New Year New Room Staircase Runner

Week Four

Week four of the New Year New Room Challenge, hosted by Stephanie at Casa Watkins Living, has rolled around and we are just one week from the final reveal of my Staircase refresh. This week I installed my Year New Room Staircase Runner, let me show you how.

This is a challenge to refresh a room/space to kick off the New Year. I’ll be working on this space through January, revealing my progress every Tuesday. The last Tuesday of the month will be the reveal. You can follow along with me and the other bloggers I’ll link at the end of this post or you can join in. If you missed the previous weeks you can check out the progress below.

Week 1 // Week 2 // Week 3 // Week 4 (you are here) // Reveal 

The Rug

If you are going to do a stair runner you need to find a rug. I started shopping for this with the room up the stairs in mind, black and white was my original choice. I also thought a leopard print would go well with the jungle theme mural, or maybe something colorful to match the mural. Then of course I added size and price into the mix which widened my search to quite a few options.

In the end, I went with color and animal print, the Ivory and Green Animal print rug from Wayfair was the perfect match, size, and price. I also thought the thinness of the rug would be easy to work with and that the indoor/outdoor surface would stand up well to traffic.

The Tools

This list contains affiliate links

• 36″ Straight Edge Metal Ruler
• Utility knife
• Scissors
• Tape measure
• Painters Tape
• Double Stick Carpet Tape
• Rug Pad
• Jute Webbing Tape (This can also be bought by the yard at craft and fabric stores.)
• hot glue gun
• Pneumatic Upholstery Stapler or Upholstery Staple Gun Heavy Duty
• Stretching Tool

The Prep

Before any padding or rug goes down first you need to find the center of the stairs. To determine the center take the width of the stairs, subtract the width of the runner, and divide by two. That number will equal the space on either side of the runner.

My step was 41″- 27″ (the width of my runner) =14″ take the 14″/2 =7″ so I measured seven inches from each wall on each step and marked it with a piece of Painter’s Tape. On the landing, I taped out the entire area the runner would go. This will help me to make sure the runner is straight as I go.

With the areas for the runner taped off, you can lay down the Rug Pad, I like the felt pads because they add a bit of padding and also grip a lot tighter than just a rug gripper. For each tread, cut the padding about 1″ longer so the padding would wrap the nose of the stair. This is fairly easy to cut using my 36″ Straight Edge Metal Rule and a Utility knife. Just be sure the blade is sharp.

Once the padding is down use the Double Stick Carpet Tape to apply the padding to the stair tread.

I didn’t feel the need to be taped down the padding on each riser but it’s your call, tape as much as you feel is necessary. I did tape down all the padding on the landing and added another strip of tape to hold the edge of the rug in this area.

Mitering Rug Corner

With the padding down now you are ready to lay the runner but first, we need to miter the corners for the landing. To do this lay the runners one on top of the other at a 90-degree angle and cut through both at the same time with my utility knife. Doing this means both pieces will have the exact same angel cut so they will fit perfectly together. The next step is to flip the rugs over and match the seams together. Using a hot glue gun and Jute Webbing Tape to glue the seam together. Apply a good amount of hot glue across the seam. Push the seam tight and apply webbing over the hot glue to hold the seam together.

Installing Rug

Now that the seam is together you can begin installing.

I started at the landing where I got my corner straight and taped down the edges. I only used two staples on the landing, one at the inside corner and one at the outside corner. In case I ever want to remove the runner, I tried to do most of my stapling into the risers. This way I would do

I started at the landing where I got my corner straight and taped down the edges. I only used two staples on the landing, one at the inside corner and one at the outside corner. In case I ever want to remove the runner, I tried to do most of my stapling into the risers. This way I would do as little damage to the floor as possible.

Time for the stairs, I only had one stair going up from the riser so I did that one first.

Use the Stretching Tool to pull the carpet as tight as possible and then staple into the base of the first riser. Start your staples in the middle of the carpet and work your way to the edges to insure it stays straight. Then pull tight again and do a row of staples under the nose of the stair.

I found it was easiest to get the staples tight into the corners holding the stapler sideways and having the staples go in vertically.

When you get to the top step you will cut the rug leaving 1-2 inches extra. Fold the excess under until it just meets the underside of the top stair nose when stretched. Finally staple in place.

Now the top section is done and you can continue down the stairs.

Going down the stairs will be the same except opposite. Staple under the stair nose, and staple at the base of each riser. Unless you were able to find one continuous runner that will span your whole stairs you will continue this way until your rug runs out.

Seaming Rugs

If your rug runs out and you need to add another length of rug cut the first rug about 1-2 inches past the corner and staple it down. Take the finished edge of the next runner and staple it on top. To match a pattern you may need to cut the second rug and tuck under the raw edge to get the patterns to match.

You can use this seaming technique either at the base of the riser or just under the nose.

I found mine to be most inconspicuous at the base of the riser.

Ending the Run

When you get to the bottom of the stairs you will end your runner the same way you did at the top. Cut the rug leaving 1-2 inches extra, fold the excess under, stretch and staple in place.

You can either end your runner at the base of the first riser or, like in my case, at the point where the flooring changes.

Now it’s done, my Year New Room Staircase Runner is complete! This is a task I have dreamed about for a while and I am so glad I finally tackled it. The hardest part was getting the corner mitered, If you have a straight stair run I don’t think this is would be a difficult job at all.

How to Join

Now that you’ve seen what I’ve been up to, you can head to each of the links below to check out the 17 other participants. You can also follow all the behind-the-scenes progress on Instagram too using the IG handles on the image below!

Casa Watkins Living // Iris Nacole // Jennifer Rizzo // JZ Holmes // Katrina Blair // Live Pretty On A Penny // Love Your Abode // Maggie Overby Studios // Mocha Girl Place // My Eclectic Nest // Never Skip Brunch // One Handy Momma // Our Fifth House // Southern State of Mind // This Is Our Bliss // Tool Box Divas // Up To Date Interiors

Feeling inspired? You can join the challenge too! Pick a space to tackle and share your own progress using the hashtag #newyearnewroomchallenge on Instagram and all social media.