Best carpet and flooring options for stairs

Your stairs and hallways are an integral part of the home, taking you from one room to another – so why compromise on their style?

If you’re redecorating, don’t leave out these key spaces. Use this guide to pick the best flooring for your stairs, whether you like the traditional wall-to-wall carpeted look or want to explore something completely different. We’ll break down your options depending on what you’re looking for, exploring different stair flooring ideas like laminate and engineered wood, and the best types of carpet for stairs. Let’s get started!

In this guide:

• What is the best flooring for stairs?
• Best carpet for stairs
• Best flooring for stairs comparison
• Stair flooring ideas for modern homes
• Explore more flooring ideas with Tapi

What is the best flooring for stairs?

There’s no shortage of wonderful flooring ideas to choose from, but when it comes to finding the best flooring for stairs in your home, it all depends on your top priority. Are you all about aesthetics, safety, cost, or ease of maintenance? We’ll help you figure it out.

Here are some of our top stair flooring ideas for:

1. Safety

For the safety-conscious, carpet is a great choice. The fibres are great for improving grip, adding friction between your feet and the flooring. For children, people with limited mobility or anyone who likes to wander up and downstairs in fluffy socks, a carpeted stairway is much less likely to cause any slips, and provides a little extra cushioning if, despite everything, a tumble does happen.

2. Cost

Traditional materials like solid hardwood tend to be the most expensive options when it comes to flooring. Carpet, laminate, luxury vinyl tiles (LVT) and engineered wood are all cheaper alternatives that have their own amazing qualities and unique styles.

Fitting flooring on stairs is a more complicated job than fitting on a flat floor so installation costs are likely to be higher. For smooth flooring like laminate, engineered wood, and LVT, you’ll need to make sure you have the right nosing for each step to finish them off properly. If you have curved stairs or stairs with a turn in, it gets even trickier, so it’s best to call in professional fitters to make sure it’s a perfect fit.

When considering different flooring ideas for your stairs, we recommend comparing the entire cost of removal and installation to get a clear picture of your options.

3. Durability

Carpet, laminate, LVT and engineered wood are all very durable. With the right care, they can last for many years. Heavy footfall can eventually leave marks on carpets, but if you follow our carpet cleaning and maintenance tips, you can keep it looking its best for a long time.

Engineered wood has a layer of tough, long-lasting real wood, which can be sanded or refinished if any marks do appear. However, laminate flooring can’t be restored in this way, so that’s something to bear in mind when choosing.

4. Maintenance

The stairs can be the hardest part of the house to clean yet laminate and LVT are among some of the easiest flooring types to maintain. Many products have a stain resistant top layer that only needs vacuuming or wiping down with a lightly damp cloth or mop.

Carpet needs a little more maintenance to keep it in good shape, by vacuuming and fluffing to lift your carpet pile so it looks its best.

5. Sound absorption

Another factor to bear in mind when choosing flooring for your stairs is sound absorption. Perhaps you live in a flat with neighbours below, or you prefer silent, peaceful hallways and stairs where footsteps won’t disturb you throughout the day. In which case, carpet is your friend here.

Warm and dense, carpet offers the most sound absorption compared to smooth flooring options, which tend to reverberate noise more. So, consider carpet if you prefer a quieter home, or have pets with noisy paws.

Best carpet for stairs

Carpet on stairs is a classic and timeless look, and the best carpet for your stairs will depend on your style preference, as well as practical factors such as durability and longevity. For instance, a saxony carpet with a looser pile density is more likely to flatten down on stairs and show wear than compact and low-pile options like loop and twist carpet.

Here are some varieties to consider if you’re trying to choose the best type of carpet for your stairs:

Saxony

Saxony carpets are known for their fluffy appearance and soft touch. The loops that make up the pile are cut, leaving the strands to lie straight upwards to create that beautiful tonal shift in the carpet. However, the soft and plush high pile mean it can flatten more easily over time, especially on high-traffic zones like staircases. If longevity is your priority, consider twist carpets – saxony’s soft-yet-durable sister.  

Twist

Twist carpets are made similarly to soft saxony carpets, except the fibres are twisted around each other to create a coarser, more ‘rustic’ effect. They have a shorter pile, which makes them a practical choice for busy stairs while remaining soft underfoot. 

Velvet carpet

Velvet carpet is a very luxurious type of saxony carpet and feels incredible underneath your feet. What better feeling could you want when you climb the stairs to bed after a long day? A velvet carpet has a very short, uniform cut pile, which is what gives it those distinctive marks when you brush over it.

Loop pile carpets

In loop pile or Berber carpets, the loops that form the pile are left intact, creating a low, dense pile that won’t flatten easily. It’s a great, hardwearing choice for busy areas like stairs – although pet claws can snag on the loops, leaving messy-looking loose strands.

Woven

Woven carpets like natural sisal are hard-wearing and classic, using time-honoured, traditional weaving methods to achieve their uniform style. This style of carpet is still considered the top-most quality for carpets, especially the traditional brands of Axminster and Wilton.

Hotels often use woven carpets for their flooring – and if a carpet can handle all the heavy traffic from hundreds of visitors, then it can handle your kids running up and down the stairs!

Stair runner

Not sure about the full carpet look? Stair runners can give you a sliver of plush, tactile carpet along the centre of your stairs, rather than covering your stairs completely. It’s a trendy way to add a splash of modern elegance to your home. Check out our stair runner guide for more ideas.

Best flooring for stairs comparison

Still considering different flooring ideas for your stairs? Narrowing down your options can take time, especially when there are so many to choose from. To help you decide, we’ve broken down the key features of each flooring option below:

Stair flooring ideas for modern homes

If you’re looking for modern stair ideas, remember to look beyond the flooring alone. Designing your stairs should be a cohesive effort. Break down each element from the tread, (the flat part that you step on), the riser (the vertical face between each step), to your stairwell and hallways.

Here are just a few flooring ideas for your stairs and landing to get you started:

• Install oak engineered wood along the tread and paint the risers stark white
• Stick tile-effect vinyl on the riser for a pop of pattern and colour
• Choose a striped stair runner for a sense of elongation and variety
• Add texture with a sisal or jute stair runner to complement natural wood-effect floors
• Install wall panelling along your staircase to elevate fully carpeted stairs

What is the best alternative to carpet on stairs?

If carpeted stairs don’t match your interiors style then laminate, LVT and engineered wood can be a good alternative. However, only certain collections are designed to be fitted on stairs, such as Quick-Step laminate, Karndean LVT and Heartwood engineered wood.

To learn more about different products, chat with our expert floorologists at your nearest Tapi store. We can show you which flooring options are suitable for fitting on staircases.

Explore more flooring ideas with Tapi

You’ll find more flooring ideas and DIY advice on our Ideas Hub. Explore style inspiration and lookbooks to help you design your space around your favourite flooring, including tips on the best flooring for hallways and how to install a stair runner. Ready to order carpet for your stairs? Speak to our friendly team in-store or book a home visit to explore your options in your own space.