thanks for all the votes! jejvtr: yep, we're building a new home and I've got little ones. The runner is obviously something we can always add later, just thought that while the installers were gonna be here to do the bedrooms, we'd throw that in too. I grew up in an old colonial with wood 'servants' stairs and fell down them a ton. Don't really know how much a little carpet would have helped, but maybe a little bit of cushion! It also doesn't help that our builder just recently fell down his staircase while holding his infant daughter (thankfully she's okay, but a big scare and overnight in the hospital), so he's now a huge supporter. I'll always take someone's .02 though!!!

Lilyfinch, if it's just a few steps going in and out of your house, you can build, or buy, a dog ramp. Look on Craigslist. Someone is always selling one somewhere. The neoprene of indoor/outdoor rugs can feel slippery, but I've not had a problem with the dogs slipping on the braided treads I put on my steps. but then, I have only two steps, plus the floor at the top, on which I don't have a tread, not an entire staircase. If it's really just for the dog, I'd get treads. They're a LOT cheaper than a runner. A runner you either have to have the right tools to install it correctly yourself, or hire someone to install it. If they're not installed correctly, they are a serious slipping hazard. With treads, you just put them down with double-sided tape and a rug pad yourself, and then you can just take them up in the future if you want to do so. Any wood stairs w/o carpeting should be treated with anti-slip stuff so people in socks don't slip and fall. I have a very tough staircase up to the children's bedroom. It's very steep and the treads are very narrow, but there is no carpet on them. A carpet would make them more dangerous because of the narrowness of the treads. But they are treated, so they aren't slippery at all. Nosoccermom, if your treads are wide enough, the anti-slip stuff might be enough for your dog.

Any good carpet installer would be able to do it. Should be no more than $500.00. For reference, we typically pay around $250.00 for the stairs when they are installing the remaining portion of the house.

Thank you to everyone for your input! I wanted to follow up just in case anybody else is struggling with the same decisions I was with a curved expanded bottom couple of steps in an old staircase. Despite some of the recommendations above, I did go with plaid and I absolutely adore it. So it can be done, but to get the lines to continue to flow in a consistent way took a ton of planning and hours of labor. But I love how it turned out. Thank you again for all the help And suggestions!