A preconceived notion when it comes to carpet, specifically stair and hall runners, is the two need to match. Stair and hall runners DO NOT have to match and the following pictures will show this. Hopefully your buying experience (and mental state) will be a lot less stressful after this blog post.
As you can see, you just want the stair and hall runners to coordinate with one another. You can do this with having it in the same color family or using complimentary tones and patterns. Do not get me wrong, I am not opposed to having matching stair and hall runners. Some love the finished look while others prefer less matchy-matchy. Regardless of what you choose, your stair and hall runners will all have a collected look!