The challenge of carpeting the spiral staircase
When you see a beautifully carpeted spiral staircase, it’s hard to imagine how many people (and American jobs) it takes to make it seem effortless. It takes a trained design professional to envision the look and select the appropriate carpet. It takes a skilled craftsman to template and cut the goods properly. It takes a skilled workroom to bind, serge, band or somehow finish the edges of each tread, and it takes the skilled craftsman again to install it perfectly so it looks like it was always there.
Many of the most beautiful wool and nylon carpets available today are still made in the United States. When choosing what goods to use there are some things you may want to keep in mind. Carpeting any staircase in general requires a tightly woven piece of goods. After that, the rest is up to the imagination. The more loop the carpet has, the less footprints will show. Vertical weaves or designs are beautiful on straight stairs, but will never match (it’s mathematically impossible!) at the back of the pie shaped steps going up a curve or spiral. If it’s a print pattern, two colors or more will give a more decorative look, but it’s easier on the eyes to keep the pattern tighter or smaller and tone on tone. While you can use many premade broadlooms effectively, if you’re going for an upscale look consider a custom tufted staircase runner. The following diagram will give you a clear idea of how each tread will be made separately and when installed, it will look as if it were a perfectly woven continuous runner.
drawing courtesy of Decorative Carpets, Inc.
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