Now, about these stairs!

I'd go with cream, personally.

The red paint wouldn't be exactly the same shade as the carpet and the effect might be a bit...odd.

Will they be glued down? - I would be worried about the corners/edges gradually lifting and causing a tumble.

Good point Ana, wish we could get testers of te floor paint, it would help a lot!

Definitely glued down, Luckygirl, and with a lip under the nose of the stair either glued or tacked.

I'd go for cream as well. You can always get a tester pot of a bog standard emulsion paint in as near the shade of cream as poss. This will give you a good idea of the finished effect without any expense and you can then paint over it with the expensive stuff.

I think it would be quite effective in cream. Would the pieces be wrapped over the lip of each tread, to avoid catching? If so, they would need to be very flexible, and the glue very strong!
Good luck with it!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXyl-rwDGdw

This is quite a useful video. It even has a cat!!

merlot thank you, very helpful!

Still can't decide re the paint colour........

Plenty of sample pots then.....I have a drawer full of the things from past projects. I swear they breed.

Oh, I know Merlot - and somehow you can't bring yourself to throw them out because 'they might come in useful...'

Definitely cream! The carpet only being on the treads is quite acceptable - trendy even

I wonder if my cat could walk backwards up the stairs? That sounds a great idea Phoenix, I think I`d go for the cream paint as well, it should look very smart.

Thank you all, looks like cream gets the vote!

I hope the paint won't dry with cat footprints!

I was thinking the same as luckygirl about the safety of attaching the doormats to the steps and risers.

The material in the mats would need to be flexible enough to bend around the steps and stay glued or tacked firmly enough.

Would such mats fray if they have been cut?

How about these things? www.carpetrunnersuk.co.uk/stair-carpet-runners-c38

I am sure there are other brands. Would it be a viable solution? Stair rods seem to be very variable in price.

We don't want phoenix falling arse over tip down her stairs!