Its like anything else you buy. You have to know what price range you can afford. this is one time you definitely want to stick with nylon or wool. Karastan make a VERY nice wool runner. But there are others out there that aren't as pricey. Might check out some of these:Pictures of carpet runners on Google Daris

I would agree wool and nylon would be your best options. Ther are different grades of wool available, some light weight wools will show thread bare faster on the nosing. The layout of the stairs may dictate what type of patterns appeal to you most. Straight stairs accept any pattern well. Stairs with landings or pie shapes/turns may show pattern runoff on some geometrics and stripes. Think of a patterned shirt and how the shoulder meets the arm. You dont have much yardage so dont skimp on padding. If you are dealing with turns and landings make sure you go over how this will be handled with your sales person/mechanic.

Stair Runner phil verre said: ? I would agree wool and nylon would be your best options. Ther are different grades of wool available, some light weight wools will show thread bare faster on the nosing. The layout of the stairs may dictate what type of patterns appeal to you most. Straight stairs accept any pattern well. Stairs with landings or pie shapes/turns may show pattern runoff on some geometrics and stripes. Think of a patterned shirt and how the shoulder meets the arm. You dont have much yardage so dont skimp on padding. If you are dealing with turns and landings make sure you go over how this will be handled with your sales person/mechanic.Click to expand... Thank You. It's a straight run of 12 steps from the first floor to the second floor. I am planning on installing the runner myself unless you folks feel it's not a DIY project. I did the stair treads and risers myself and have seen a youtube video on installing carpet runner on stairs. Appears to be a straight forward process. My wife is the artistic one and takes care of the decorating, color schemes, etc so I will pass your comments along to her.