I'm confused about what your floors and stairs are currently. But here's what we did. On the main floor we have cherry floors, and we put pine on the second floor. We put cherry treads on the stairs (and painted the risers white to match the trim). The landing upstairs, which looks like the top step from below, is pine. I think you want continuity between the stairs and the first floor, either by doing something like this or doing what floorguy recommends.

I am planning on doing the same thing in the house that we are currently building. The only thing that I am hoping to do is to use the same carpeting both as a runner and as wall to wall so that I don't have to be concerned with where to end one carpeting and starting another. But if I were doing what you plan on doing, I would stop the runner under the lip of the top step. I understand what you are saying about it looking a little funny looking up from the landing but if you carried the runner over the top step, then you'd have it looking funny from the hallway going back down the steps. Just my opinion. If anyone else has done this, I would appreciate pictures too! Thanks!

If you are looking to do a decorative carpet on the stairs (only) then one way to do it is to use the carpet as a RUNNER...not a stringer-stringer carpeting. The other thing to consider is normally the stairs should match "something". If you have different carpet at the top of the stairs that does not match the stair carpet, that NORMALLY means you have different carpet DOWN stairs. The stairs will match the carpeting on the MAIN floor. I'm not hearing that this is your scenario. What type of flooring do you have on the main floor? This is what the stairs will be MATCHING if you choose to go this route (stairs not matching carpet upstairs). The other way to do this is to use the decorative carpet on the stairs and then pay to have an area rug cut and bound in your chosen "stair" carpet. This area rug then sits in the entrance/bottom of the stairs. This is a quick, easy (slightly less expensive) way to get the stairs to match "something".....'cause they really should match something. Right now they match the upstairs carpet. Once you change this design feature, you need to REPLACE it with another version of "must match something". The bound area rug in the same carpet is one of the fastest ways to do this. Good luck. Remember to look at your main level flooring and decide whether or not you want to go forward with this concept.

i've seen houses done with the stairs being the only place with carpetting. i don't think it looks strange or anything. as for changing color, i would just start the new color at the top of the stairs. make it look intentional is the best advice i've heard for things like this.