The Best Runner Rugs, Stair Runners and Hallway Runners

A runner rug is a type of rug used as a means of protecting the floor surface for high traffic areas in the home. They are not only extremely functional items in the house they can also be used as a decorative means of adding to the décor. There are a lot of different types of runner rugs available, they’re not simply long, thin pieces of carpet laid down on the floor. If you want to make sure that your carpet or hardwood floors don’t become scuffed or worn away before their time, a runner rug is the item you’re looking for.

The types of places you would be most likely to position your runner rug is in the hall or on the stairs. The long, narrow nature of these rugs tends to indicate that this is what they were designed for. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t get a little creative with them and experiment with placing them in other areas of the house too. You may choose to delineate a certain room by using a runner rug or it may be the perfect way to add some color accents to the room.

Similarly, you may be able to introduce a new texture to the room through these rugs. A jute runner rug or a sisal runner rug can bring an unexpected look to the room that contrasts nicely with the existing furnishings.

The clever and careful use of runner rugs throughout the home can change the ambience of the rooms, taking it from stark and bare to warm and inviting. They are particularly cost effective and there is bound to be one that will suit your taste.

Listed below are a few of the various types of runner rugs that you will commonly be searching for to provide added color and function to the house. They may be known by other names depending on where in the world you live but by the description you should be able to decide whether you can use them. What we will be discussing will be area runner rugs, wool runner rugs, stair runner rugs, hallway runner rugs, kitchen runner rugs, bamboo runner rugs and braided runner rugs.

The area rug runner is a shorter version of the hallway rug runner. It is a great way to place an accent piece in the room bringing much needed texture and color to the scene. An area runner rug will also be a useful way to cover up any flaws or stains that can’t be shifted from the floor. Choosing an area runner rug could become a very daunting task if you don’t know what sort of a statement you’re going to make with it.

For the most part, area rug runners are better known simply as area rugs or as accent rugs. They may be known as runners because they will match the width of the runner rug that you will expect to see running down the hall. They should be used to create a little splash of interest in a small room or area in the house.

The quality runner rugs have traditionally been made from wool. Whether they have been made overseas using the ancient methods passed down from Turkey, Mongolia, Iran and other countries, or made at home employing those older methods, a wool runner rug will give the room an added appeal. The feel of wool under the feet is always a sensory pleasure and the welcome of a wool rug runner at the door is the kind of greeting many visitors would enjoy.

It is always preferable to use natural fibers when decorating in the house and a wool rug provides you with that. The only problem with using wool as the material with which your rugs are made from is that it is a difficult material to clean should spills occur. For this reason you would be less likely to place a wool runner rug in the kitchen.

You are going to have to be prepared to give your wool runner rugs a wash every now and then if you use them in the house. Because runners are usually the first thing a visitor will see as they enter the house, the impression they will make is important. Although wool will give you a luxuriant feeling for those who walk on it, if it is allowed to become grubby then the effect you were hoping for will be lost.

One of the highest traffic parts of any multi-storey home is the stairway leading to the upper or lower part of the house. In order to provide needed protection from the constant traffic using the stairs, a stair runner rug will provide great service. In most cases with a stair runner rug you are after a practical piece rather then something that you will use as an eye-catching detail. That being said, stair runner rugs come in a plethora of patterns and colors and they will be useful in leading the visitor up the stairs. In a lot of cases you will have to have your stair runner rug made to order because of the varying length of stairs that must be topped.

In some kitchens it may be necessary to locate a short runner rug, particularly if you are trying to hide any accidental spills. A lot of time is spent standing in front of the kitchen sink and with a runner rug lying under your feet you will find that the legs don’t get quite as tired. Choosing a kitchen runner rug that fits in with the style of the cabinets should make a fashionable addition to the kitchen.

A more casual type of runner rug is the bamboo runner rug. This is a hard-wearing rug that comes in an extraordinary range of shades of brown. The texture and style of the bamboo provides a wood tone to the room and the fabric boarder can be used to either contrast or blend in with the bamboo itself. As far as floor protection goes, very few rugs can beat a bamboo rug runner.

A more textured style of rug is the braided runner rug. These rugs are comprised of braids that have been sewn together to form a complete rug. They are durable types of rugs and can be used to form striking patterns on the floor. They also feel pleasant to walk on. Interestingly, braided rug runners can be made at home yourself without a terrible lot of trouble as long as you have time to create the braids. The majority of the work will go into forming the braids. After that it will be a simple matter of sewing them together into tightly formed rows.

The most commonly used rug runners are hallway runner rugs. These are long narrow rugs that will be laid down the length of the hall from the front door. They are an important accessory for the home because the rug will be the first thing that a visitor to the house will see. The first impression is always seen as a big part of the overall opinion and if that first impression is a beautiful, luxurious hallway runner rug, then you have succeeded in providing a great welcome for your visitors.

So why would you want to get sisal runner rugs? Sisal is the hard-wearing and durable all-purpose type of material that is ideal for using in high traffic areas. Runner rugs are the epitome of high traffic floor coverings, being placed in halls, stairways and kitchens so if any type of rug must be able to withstand the constant use this is going to be the one. In that case sisal is a very wise option.

Sisal also meets the needs of those who want to furnish their homes in as many renewable technologies as possible. If you want to make your runner rugs low impact, environmentally speaking, then sisal is the answer.

If you are going to cover up your flooring with a runner rug it may as well be an impressive one and some of the most impressive types of runners you can find would have to be Oriental runner rugs.

A well chosen Oriental runner rug can have the effect of complementing the entire floor bringing a new and more complex look to the room in which it has been laid. It doesn’t necessarily have to look as though it is trying to compete with the original floor over which it is placed.

You can use an Oriental runner rug to bring the rest of the room into harmony by providing a splash of color or a contrasting line. Many of these rugs incorporate ancient patterns into their design and these unusual patterns can give your home the beginnings of a complete theme if it is repeated as you move from the hall into the rest of the house.