I am not perfectly clear about your question, but I can say that changes on stairs are tripping hazards.

If the break can have a cap wrapping over the stair riser, it might be okay. What material were you thinking of for the landing?

Sorry if I was unclear. My idea is to stop the runner at the top step so that the tread and part of the floor are visible at the very top of the stairs. I then want to "carpet" the upstairs hallway using the same carpet at the runner, using a 3-4" border of flooring. Closer to an area rug in appearance as I do not like wall-to-wall.

Our carpet company thinks that we should not do this, and continue the runner up and over the top tread. Hope this makes sense. We have a very dark stain in the hardwood floors and I want to show them off a bit, hence the break at the top of the stairs.

I am not a carpet person, I prefer area rugs, but our stairs are steep and slick, especially when wearing socks.

I would take the carpet company's recommendations very seriously. To my best understanding of the gap idea you describe, it sounds both unattractive and unsafe. You will see adequate amounts of the floor on the sides regardless. Safety on stairs must always trump appearance.

For a more staircase/less carpeted look, you may be able to do an individual carpet piece on each tread (obviously VERY securely adhered). If you use a very flat weave carpet in a tone similar to the dark stained wood, the carpet will sink away from sight and you will focus more visually on the wooden structure of the stairs.

This is the only way that I have seen it done. There is a wooden bullnose piece at the top of the stairs which breaks the runner and the carpet.

[houzz=]

Yes, Deborah. Exactly. I would just keep the same carpet as the runner and not go wall-to-wall in the hallway.

That's what I would do as well. I would not like for it to continue. I did find one picture where it did that on Houzz and it was not as attractive.

There is nothing wrong with stopping the carpet just below the landing under the lip of platform.

I suggest having a larger piece of the runner carpet made into an area rug for the landing or hall upstairs. I would not lay carpet permanently in the upstairs hall. That area will wear out first.

The runner was a little too narrow for what I wanted so we used the same Karastan carpet for runner and hallway. This picture shows the landing but the same was done at the top of the stairs as it is in the step below the landing--there is a bull nose and the runner stops with the top tread. Another option....

Hi, So you didn't carpet the hallway upstairs. I think you will be happy that you didn't. Heavily trafficked areas show so much wear and also mostly in the center.