We have a berber-type carpeting on our stairs, with wood floors on the hallways and landings. It has looked and worked fine for us, and has provided the safety and noise avoidance that we wanted. Our stairs are not 'finished' underneath the carpet, so the cost to have installed nice stair risers and then a runner on top was more than we wanted to pay.

Just put brown carpeting on the stairs. We did this and it looks fine and feels great. It's actually cheaper than doing the carpet runner.

have you considered wooden stairs with a runner? I think that may look better than fully carpeted stairs.

I have kids and want to keep the stairs with carpet. The rooms laminate wood plank along with the living room dining area and kitchen. Will it look great?