I guess it seems obvious that I would want to carpet my stairs after my awful fall this winter, but for some reason I can’t help but wonder if this would be a bit more dangerous. What if the fabric makes it more tricky or the kids trip up the stairs? This also may seem a tad irresponsible, but WHAT WOULD THEY LOOK LIKE?! What say you, Pinterest? 
Stripes? Neutral? Sisal? Other?
I kinda just like the bench here more than the stairs.
Bohemian?
More animal print?
I think these below are my fav so far… 
I actually think there are some good options out there that I never would have thought about. They could look pretty cozy and pretty at the same time. And if they could keep our heads safe even better. Hmmm.
Personally, I like the sisal choices in those pics. As my home is colonial décor I have braided stair treads on my steps. They are stapled down and no one has ever had an issue walking on them. However pretty they are bare, I wouldn’t consider having nothing on my steps for that safety reason 🙂
Hope your feeling better.
Agree, for safety I would have a carpet runner. And, yes even though they are very beautiful, they are much to slick to leave bare. MHO
Not to cast a doubt on your decision to carpet your stairs… but our stairs from the main level of our house to our basement are carpeted, and both my husband and I have fallen down them multiple times. They are slippery. Perhaps a natural fiber runner would be better, we don’t have that. I have thought a million times about removing the carpet from our stairs. We would carry our son down the stairs so he could play video games (he has CP and cannot walk by himself) and we stopped doing that for fear of falling with him in our arms. We moved all of the game consoles up to his room – which thrills him to no end.
Seagrass runners are great. We installed one on our stairs after our dog (12 year old yellow lab) was slipping too often. The texture is great looking and slip-proof so far. Reasonable cost. Easy to keep clean too.
sadly this may be a trend, I fell this year on my carpeted stairs and was hurt but I know for sure without the carpet it would have been way worse, I don’t know how much actual protection these thin runners provide though… I’ve now become so paranoid that I hold both sides with both hands as I go down so maybe thats the trick! Runners seem like even more of a tripping hazard! really pretty though!
I’ve been contemplating this myself – I also fell down our stairs the same week you did. While my injuries weren’t nearly as extensive, I did have a bruise that was bigger that my entire hand, and now have a dent (!) back there…and scared myself pretty good. Plus the floors are really slippery and I’m worried my dog, visiting family or friends might fall too.
YHL actually put in a runner in November – it looks cute, and relatively easy to do yourself. http://www.younghouselove.com/2013/11/stairs-and-stripes/
I can’t wait to see what you do with yours…it’s definitely been on my list, maybe this spring.
Hmm! I think it is all what you prefer. We had carpet on our stairs and removed it after our lab passed. When we removed the carpet it was to our delight that the oak stairs were never exposed and were like new. You could fall no matter what is on the stairs. I’m hoping you are on the mend.
I have carpet on the stairs and am thankful. My dog has a back issue and I feel it’s a little safer for her. It also cuts down on noise in the house.
When we added on to our house…the kids rooms were all put upstairs. I loved the look of the oak treads but had grown up hearing the story of how my mother had fallen when she was young down stairs and had gotten injured…..so I asked that the carpet be installed down the center of the stairs. I love them! The stairs are padded and soft in case someone would slip but I get to see the wood I love so much on the sides! Hope you are feeling better!
Hi,
I am probably alone, but I love the leopard print carpet. That being said, I also like the sisal options. My Mom took a tumble down the stairs on my daughters carpeted stairs last Monday and will be in a brace for 3 fractured vertebrae for 8-10 weeks. Ugh, she just tripped on her pajama bottoms…so sorry you are suffering from such a bad fall!