Best Carpet for Stairs: Pile, Fibre and Colour That Last

The best carpet for stairs is a short, dense pile in solution dyed nylon or wool, in a mid tone that hides foot traffic. A low loop pile or a firm cut pile of around 9 to 12.5mm wraps each stair edge cleanly and keeps its shape. Deep plush carpet is lovely beside a bed, but on a staircase it crushes into a visible walkway.

Why stairs wear carpet faster than any room

A staircase puts every footstep in the house onto a narrow strip. Whoever goes up or down lands on the same part of each tread, usually the front edge.

That front edge is the nosing. The carpet is folded hard over it, and a fold opens the pile up. On a loose or very deep carpet the backing starts to show along the nosing, which carpet layers call grinning.

So stair carpet has two jobs a bedroom carpet never faces. The pile has to stand back up after the same footstep thousands of times. And the construction has to bend over an edge without gaping.

Pile type, fibre and colour decide how well it does both. We will take them in that order.

Loop pile or cut pile on stairs?

Both can work. What matters is height and density.

A loop pile has no cut tuft ends, so there is nothing to splay open under traffic. That is why low loop carpets resist the flattened lanes that show up at doorways and on stair nosings. The texture of a scroll loop also hides footprints and vacuum lines.

A cut pile feels softer under bare feet. Kept short and firm, it holds a clean line over each nosing. Once it gets deep, it records every step.

One caution with loops. Our product pages flag that loop piles can snag on pet claws. If you have a dog or cat that digs at the floor, a firm cut pile is the safer pick for the stairs.

Which fibre lasts longest on stairs

Fibre decides how the carpet copes with cleaning and sun, and how well the pile recovers.

• Solution dyed nylon. The pigment goes into the nylon while it is still molten, so the colour runs right through each strand. It can be cleaned hard, including with bleach, and it will not fade along a sunny landing window. Most of our stair-suitable ranges are solution dyed nylon.
• Wool. Wool fibre is naturally crimped, so it recovers after being pressed down instead of matting. It cannot be bleach cleaned, though, so spills need blotting straight away with a wool safe cleaner.
• PET and olefin. These keep budget carpets affordable, and they shrug off most water based stains. They are less springy than nylon. Our own product notes steer them towards bedrooms and lighter use rooms rather than a main walkway, and a staircase is the busiest walkway in the house.

For a family home, a rental or a staircase that catches afternoon sun, solution dyed nylon usually wins. Wool suits a household that wants a natural fibre and will deal with spills quickly.

Our carpets that suit stairs

These are the ranges whose specifications point to stairs. Each one is a short pile in nylon or wool with a heavy duty residential rating.

• Parkview Gardens. A 12.5mm cut pile in stainproof solution dyed nylon, rated Extra Heavy Duty Residential and Medium Duty Commercial. Belgotex build it shorter and denser so it recovers its shape in hallways and on stairs.
• Alexandria. An 11mm scroll loop in solution dyed nylon, rated Extra Heavy Duty Residential and Heavy Duty Commercial, on a 4.0m roll.
• Benghazi. The same scroll loop idea at 9mm, so it is lower and denser than Alexandria and wraps a stair nosing cleanly.
• Auburn Ridge. Our 100% wool loop, 11.5mm thick, made in Australia and rated Extra Heavy Duty Residential.
• Villa Heights. An 8mm high and low loop in solution dyed nylon. Its darkest colour, Storm Cloud, is the one its product page recommends for stairs.

You can compare all of them, with every colour, in our carpet range. The wool option has its own page: Auburn Ridge wool carpet.

Matching the stairs to the bedrooms upstairs

Many people want deep, soft carpet in the bedrooms and the same colour running down the stairs. A 17mm plush on the stairs is the wrong answer.

Belgotex solve this with a crossover pair. Riverside Reserve is 17mm and plush. Parkview Gardens carries the same ten colour names at 12.5mm.

The usual approach is Riverside Reserve in the bedrooms and the matching Parkview Gardens colour on the stairs and landing. The colour flows through the whole upper floor, and the stairs get the firmer build.

Pick a mid tone for the stairs

Colour does as much as pile type to keep stairs looking tidy. A pale cream shows the grey line where everyone steps. A very dark cool grey shows pale lint and light pet hair.

Mid greys, taupes and flecked yarns sit in between. A fleck breaks up the surface, so dust and footmarks do not read as a stripe down the middle of each tread. If you love a pale colour, choose a stainproof solution dyed nylon so marks can be cleaned out firmly.

Carpet on commercial stairs

We lay carpet in Sydney offices and commercial premises as well as homes. A stair in an office or clinic usually carries more people each day than a family staircase, so check the commercial rating on the product page, not the residential one.

Alexandria and Benghazi are both rated Heavy Duty Commercial. Parkview Gardens is Medium Duty Commercial. Each of these product pages also lists a fire rating in kW/m2, which a builder or certifier may ask for on a fitout.

Why carpeting stairs costs more to lay

Carpet for the stairs is priced per m2 the same way as carpet for a bedroom. Our published range is $25 to $65 per m2 for carpet supply.

Laying it is where stairs differ. Each tread is cut, wrapped over its nosing and fixed one at a time, and a flight that turns at a landing takes longer again. For a flat room, installation with standard 8mm underlay is $25 per m2 on top of the carpet price. Stairs are priced at the free measure, because no two flights are the same. Our guide to how much carpet costs walks through room prices in detail.

Another option for stairs

If the floor downstairs is hybrid or laminate, the stairs do not have to be carpet. One staircase we worked on had grey carpet and black iron balusters. Here it is after we clad it in grey toned timber look planks with a nosing on each step.

Hard stairs are easier to wipe clean. Carpet is quieter and softer underfoot. You can also mix them: carpet on the stairs and the floor above, and a hard floor everywhere downstairs.

Getting it right for your staircase

Count your steps and note whether the flight turns before we visit. You can also see the carpet ranges in person at our showroom at 111 Station Road, Auburn, open 7 days from 10am to 6pm and until 7pm on Thursdays.

Browse the carpet range or book a free measure and quote for your stairs.