How to Install a Dash and Albert Rug as a Stair Runner

It turns out the Bloomin' Onion light fixture will need a conversion kit to make it work in the stairwell. And, of course, that kit is backordered until June. So it will be a while before I can hang that coconut disco ball and share it with all of you. Bummer!

While we're waiting, I'll go ahead and post the details about how we installed the Dash & Albert runner on the stairs. We really flew by the seat of our pants on this project because for the first time ever Google failed me and even a call to Dash & Albert customer service left me scratching my head.

Since we have no carpet laying skills nor tools we decided we needed to hire someone. Nobody (friends or professionals) was very confident in the idea. I kept telling them, "I've seen it done in magazines so it CAN be done!" We finally found a carpet installer (Todd) from Craigslist who seemed genuinely interested in figuring it out and doing a careful job. 

Todd brought all of his tools over and together we got to work. Because we didn't know what we were doing, it took us ALL day. I think Todd was a little afraid of me because he wouldn't tack a single step down until I gave him the official OK, the stripes are lined up thumbs-up.  Amazingly, by the end of the day, we were best buddies, sharing recipes and sob stories. He even taught me how to use his fancy electric staple gun.

OK, here is what we used:

1) Two 12 foot cotton woven runners from Dash & Albert (We have 13 stairs and this was just enough to cover all of them with no landing.)

2) 1/4 inch rug padding

3) Utility knife

4) Electric Carpet Staple Gun (We tried little carpet tacks, but they showed more than the staples.)

 

5) Carpet Stair Tool (This was used to tuck the carpet into the crease between the tread and the riser giving it a nice crisp look.)

 Directions:

1) Cut the rug pad the same size as the depth of each step and about 1 inch shorter on each edge of the width of the runner. This will allow the runner to lay nice and flat along the edges of your treads.

2) Center the rug pads on each tread.

3) Staple the pads to each stair tread. We used quite a bit of staples to make sure it was completely secure.

4) Because our top treads do not have an overhang where we could hide our staples, we started from the top step and worked our way down. Todd told me it is usually done from the bottom up, though.

5) Staple the runner to the under side of the top tread where it is not visible. (In our case, these staples are visible if you really look for them, but they are less visible than if you use carpet tacks.)

6) Pull the runner tightly down over the tread, step back and carefully check to make sure the stripes are all lined up perfectly. 

7) Use the carpet stair tool to push the runner down into the crease where the tread meets the riser. Check stripes again for alignment. 

8) Staple runner into the crease between the tread and riser so staples will not be visible.

9) Wrap the runner TIGHTLY over the tread all the way back to the top of the riser below. Check stripes for alignment.

10) Staple runner against the very top of the riser where it is not visible.

11) Continue doing this until all steps are covered.

Special Notes of Interest:

1) If you need to cut the runner (we did), use a utility knife and leave enough extra to turn the edges under 2 times so it will not fray. You will need to plan carefully where to cut so that you can hide this edge on the underside of a tread.

2) These cotton runners are VERY stretchy so you will need two people to really pull it taut before stapling. 

3) We did not staple the runner down onto the stepping surface of any of the treads. This was done for aesthetics and to protect the runner from additional staples that could damage it. The runner does wind up shifting a smidge now and then, but it is easy to just readjust if necessary.

4) The runners are only about $118 each so it will not be a bank breaker should they need to be replaced for any reason. Plus with all the great choices available, it will be fun to replace it with different color combos once it wears out.

I'm sorry I don't have pictures to go along with these instructions. I was too busy helping install the runner to grab my camera. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.