Doing up a home with the latest interior design trends can cost a fortune. But one clever homeowner has shown how you can create a stylish staircase runner for a fraction of the price.
Stair runners can brighten up a hallway and add a sophisticated finish to a staircase. Depending on the length and design, they can set you back by over £200.
First-time buyer Laura Tanner, 28, used a savvy trick with Dunelm products for her grey and white patterned stair runner, allowing her to save more than £150. The hairdresser and foster carer from Doncaster pieced together carpet runners from the popular homeware brand for £29 each to create a seamless design for her stairs.
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In total, the project cost £117 as opposed to £270 - which is what she was quoted when searching online. Laura told money-saving Facebook group DIY On A Budget UK : "I’ve moved into my first house which is a cottage built in 1843.
"The cottage is three-quarters derelict so we’ve moved into one-quarter of it and modernised it until we can afford to knock the derelict part down and rebuild. I’ve always loved the look of a stair runner as I think it looks classy, but after looking into the prices of the runner and the rods I thought I was going to have to give it a miss.
“Then I had the crazy idea of putting three together as it worked out much cheaper, so I thought I’d give it a try. I used to make curtains for a living so I’m used to pattern matching fabrics and after searching for an affordable runner I realised the ones that were a good price and I loved were just standard runners.
“I thought ‘if it can be done with fabric it can be done with a carpet' as it worked out less money to buy three separate runners than buying one specific stair runner." Laura purchased three runners from Dunelm at £29 each, and to fit them, she used an electric stapler, a Stanley knife, and a pair of scissors.
Laura first removed the old carpet and filled any holes and sanded the steps. She then part-painted each side of the stairs in Aqua Guard three times to ensure they were hard-wearing.
She started at the top of the stairs and worked her way down, measuring each side of the carpet runner to ensure it wasn’t running wonky, and stapled it in place. Laura continued: "For the joins, I cut them off at the bottom of the kickback so the rods would cover the join, then pattern matched to the next runner. I then cut off and pushed them together in the join and stapled them."
The rods were found second-hand on Facebook Marketplace and cost £10 plus £20 postage. "As I worked from the top down, I kept the runner rolled up and stapled it onto the riser of the step to keep it in place," Laura explained.
"When it got to near the end of one runner I saw which riser was the last it reached to, then scored it at the join between the riser and step with the Stanley knife and then cut with scissors along my guide to keep the edge neat. Then I folded the next runner to see where it needed cutting off so it matched the pattern and pushed it as close up as I could to hide the join as I stapled it into place.
Laura advises other DIY-lovers to shop around for bargains. "Have a vision before you start to know what you're aiming for," she added. "For things like the rods, it doesn’t matter if they are second hand.
“A stair runner would have cost over £150 and the rods sell at about £10 each minimum, which would have amounted to £120 for my stairs, so a total of £270, meaning I saved £153 in total. I’m really pleased about managing to do it on a budget as buying and doing up your first house is always a big financial commitment, so money management is key.
"It was a lot easier than I initially thought it would be. For anyone wanting to try something similar I’d just say go for it!"
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