.... and whiskers on kittens.

Errrr, sorry, came over all Julie Andrews for a minute, one cup of tea
too many.

I'm planning the refurb of my hallway and staircase, which looks like
being a lot of work - I've just been reading archived threads on
stripping multiple layers of paint from staircases, and it doesn't
sound like fun. Anyway, to take my mind off the hard work I thought
I'd check out the possibility of having a runner on the staircase,
held in place by stair rods. Any advice on this course of action?

Google reveals a few online suppliers of reproduction stair rods and
there also seem to be a lot of antique ones available on Ebay. On one
of the websites it strongly recommends that the the stair rods be used
decoratively only, and that the runner be fixed in place some other
way (presumably the usual gripper system). This seems a shame somehow.
I rather liked the idea of them actually being functional. Surely in
ye olden dayes stair rods were intended as the sole means of holding
the carpet down? Also by not having the carpet fixed in any other way
it would be easier to move the runner up a notch every so often to
spread the wear. Any thoughts on/experience of this?