Contemporary Stair Runners; What's All The Fuss About?

What's All The Fuss About Contemporary Stair Runners?

If you’ve been keeping a keen eye on interior design trends lately, you may well have heard about contemporary stair runners. Designed to brighten up any staircase with a touch of visual interest, these stair runners have been around for some time, so why are they so popular right now? Well, it may have something to do with the retro-modern edge that contemporary stair runners offer – or it could simply be that they look great. Whatever the case, we thought we’d take this opportunity to look at contemporary stair runners in a little more depth.

Contemporary stair runners for beginners

If you’ve got a staircase in your home, especially one with a wooden surface or similar, contemporary stair runners might be just what you need. So what are stair runners used for? Well, they’re primarily used to add a bit of colour and traction to a staircase. For example, many wooden stairs can be slippery and potentially hazardous, but a contemporary stair runner fixes this issue elegantly. Plus, stair runners are available in a variety of widths, so whether your stairs are narrow or enclosed, there’s a solution for you.

The full contemporary stair runner package

Stair runners can look fantastic on their own, especially when set against a complementary floor colouring – but there’s another addition which can give the final touch of perfection: stair rods. Made from a variety of high quality metals, stair rods are designed to hold the contemporary stair rods flush to the corner of the stair, and keep the fit neat at all times. A beautifully fitted stair runner in combination with some quality stair rods is an interior design innovation that’s hard to beat.

A world of choice

The great thing about contemporary stair runners is that they’re available in a wide range of colours and designs. From a subtle Items style from Brink and Campman to the more eye-catching and colourful Missouri Range, you really can have your pick. Our advice is to try to compare the designs and colours of these contemporary stair runners with the existing flooring you have on your stairs. That way, you’ll know whether they’re complementary right from the offset. 

If you’d like to try out some contemporary stair runners in your home, there’s no better place than Stair Rods Direct. And if you have any questions about our products, installation, or anything else, just call our friendly team on 0845 838 8638.

Brass Stair Rods Are More Popular Than Ever Before

Brass Stair Rods Are More Popular Than Ever Before. Here's Why.

Whether you’re adding a stair runner or fitted carpet to your staircase, you’ll likely need a reliable set of stair rods.

There’s a wide range of choices open to you – including both solid and hollow options – but there is one form of stair rods that are really enjoying a surge in popularity: brass stair rods. As a durable and long-lasting metal, it’s perhaps no surprise that brass has been used for centuries for all sorts of purposes, but are brass stair rods really the right choice for you? In this article, we’ll explore what makes brass stair rods so popular.

A wide variety of designs

All brass stair rods will come with the essentials you need to fit them: brackets, finials and so on – but the actual design of the rods can differ wildly. One of the best things about brass as a material is that it’s very versatile. This has enabled the manufacturers of brass stair rods to try lots of different designs. For example, you can find the ornately engraved lines of the Country Front-Fix Brass Stair Rods alongside the smooth finish of the Crystal Runner Brass Stair Rods.

Your choice of finish

Each brass stair rod is already an excellent choice because the metal itself is so hard-wearing and ideal for use on a staircase. But just because you’re choosing brass stair rods doesn’t mean you have to settle on one finish. There are a number of different choices you can make for the finish of your brass stair rods which will not impact the structural integrity at all. Examples include matte black, polished brass or even gleaming chrome.

Brass stair rods can bring vintage charm

Creating a theme in your home can be a tall order – and it’s really all about the details. That’s why brass stair rods are such a popular choice just now. With more and more people trying to capture that traditional vintage look, brass stair rods have found their way back into the mainstream. Just take a look at a product like the Eastern Promise Front-Fix Brass Stair Rods and you’ll see why this eye-catching design is finding its home in so many others.

If you’d like to explore the world of brass stair rods for yourself, and find out just how durable and great-looking they can be, you can find our full range online now. If you have any questions about our brass stair rods, or need any advice about installation or anything else, just call 0845 838 8638. 

Stair Carpet Rods - Reasons they have a Place in your Home.

4 Reasons Stair Carpet Rods Have a Place in the Modern Home

If you want your home to have an elegant, timeless look with just a touch of the traditional, stair carpet rods are the perfect choice. These eye-catching accoutrements are far from outdated – so we’ve collected four of the very best reasons that stair carpet rods still have a place in the modern home. Let’s get started…

#4: Stair carpet rods neaten uneven carpet

If you already have carpet on your stairs, you may have noticed that there can be some ‘give’ or a loose fit around the corners where stairs meet. Stair carpet rods elegantly solve this problem. By installing a set of high quality, premium stair rods – like those we sell here at Stair Rods Direct – you can quickly and easily neaten up your stairs and bring a real touch of ‘je ne sais quoi’ to your house.

#3: An affordable way to improve interior design

Because stair carpet rods can be purchased in units as low as one, and because there are so many options available, they are a highly affordable interior design choice. There are generally two ends of the spectrum for stair carpet rods: hollow rods and solid rods. The former can be more affordable than the latter, though perhaps less hard wearing, but each can bring a sparkle to your home and improve the décor in one easy step.

#2: A huge range of styles and colours

If you thought stair carpet rods were boring – think again. Stair carpet rods are available in a wide range of builds (including both solid and hollow), as well as numerous metallic finishes and colours. You can also choose custom brackets for your stair carpet rods to complete the look, many of which have intricately designed tips for an extra hint of interest.

#1: They bring a touch of tradition (and look great)

Stair carpet rods are not overly common, which makes them something of a focal point in any home. If you’re looking for a way to pay homage to tradition whilst also maintaining that 21^st Century design aesthetic, stair carpet rods can be the answer. With the wide variety of styles – including Easyrods, Tudor, Blacksmith and Homepride – stair carpet rods can be the perfection addition to your home.

To find your perfect stair carpet rods now, why not explore our ever-growing range of stair carpet rods? Or simply give us a call on 0845 838 8638.

Carpet Rods an example of - Premier Stair Rods

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Premier Range of Carpet Rods

Origins of Stair Rods

You may be wondering just what are stair rods, what is their purpose, and where did they come from? Well, here are some facts behind the history of stair rods and how they came to be used today.

Slightly more up to date stair rods

In the late 18th century stair rods emerged for practical purposes in the lower-middle to upper class Victorian homes which featured wooden stair cases covered by carpet runners. In the 1700s, before wall to wall carpeting and before non-slip padding were invented, stair rods were used as a means of installation to hold the carpet runner in place.


They were a smart invention for a practical purpose. Part of the ingenious behind the rods was that they could be used so that, periodically, the runner could either be pulled up or down so that the nose of the stair wouldn’t rub or fade the runner in one place.

In the wealthier homes, stair rods featured much more innovative and decorative designs. This included styles like metal scrollwork on the bar and different shapes such as triangular shaped rods. Stair rods were crafted in a few different materials which ranged from brass to wood. Middle-class home owners who couldn’t afford to place decoratively styled stair rods on every step often used decorative rods up to the landing to impress guests while a plain rod was used to secure the runner on the steps farther up the staircase.

Today, with much stricter safety measures than in the seventeen and eighteen hundreds, stair rods are used for decorative purposes rather than as a means of installation for a carpet runner. Stair rods were very common up through the 1940s but slowed with the advent of wall to wall carpeting in the 1950s.

The 1980s triggered a large resurgence in the demand for stair rods from customers who were no longer using wall-to-wall carpeting. Instead, the trend grew with customers wanting to recreate turn of the century, European style, hardwood and stone staircases featuring elegant runners, accented by brass stair rods and clips.

The trend continues today with more and more home owners and designers going with the timeless and decorative options of using runners and stair rods. The style has expanded to incorporate, not only, the classic styles but more modern and contemporary styles as well.

Its Raining Stair Rods...

A BBC report for the 50 words used to describe rain has highlighted some terms that may surprise you.

"Many colloquial words for rain are regional or have their roots in the Celtic nations, such as dreich in Scots English and soft weather in the euphemism-laden Hiberno-English spoken in Ireland.

There are plenty I'd like to hear weather forecasters using on the air:

• tippling down
• pelting down
• raining cats and dogs

And there are more with the sturdy feel of regional English. Luttering down, siling down and plothering down are among my favourites. You can't honestly put them in order of severity, of course, but all conjure that sense of looking out of the window on a rainy day somewhere in provincial Britain and seeing rain hammering relentlessly from a sky the colour of cigarette ash.
One of the commonest and most vividly descriptive phrases is raining stair-rods. I like it because I shouldn't think many people in the UK have seen a stair-rod for 50 years or more so it has the comfortable feeling of a phrase your mother or father might have used to describe the rain.

The analogy, of course, is the rain falling in long, straight streaks - both German and French have words using the imagery of ropes or cords to do the same thing. " BBC.

Not sure about their comment on 50 years, sales of stair rods go from strength to strength. To read more about the article on Stairrods.