"Jodi" wrote in message
I want to pull up my carpet and have hardwood and/or laminate stairs. Is
it going to be really ugly when I pull up the carpet? I have laminate
downstairs, and I'd like the stairs to match, but I'm finding it near
impossible to find stairnose for the type of laminate I have (kronotex
from lowes)...any suggestions on how to match a stain?

My stairs were a plywood base and not all that ugly. I stained them and
just left them for a couple of years before deciding to re-carpet the house
and finish the stairs. Original carpet was well worn and ugly so it had to
go.

The problem with cheap laminates is they don't support them with a lot of
the extra goodies to make a professional job. I used WilsonArt a few years
back and it worked well. www.wilsonart.com It has proven to be very
durable on the stairs and the landing at the top, the most heavily traveled
part of the house.

You won't find a stain easily to give an exact match of your present
laminate. You may have to blend a couple of get into dyes. The final
result will vary depending on the wood you choose. You may do better with a
complimentary color of laminate.

You may want to consider engineered hardwood instead of laminate
http://www.mannington.com/residentia...oodMolding.asp

I have this in my downstairs family room and hallway. It was not available
when I did the Wilson Art or I may have done it all this way. You can see
the stair nose on the above page.