What about a dash and albert striped runner? I've just been drooling over these lately, but might not be right for your space. On the otherhand, a stripe might be nice next to a patterned rug.

Here is a link that might be useful: dash and albert runner

Instead of a rug, I would buy nylon feet for your stools. I had them on my chairs on my wood floor and had zero issues. They slide very nicely on the surface, too. The nylon will wear off eventually, but mine lasted 5 years until we moved.

Sue, I have been considering using Flor for my island, too because if it's wider width. Tell me how the profile is. Does it sit up way high? (I haven't seen it in person yet.) Other than the style, how functional is it?

I'm with creekylis on this. Put magic gliders on the bottom of the chairs and you'll be good to go. I presently have carpet under the stools at my snack bar and hate it. The chairs (heavy wrought iron) leave dents in the carpet and it's a pain to get out the vacuum to clean the area. It would be much easier for me to sweep around the stools but that's just my opinion ;)

Amy, I am a big fan of the FLor tiles. I've used them in my mudroom, back door, kids' room, and of course my island. They are very low, at least the ones I have, with no real "pile" to speak of. There are no dents in them from my island stools. And the best part is that they don't slide around. The backing under the tiles prevents them from moving around, but they're not exactly sticky (and they don't damage the floor in any way). Not sure really how it works. Anyway, we have nylon feet (I don't know if they are 'magic gliders' or not) on our desk chair across the room and the floor is still scratched up. I don't know what the foolproof solution is. For the moment, I still have the Flor tiles at the island.

A few people around here have made floor cloths from canvas. I seem to remember something about sheet linoleum or vinyl being used also to make a painted floor 'cloth.' Easy to do and easy cleanup. Those threads must be long since gone, though.

pfMastin had one in her kitchen and had put some instructions out there.

What about something like this? You choose your border, size, weave, etc.

natural area rugs