Floor Ever

Carlos at Floor Ever helped me find a creative way to solve the problem of installing a runner on a twisting staircase. The usual way to carpet stairs with turns is to use wall-to-wall carpet so you have enough width to cover the large triangular treads (sometimes called pie steps). I looked at hundreds (possibly thousands) of wall-to-wall designs and didn't find anything I really liked -- the interesting designs are in area rugs and runners. With a runner, the problem comes on the riser between two triangular steps: because of the geometry, the runner on the upper tread, though perfectly centered, is rarely going to line up with the runner on the lower tread (also perfectly centered). If you want a formal, traditional look, you have to start with a larger rug and cut it down to make it line up properly. But if you're willing to do something funky and nonstandard, you can cut a piece of carpet for the riser that isn't a rectangle. That's what Carlos did, as you can see in the photo: he cut riser pieces that were angled on the sides so they matched the widths of the runner on the top and the runner on the bottom, which made for some sharp angles. I asked him to cut the riser pieces so the stripes on the rug run diagonally, creating a zigzag effect. I figured that would look more intentional -- and definitely more fun -- than running the stripes vertically or horizontally on the risers. I love the results and I'm grateful to Carlos for helping me solve my twisty stair problem and avoid a boring rug. Carlos had to take the 3 riser pieces away to have their edges bound, so the project couldn't be completed in a day, but the total time he spent installing was less than 6 hours. He arrived on time, communicated well, cleaned up after himself, and charged a fair price. I would definitely hire Carlos / Floor Ever again.