Next Step: Stairs
- Jen Compton
- Apr 3, 2021
- 2 min read
With the the floors down, it's time to clean up the stairs (and get rid of the floating carpet stair pads we inherited). We had a sisal runner professionally installed at our Grafton home, but for this project it was DIY all the way and we pulled it off for under $150. Given the kid foot traffic up to the loft (open bedroom, enclosed bedroom, exploding toy shelf), we wanted a slip-reducing pathway that wouldn't show wear.
We ordered the sisal runner (20') in a herringbone pattern and a 3x5' section for the landing on Amazon. Given that it's a natural fiber, it might appear green when you unroll, but according to reviews and our experience, it fades very quickly. Lots of choices out there and fluctuating inventory, but here's what we went with:
If you're going to take on this project, we would suggest using our choice for best-of-the internet tutorial on how to install a stair runner from Kim & Scott at Yellow Brick Home (@yellowbrickhome on Instagram, www.yellowbrickhome.com)
It's a cumbersome project managing the giant ream of carpeting and definitely requires some muscle (Justin's department). We tried to knock this out in an afternoon, but grew frustrated after a couple hours. A work break at our favorite local brewery Taylor Brooke provided the rejuvenated headspace we needed to power through (*not endorsing drinking on the job, but I'm pretty sure that's one of the perks of home projects. And, just make sure to align your designated driver with power tool user*).
If and when we need to replace at some point, I don't think we'll be very impressed with our stapling techniques (just shoot it again!), but that's for another day.
Before:
