Carpeting is vastly safer than bare wood on staircases, particularly for children and the elderly.

I say go the 'nice' way = hardwood with a carpet runner.

I admit wood stairs look nicer, but safety for my kids (and my elderly visiting parents) trumps the looks. I fell down my carpeted stairs when I was deeply pregnant with my twins. No serious injuries - would have been worse if the stairs were wood/laminate.

"Carpeting is vastly safer than bare wood on staircases, particularly for children and the elderly."

Any science to substantiate that please?

@Joseph Corlett, LLC-no science, unfortunately, but only years of working with elderly and hearing friends complain of childrens' injuries from falls on staircases. Clearly, the issue calls into play many factors: lighting of stairs, choice of carpeting and securing of same, depth of tread and height of riser, patterned rugs (which can confuse some elderly patients with dementia) vs. nonpatterened rugs, rug colors (factors in for those with poor spatial perception and diminished proprioceptive skills), length and slope of staircase, shape of staircase, presence or lack of well secured railings, lack of clearly marked and sufficiently spaced landings, person's bone density, visual acuity, coordination, etc.

Many people living in colder climates without the financial wherewithal to afford better insulation/ heated floors have carpeted their homes for many years. I apologize for not mentioning these factors in my statement.

One thing we did when my MIL lived with us was to put handrails on each side of the stairs. People in cold climates like carpet because it is like walking on a warm fuzzy blanket, you can't scratch carpet, it is softer to fall on, and it is a sound insulation. Financially well off or not, people love carpet. There is plenty of homes in the north that have sufficient insulation with carpets.