I’m still working on my stairs. Once I had the stairlifts removed, 10 of the 15 steps had four holes each where the screws that held the stairlift supports were drilled in. They looked awful, and I could either get some decorative sticky something or others to cover them or use stair treads. I opted to go with stair treads.

I saw some in a catalog using braided rugs that I rather liked. I also went online, and all I could find on Amazon were like carpet scraps with binding. And they all had square corners or very slightly rounded ones. None had a color I liked, and all were solid colors. I wanted something that could tie in with my mossy green rugs.

I also read all the reviews. On the carpet types, they were inexpensive, but the corners came unstuck and turned up, becoming a tripping hazard. On the braided-rug style, working with the adhesive was a pain, but the treads lasted well. One woman ordered a small rug to match the stair treads that she had ordered five years earlier, and they matched perfectly. They hold their color. After reading the reviews, I went with the braided ones.

I ordered them, and about two weeks later, they arrived. That was three days ago.

I immediately opened the package and was so glad to find that the colors of the treads tied in nicely with my other rugs.

Right away, I placed the treads on all the stairs just to see how they would look. And I liked the look. But I couldn’t leave them there, because they were dangerous with nothing holding them down. They were so slippery, one step, and I would go flying.

Enter, the “installation kit,” as it is called. It’s a roll of mesh that is sticky on both sides and has a protective sheet of plastic stuck to one side to be able to handle it.

If you’ve ever dealt with double-sided tape, then you know how much fun this was. The adhesive roll was like tape on STEROIDS. The roll was about 6 ½ inches wide and 28 feet long and meant to be long enough for 13 steps. I had 15. They suggested 26 inches per tread. I did some math and figured 23 inches would work for 15. And it did—miracle of miracles.

I had watched a video on the braided rug website regarding installation, and, of course, everything looked so easy. I also read the reviews regarding installation and nearly everyone complained about removing the protective plastic. The video suggested folding in the middle, making a cut and working in a finger and then your hand and loosening it that way. One reviewer suggested a skinny spatula or bread knife at any edge.

I tried cutting in the middle and found it just as difficult as any other edge to try to get into. After trying various ways, what worked best was just taking my finger at a corner and scratching at it until It finally came loose. As soon as you can get a finger in, you’re in. Easy, peasy from then on.

So, I cut my roll of adhesive into 15 23-inch lengths and stacked them. Then I washed and dried each step before applying anything.

Once the stairs were ready, I removed the protective plastic on one adhesive section, took it in one hand and a tread in the other and walked over to the stairs. I determined exactly where I wanted the tread, which also determined where the adhesive segment would go.

I pressed down the adhesive segment first and then the tread on top of it, trying to keep the tread straight before I pressed down. Then I repeated each step 14 times. Once I got in the groove, the whole process went quickly.

The rug that matches the stair treads that I ordered to go between the stairs and the front door was too small, and I didn’t want to use it there . . . or so I thought. After a couple days, though, I tried it there again and liked it. Go figure! It was not too small, after all.

The results: All the screw holes are covered; not one shows. Mission accomplished! Best of all, I like the way it looks. I never liked the way the stairlift looked, but as long as it was useful, looks didn’t matter. Now, I’ve got my stairs back and like the new look. It makes a nicer entry. And there’s a bonus. With the treads, it’s safer because the wooden stairs are slippery—the treads are not! All in all, I’m very pleased with the results.