I planned to write a paint update today, but switching things up since part of our paint project was delayed. But, we do have our stair runner in! I’m sharing a few photos and top items that were important to me when sourcing carpet for this very high-traffic area ~
Changing out the stair runner was another wish list item that was easy to put off. I’m so glad we finally updated this! I had wondered for years what was underneath our carpet on the stairs, and almost changed the plan when I saw this wood! I had hoped for a wood staircase but really, for our family right now, a stair runner was the best choice – so we kept going with the plan 🙂
The staircase is tucked back in our house layout, so most of our guests don’t even notice this part of our home. For me though, it has been an everyday eyesore and I couldn’t have be happier to say goodbye to the old carpet. It is also one of those things, with 4 small kids and a dog, we knew switching it out wasn’t going to be easy. Here are a few things I considered when selecting our new stair runner that you may find helpful when deciding on a new stair runner:
- The highest item on our priority list was durability. The carpet we went with is low-pile (very flat) and stain resistant. It is made for high-traffic areas, which is an absolute must for stair runners!
- This carpet also came with a lifetime stain warranty + a wear warranty of 25 years. Both of these were very important when deciding which company to order from.
- Pattern. I love a simple pattern on stair runners that add interest, but are not too overwhelming. This diamond pattern was exactly what I was looking for! This is a great spot to add some personality to your home with a little pattern 🙂
- When deciding on the color for the stair runner, this pattern was available in 7 colors. I really wanted to go with light blue originally. The walls are painted in Benjamin Moore’s Silver Cloud (a subtle, beautiful light blue) and I loved the idea of having those two colors tie in nicely. However after looking at the samples in person, I realized the light blue contrasted quite a bit with the off-white diamond color, which may have looked too busy – for me. Ultimately I narrowed it down to 2 of the more neutral colors and went with the lighter one, with less contrast. The warranty (mentioned above) put my mind at ease when deciding on the lighter color ~
Here are the 2 options we were between (you may remember this from last week’s flooring update):
Here’s how it looks installed! The next part of the plan is painting all the darker wood white to brighten things up, and make the transition between the wood floors downstairs (a cherry red) and the new ones upstairs flow better.
Here’s how it looks now from the bottom of the stairs! It makes such a difference!
If you followed along on my One Room Challenge last year, you may remember us adding this white & black gallery wall – which is still a favorite project to date!
