saving our butts...and backs

so we have these 3 stairs that lead to the downstairs area where the dining room, kitchen and family room are.  they are hardwood and extremely slippery.  shortly after we moved into the house, and Z was a tiny baby, i was holding him and walking down those stairs in my socks. all of a sudden i slipped and came crashing down on those hard wood stairs. because i had baby Z in my arms and i was trying to protect him i landed in such a way that really jacked up my body.  i skinned my arm and elbows, bruised my tailbone and smashed a few vertebrae in my back. immediately when i landed, Z started crying and i checked him to see if he was injured. he was fine, just scared. i started crying because i was so scared. Z could have really gotten hurt. i called my mom, sobbing, and she calmed me down. and then i assessed my injuries. i was ok but banged up and sore. and it turns out that those bruised vertebrae in my back would remain sore for several years after (they are still tender). 

after hubby slipped down those stairs much the same way recently (but without holding a baby thank goodness), and watching other people both older and younger almost slipped fall, i decided to fix this situation. 

so i spent awhile looking for a stair runner. they were kind of pricey. one day i saw something that would likely work while at homegoods. i picked it up for about $16 and took it home. and then had to think about and research how to install it, haha. eventually i picked up some carpet tape, and a lightweight carpet pad. i read some tutorials and then got to work. i was able to use our manual staple gun to attach the runner after taping down the pad. and then hammered down the staples so they hopefully are not super visible. 

hubby will soon attach a handrail and then we have a much safer stair solution! 

i also really like the look of a stair runner!