the stairs

A few weeks ago we made the decision to put a runner on our stairs. Partly, because our poor old dog, Hampton, is having trouble getting down the stairs.  I mean the poor thing will sleep until 2:00, just so that he doesn't have to make the dreaded trip down the stairs of doom...more than a few times his poor legs have just slid out from under him and he has taken a not so graceful ride down.    The other part is, that I am sure it is just a matter of time before our kids take a tumble....(I fell down my parents stairs as a teenager with my baby brother on my hip and socks on my feet...socks no more on the stairs, and a runner went up in that case too!)

soooooo,

YAY!  I get to pick out something fantastic....Oh, NO....I have to make a decision, with all of the great options out there.  Luckily, I pretty much narrowed it down to one company, a go to, for me.  I mean they created rugs just for Dogs!  No brainer.  They have soooo many options, great colors, and pattern....Dash and Albert of course!  I love the DaBomb runner in my kitchen.


I narrowed it down to 3 options.  (A good rule of thumb when designing is keep your options to 3, much easier to decide) I know it looks like 4 options, the top green was an actual runner they had in stock to see how many I would need.

My local retailer, an amazing little shop Cottage and Vine, was so nice to let me take some samples to see what worked.

**(note, this is not the Cottage and Vine of my blogger friend Rene....that is actually how I found her!)**

Drumroll..... I chose option #1.  I wanted to keep with the black and white theme I have going on in the foyer.


Here are the details.

We chose the Indoor/outdoor diamond ivory pattern.

We had 3 runners (2.5' x8') installed for 14 stairs.  ($275 total).  A great return on a not so huge investment, and if we want to change (as will probably be the case in a few years, it is not like we spent a ton and would feel bad tearing it out!)

We DID have it professionally installed.  But after seeing the installation, I think it would be a good DIY project.  As a matter of fact, I there is a fantastic tutorial on the subject over at the blog.....What am I going to do when I grow up.  We had it installed upholstery style instead of waterfall. (upholstery is wrapped around the stair, a more finished look, and you don't have to clean behind the rug!)
On to the other decision.  I have had these brass stair rods for a while now, scored at an auction for $12!  (they retail for upwards of $30 apiece!)  I thought it would be a no brainer and we would install them, now I am having second thoughts...and would like your opinion on the subject.

                    With Stair Rods                                                                          Without Stair Rods

"Oh, you shouldn't have, a stair runner just for me?"

"Did you say breakfast was ready?"  See ya:)" (it was after a little bit of cajoling, I think the pattern was getting to him!)