What about one of those chef mats (I don't know the official name of them), but they are like a gel mat that feels good under your feet, but water reisistant and stain resistant. They are pricey, and nothing decoratively exciting- but they would suit your other needs.. soft, man-made and feel really good on your feet from what I gather. I have seen them in black, red/wine and brown I think and if you have a costco I just saw them there for a little less than in a store like Bed Bath & beyond.

I am thinking about splurging in one myself! Just an idea

Sometimes, JC Penney has a good selection of washable kitchen rugs. Check out their website.

pete
Many prev threads on this - I swear by my 2 hand knotted wool runners - one in front of range, other by the sink
Wool has lanolin, natural resilient features - feels good, warm on the barefeet & will outlast synthetic types
Ours are 4yrs old & look great

I think this is what gillylily is talking about. Gelpro chef mats. I have inquired about them before and received color samples, thinking I will purch@se a couple after my re model. It looks like a google search provides many sources other than gelpro direct, so you may be able to beat their prices?

This site won't allow me to post the link for some strange reason (!) but this is their website:

http://www.gelpro.com/

have you checked out flor.com? They have carpet tile squares made of recycled materials. When a square gets dirty, you just take it off, and rinse it clean! If one gets too badly stained and cannot be saved, just take it out and replace with a new square! They come in so many great styles, colors and sizes.

www.flor.com

jejvtr is right about a tufted wool rug.

If you get one in a darker color with a good amount of pattern, it hides/sheds a LOT of dirt -- everything but a large liquid spill that isn't attended to. I have had these kind of rugs in my kitchen, and in an entryway where I come in with road grit, mud and salt on my boots, for years.

And you CAN wash a wool rug! You can do it yourself! Just take it outside into the yard/driveway on a warm, breezy day. Check for colorfastness first though. You can also test to see if a rug is really wool by pulling off a few fibers and burning them. If it smells like burning hair, it's wool, or at least animal. If it smells like burnt plastic ...

Wet the rug with the garden hose, then take a SMALL amount of liquid dish soap and distribute it over the rug (too much will be hard to rinse out, and will remain sticky in the rug and attract further dirt later). Gently sweep or brush it into the surface. Don't scrub too hard! If you have a very greasy spot, or a bad spill, you can use a little dab of laundry detergent as a degreaser (that's what detergents do) but don't go crazy. You can also flip it over and brush the back.

Then rinse carefully, running the hose over it until the water runs very clean.

Then, and this is the most important part -- dry thoroughly by throwing the rug over a strong hedge, or a pair of strong clotheslines. It needs good air circulation and good support, or it will rot and break. The warm, breezy day also helps.

It seems impossible that a thick wool rug will dry, but it does. I have done this for, wow, almost 20 years now. Rugs still look great. Ever had a gel mat last that long?

I bought two Chilewich rugs from Crate & Barrel, one for in front of the range and one for the sink area. C&B sells these rugs, made of some woven manmade material, in several colors but you can find other colors and sizes online. Just search Chilewich. Ours, which C&B calls kitchen mats, I think, are 2x3 or so. They're comfortable underfoot and easily washed. Here's a pic of one of ours:

I really love my Gelpro mat. The bottoms of my feet used to hurt if I stood at the sink too long, but the gel mat really helps. I'm pretty messy in the kitchen and drip all sorts of things on it, and it just wipes clean. Good to know about wool being ok, too, but I think in our house, we better stick with something that is easy to clean immediately (we live in Ohio so we don't get as many warm breezy days as I'd like :)

I live in New England. We define "warm" as "thawed".

Dry and breezy is more important than the actual temperature. A couple of days of 60+ and not dewy overnight usually does it.

A rug/mat this size you can even take inside once it stops dripping.

I am also considering rugs for my kitchen. After exhausting all the online sites, I am thinking of going to a carpet store and having something made!

I love good rugs, and own over a dozen handmade and good quality machine-made wool, silk, and synthetic rugs. Some of them we've owned for over three decades. Although wool rugs clean up very well, there are certain things that WILL stain them permanently. Don't kid yourself that "everything" will come out. I've got the spots on a $7K Chinese Imperial 9x12 to prove it.

I prefer to get latex-backed bathroom runners. Washable and in a variety of colors and patterns from JCPenney. They wear out after 5-6 yrs, but since they're not expensive it's no biggie. We live in a foggy, high humidity area, so drying rugs outside is very seldom an option.

Thanks everyone for the helpful suggestions. I've seen those gel mats, but I'm looking for something that is more like a regular rug. I hear you on the durability of wool rugs (I have a cream oriental under my daily use dining table - and you're right, most stains come out with cleaning), but I like the idea of being able to put the kitchen rug in the washer every month or so (especially if there's raw egg or chicken juice on it!)

What I'd really like is a hooked wool rug (like the bright colors & patterns), but in a synthetic fiber. I've found some I like in Duracord (Sawgrass rugs), but they only come in large sizes. I've looked on ballard designs, grandin road, pottery barn, target, wal mart, kohls, csn stores. So if anyone has any other sources they've used, please let me know.

Ballard Designs has reasonably priced and nice looking indoor/outdoor rugs. I haven't tried one in person so I can't attest to whether they're bare-feet-approved, but the patterns and colors are nice!