How to Fit Striped Carpets for Hall Stairs and Landings— And Stair Carpet Ideas

There are a number of great reasons to carpet your hall stairs and landings. Although wooden stairs may look nice when they’re first installed, scratched, badly damaged wooden stairs can make your whole home look dated. Carpeting your stairs and landings prevent the wood from getting scratched or damaged over time, especially if they are used in high traffic areas.

Carpeting can also soften the sound of your steps as you move through the house, making your home quieter and cozier. Finally—and perhaps most importantly—carpets make your stairs safer. Let’s take a look at how to install striped carpet on hall stairs and landings. 

 

Why install a striped carpet on stairs and landings? 

There are a lot of great reasons to install striped carpeting on stairs and landings. Stripes can make a space look bigger, which makes it a great choice for a cramped space or an entryway that you want to make look larger. Patterned carpeting can also hide scratches and scuffs that develop over time, allowing your stairs to look better long-term.

Which striped carpet looks best on stairs and landings? 

Choosing the right stair carpet and landings can feel overwhelming. Between materials, costs, and styles, there are many choices to make. But when it comes to choosing the best carpet for your stairs and landings, the carpet that looks best is the carpet that has the best chance of standing the test of time, is stain resistant and durable, especially if you have kids or pets at home.

This is because you don’t just want your stair carpet to look good on the day it’s installed; you want it to look good throughout the course of its life in your home. 

Tips to choose the best staircase carpet materials

The first thing to consider is the material your staircase carpet is made with. You want something that is durable enough to withstand a high traffic area, you also want something that’s stain resistant and easy to clean.

A wool carpet is a safe option for your staircase, it has a better performance than other natural fibers rugs, it does not crush down like some synthetic materials, and it is guaranteed to last longer and perform better in heavy traffic areas than most materials.

Blended carpets and synthetic nylon carpets are other materials that are excellent for your stair carpet, they are a great choice for hallway stairs and landings, as they are durable easy to clean, can withstand natural light exposure and their color won't fade.

BCF carpet is made from one continuous material, whereas staple carpets are made using several strips of carpet that are woven together. BCF carpet is a better choice for stairs because it sheds less often and causes fewer allergens. However, BCF carpet is not available in most natural carpet materials. 

Finally, you’ll want to look at the pile size of your carpet. Pile refers to the length of your carpet. A pile length of ¾ inches or fewer is a great choice for stairs, and choosing between a loop pile or a cut pile is a matter of taste. Your feet won’t catch on the carpeting as you’re moving up and down the stairs, making it safer than a longer stair carpet, while also holding up better to the heavy traffic stairs so often seen.  

Striped carpet— stair carpet ideas that will make your house look better

Once you’ve chosen a material that works well for your stairs, choosing the look of your striped rug is really up to your personal aesthetic preferences. Striped carpeting can be a great way to tie together the color schemes of two dissimilar rooms that meet at the stairs, or to add a pop of color to an otherwise dull room. Most stair and landing stripes are aligned so the stripes go up and down, rather than side to side because this can give your home the illusion of being taller and having more room from floor to ceiling. 

Check out here the best area rug and stair carpet ideas to create the most remarkable spaces

How do you install striped rugs on stairs and landings? 

Installing carpeting on your stairs and landings can be a tricky job, especially when working with a patterned carpet, like stripes, that looks best in one direction. Here’s the step-by-step guide to installing striped rugs on your stairs. 

Step #1: Lay down carpet padding to secure and protect your stair carpet

Laying down carpet padding is the first step to installing rugs on your stairs. It softens the feel of your carpets as you’re walking up and down the stairs and softens the sound of your footfalls while also extending the life of your rug. 

To install carpet padding, you first want to measure the size of the padding. Measure the width and height of one step and multiply that number by the number of steps you have. Add in the measurements for your landing, if you have one, and then add a couple of inches to give you some wiggle room. Start at the top of your stairs and staple the carpet padding in place, tugging it tightly over the front of each step and securing it at the base of the step so there are no lumps or wrinkles in the carpet padding. 

You can use carpet padding with any rug material, from natural runners such as natural wool carpets or other synthetic fiber rugs.

 

Step #2: Measure and cut your stair runner rug

Once your carpet padding is in place, your next step is to measure and cut your stair runners. 

If you have a set of straight stairs, measuring and cutting your stair runner is fairly straightforward. Just as with the carpet padding, you want to measure the height and width of one stair, multiply it by the number of stairs you have, and add a couple of extra inches to give yourself some wiggle room. 

If you have a landing in the middle of your stairs, however, measuring your stair runner can become more difficult. This is because you first need to determine how you’re going to approach that landing while keeping your striped pattern looking beautiful. 

One great option is to miter your carpet at a 45-degree angle. This allows you to have the stripes running straight up from the bottom of your stairs to the landing, and straight again from the landing to the top of your stairs, with one diagonal angle connecting the two runners together. 

The easiest way to do this is to lay your carpets out flat so you can see how the two runners would touch at the landing, and then make your cut accordingly. 

Step #3: Putting it all together— how to ultimate your stair carpet installation

Once your carpet has been cut and your carpet padding has been installed, the final step is to install the carpets themselves. 

If you have multiple separate runners due to a landing, start by using carpet adhesive to connect the separate pieces into one beautiful piece of fabric. Doing this at the beginning of the process rather than trying to do it midway through your installation ensures the two pieces of fabric meet up perfectly. 

Once your pieces have adhered together, place the section of carpet that needs to go on your landing first. This ensures that the carpet on your landing falls exactly the way you want it to. Staple the landing section of your runners down first, and then work your way up and down from there to finish installing your carpet. 

How much does it Cost to carpet your hall stairs and landing? 

The amount of money it costs to carpet your stairs and landings can vary. On average, it costs anywhere from $700 to $2,000 to upgrade this part of your home. Installing the carpeting yourself, rather than hiring a contractor to install your carpet, can help you save money on this installation so you can better afford your preferred carpet style and material. Contact us today to learn more about choosing the best carpet for your stairs and measuring your space accordingly.