Sherry recently teased on Instagram Stories that we were back at our favorite home project: installing another stair runner. After installing one in our previous house seven years ago, it became a go-to project for us — mainly because it’s something almost anyone can do and the right runner transforms the look and adds traction underfoot.
Why We Wanted A Stair Runner
We don’t automatically cover every staircase. At our beach house we left the original wood exposed because it was charming, and later added temporary stick-on treads to help our chihuahua, Burger, navigate the stairs more easily. The main reason we chose a runner in this new house was practical: Burger is 14 and, while spry, found the wood stairs a bit too slick. We wanted him to feel confident going up and down without needing a “chihuahua elevator” from us, and the runner has proven to be great for his footing — and for ours too.
Why We Painted The Stair Treads
Alongside the runner we also painted the wood treads. That was partly aesthetic — the stairs were a different wood tone than the downstairs floors — and partly to address finish problems. When the house was painted previously it looked like tape had been applied before the floor sealer fully dried, leaving a line of discoloration on each step and some rougher fronts in places.
We could have sanded and resealed the steps, but only a few inches of the treads would be visible once the runner was installed, and a full refinish would have been dusty and time-consuming while living in the house. We took a few months to consider the decision (you always want to avoid rushing into paint when it’s hard to undo), and eventually chose to paint because it solved the finish issues and complemented the runner. In hindsight we wish we’d done it sooner — we love the result.
Prep & Paint
The risers were already painted white, so we focused on the treads. Even though most foot traffic would be on the runner, we wanted a durable paint for the narrow exposed portion near the wall. We used a porch-and-floor enamel recommended by the paint pro and chose a gray-beige shade — Requisite Gray by Sherwin-Williams — to bridge the different wood tones. The paint didn’t require a separate primer and took two coats for an even finish. Most of the work was careful cutting in along the edges.
Choosing The Runner
We loved the runner we used in our old house from Dash & Albert, but after seeing a sisal-looking indoor/outdoor runner at friends’ house and getting to experience how well it held up with pets and kids, we decided to go that route. The material looks like natural sisal up close, wears well, doesn’t shed noticeably, and felt like a safe neutral that would work with both the lighter downstairs floors and the richer upstairs tones.
We ordered a 25″ wide runner so it would leave about a 3″ reveal of wood on each side. To determine length, we measured one full step (tread plus riser) with a string, multiplied by the number of steps, and added extra for the top and bottom. The runner we chose has a Belize Dune field with a Narrow Cotton border in Granola — a classic, slightly beachy look that felt right for the house.
For the rug pad we ordered premium 2×3 pads and cut them to size, placing them on the treads under the runner where needed. That gave a little cushion and helped prevent slippage without adding bulk up the risers.
Installing The Runner
Installation closely followed the steps we used in our previous tutorial. The main adjustments were deciding how to hide staples and where to place them given the profile of our stairs. Our stairs have a pronounced lip under the tread bullnose, which meant we stapled under that lip rather than into the bullnose itself. We used an electric stapler and a small trick to camouflage staples: Sherry colored them with a gold Sharpie so they blended with the runner’s golden tones. The goal is mostly to dull the shiny silver so staples don’t catch the eye.
We experimented on the first step to find the best staple placement for a tight, hidden hold. Starting just inside the binding beneath the bullnose and pulling the runner taut worked well. Misfired staples were easy to remove with needle-nose pliers and re-stapled as needed; we removed roughly a dozen while refining the placement to avoid visible overlaps.
On each tread we ended up using about five staples across the face (two near each binding, one in the middle) and another five under the lip at the top of the riser. We finished with a row of staples at the bottom of each riser just above the quarter round, avoiding any nails into the tread itself. Using a free hand to steady the stapler helped keep staples straight and secure, and we checked centering as we went to keep the runner aligned.
We ordered slightly more length than we needed and ended up with about 18″ of excess. We trimmed the extra with scissors, folded about an inch under at the bottom for a hem, and stapled it to the last riser for a clean finish.
We’re thrilled with how the stairs turned out. They look and feel better, and Burger has gone back to his default stair speed: running. As long as he’s not slipping, we’re happy to let him barrel down. The runner also complements the original paneling and planking throughout the house without competing with it, which is why we chose a neutral, natural-looking material instead of a busy pattern.
The runner’s tones also play nicely with the gold hardware used throughout the house, including the stair handrail brackets, and they help transition between the lighter pine floors downstairs and the deeper heart pine upstairs.
That’s our recent stair update. We have more interior and exterior projects to share once we photograph and write them up. For now, the brighter, cozier, and more pet-friendly stairway has made a noticeable difference in daily life — and that’s exactly why we enjoyed this small but impactful project.
*This post contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.