hence the nails!

      Reply
  6. Ann Plummer says

    January 2, 2015 at 9:12 am

    Can’t wait to do this! Our IKEA is just over an hour drive. Worth ever mile! I’m wonder now that it’s been a year how did these hold up? I would love to rip my 15 year old carpet off my stair with renovations this spring. I have 5 kids so I’m wondering if the nails and staples hold up.

    Reply
    • Charlotte Smith says

      January 2, 2015 at 5:33 pm

      Hi Ann! The rug itself is in PERFECT shape which I think is due to the pattern…. really hides wear and tear and bloody noses, etc. I’ve had to go back over a few places with brad nails, but… when I did this I was using a hand held nail gun and it wasn’t *quite* strong enough to get through the heavier parts. Now I have a pneumatic nailer which would work GREAT. But the few reinforcements with brad nails have been plenty.

      Reply
  7. Hannah says

    December 7, 2017 at 3:17 am

    I found your blog after searching for ideas for our stairs. I love the look of these ikea rugs, and was wondering how they are holding up? If/when you decide to recover the stairs, would you go the same route? Thank you for the awesome tutorial! This task doesn’t seem so daunting anymore! 🙂

    Reply
    • Charlotte Smith says

      December 7, 2017 at 4:36 pm

      Hi there! I can’t speak to how they held up because we moved so we only lived with them for about a year, but… because they were installed one rug at a time, I always figured I would just replace a section as needed because each rug cost like $5. 🙂 I did it again in our new house with a slightly different runner and it held up great… that one’s here: https://atcharlotteshouse.com/diy-staircase-runner-with-stair-rods-for-cheap/

      Reply

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Lover of color, wrangler of chaos, thrifter of all the things.

head-shot-1 Hi, I'm Charlotte! I'm fixing up our 100 year old house and artfully hoarding armchairs in the garage. I love color. I love flea markets. I love a little mess. My days are spent writing, painting, sanding, laughing and negotiating with our 5 kids. You can read more about us here
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