Hello madamemaison, I would definitely say runner! So much nicer... You already have a guide line and can just give it a fresh coat of white there continue to the last two steps as normal... I'd leave the banister as is too. I notice where the original carpet extends quite far out.. You could bring it in slightly... So a narrower runner and then see a little more of the painted sides.... Very nice!!! : ))

We have a runner in the house we bought a year ago. I loved it then, looks great, but if you have a family the edges get extremely dusty very quickly - depends whether you are fussy about your home or not. I don't think I would pick them again as it is quite a lot of extra work dusting and wiping them down.

Beautiful floor. Dunelm do an amazing range of rugs and runners. John Lewis do too and they do budget ones up to gorgeous oriental rugs. There are also a lot of online rug sellers too but it’s easier to return a rug if it’s one of the High Street stores, I feel. Jute rugs are quite plain and may do the job? Here’s some ideas. All from Dunelm except the second one.