Savvy Homeowner Creates Stair Runner For Just £117 Thanks To Clever Dunelm Trick
- Laura Tanner, 28, was surprised by how expensive stair runners cost
- Instead of purchasing a stair runner, Laura bought three carpet runners from Dunelm
- She worked hard on making them look like one seamless stair runner, which cost £117 as opposed to £270
If your stairs need a little TLC, you may have considered a stair runner.
And one clever homeowner found a way to save over £150 on hers.
Laura Tanner, 28, a hairdresser and foster carer from Doncaster, found that stair runners cost a fortune, but she found a savvy trick to make it cost less than half price.
Laura bought three carpet runners from Dunelm and worked hard on making them look like one seamless stair runner.
Her project cost her just £117 as opposed to £270.
Laura told money-saving Facebook group DIY On A Budget UK: "I’ve moved into my first house which is a cottage built in 1843. The cottage is three quarters derelict so we’ve moved into one quarter of it and modernised it until we can afford to knock the derelict part down and rebuild.
"I’ve always loved the look of a stair runner as I think it looks classy, but after looking into the prices of the runner and the rods I thought I was going to have to give it a miss.
“Then I had the crazy idea of putting three together as it worked out much cheaper, so I thought I’d give it a try!
"I used to make curtains for a living so I’m used to pattern matching fabrics and after searching for an affordable runner I realised the ones that were a good price and I loved were just standard runners.
“I thought ‘if it can be done with fabric it can be done with a carpet' as it worked out less money to buy three separate runners than buying one specific stair runner.
"I used three runners from Dunelm at £29 each. To fit, I used an electric stapler, a Stanley knife and a pair of scissors.
"I started at the top and worked my way down, measuring each side to ensure it wasn’t running wonky, and stapled in place.
"For the joins I cut them off at the bottom of the kickback so the rods would cover the join, then pattern matched to the next runner. I then cut off and pushed them together in the join and stapled.
"The rods I managed to find second-hand on Facebook marketplace and bought them for £10 plus £20 postage as the seller lived miles away from me.
"As I worked from the top down, I kept the runner rolled up and stapled it onto the riser of the step to keep in place.
"When it got to near the end of one runner I saw which riser was the last it reached to, then scored it at the join between the riser and step with the Stanley knife and then cut with scissors along my guide to keep the edge neat.
“Then I folded the next runner to see where it needed cutting off so it matched the pattern and pushed it as close up as I could to hide the join as I stapled it into place.
"I also filled holes, sanded and part-painted each side of the stairs in Aqua Guard three times to ensure they were hard-wearing.
“The total for the stair runner and rods was £117.
“I'm really pleased how it turned out and it was a lot easier than I initially thought it would be.
"For anyone wanting to try something similar I’d just say go for it!
"Shop around to get some good bargains, and have a vision before you start to know what you're aiming for. For things like the rods, it doesn’t matter if they are second hand.
“A stair runner would have cost over £150 and the rods sell at about £10 each minimum, which would have amounted to £120 for my stairs, so a total of £270, meaning I saved £153 in total.
“I’m really pleased about managing to do it on a budget as buying and doing up your first house is always a big financial commitment, so money management is key."
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, comments: “Doing up a home can cost a fortune, but not when you’re putting your thinking cap on as Laura has done.
“This clever idea has saved her £153, which she can put towards other house projects.
“Her runner looks beautiful, so congratulations to her for making such a big saving without compromising on style!"
What to read next?
Save More With These Discount CodesRead More Money Saving Guides