here's the flooring I'm considering.

Natural wood is pretty common with saltillo, so a wood look might be ok. I'd want to bring home samples of the laminate, though, to hold next to the tile -- you could get some weird combinations of yellow and orange if you aren't careful, with the tile making the flooring look greenish. Would want them together in the space before committing.

Do you know what's under the carpet?

I haven't checked yet. I'm waiting for escrow to close still so haven't had a chance to look but that's a good idea. The house was built in the 70s. I'm going for final inspection Wednesday and will bring some samples of flooring.

acm Do you think the tile should go on the stairway if I put laminate down?

The laminate can go on the stairs and the landing...but be aware you might be mucking with code requirements for tread heights etc. A finishing carpenter is the one you want to work with on stairs. It's what they do.

Once the stairs are dealt with you can install the laminate yourself or have a flooring guy/gal do it for you.

I agree with Cynthia ... plus, I love Saltillo, so I’m a bit biased. :D

I think, too, you’ll most likely have a small rug there, and that’ll help if you feel Saltillo + laminate side by side is too much. It’ll tie it all together.

I don't want to tear the saltillo out. The rug is a good point. Thanks! I was thinking of doing a sisel runner over laminate. I really just dislike the carpet but I think laminate on stairs would be slippery for my old dog.

I like having carpeting on stairs for safety sake and I think it looks good with the tile.

@houssaon maybe if I can find a carpet I like instead. The berber carpet looks out dated and is not really my style.

I think you can use wood like your ceiling, but I wouldn't use laminate. Get solid wood steps, stained to match your ceiling, and paint the risers your stair trim color. Saltillo tile goes great with wood. Removing the carpet keeps the stairs clean and simple. If you're planning to add a runner though, just put in carpet. It makes no sense to change the stairs to laminate just to put the runner over it.

I wouldn't use laminate in a house that has the character of Saltillo tile and a real wood ceiling. I'd replace the carpet on the stairs with real wood treads and then use a runner if needed for the dog.

I love them too!