Like a rug? You can do a mat by the back door and remove shoes if there is a place to store them out of the way. I am not a fan of wood floors in kitchens unless they are super sealed and not a major thoroughfare.

I'm hoping to get suggestions for mats - designs, patterns, textures, types :) Is there anything that is designed for this kind of situation?

Shop door mats.

https://www.spicherandco.com/categories/456662/vintage-vinyl

What brand and style of hickory floors are those?

what kind of harwood are these ? white oak? pine? maple?

No rubber! Ever! Your antifatigue mat will have to be looked at...rubber can and will stain hardwood finishes a startling YELLOW! Think heavy nicotine stains on the fingers of a 2pack a day smoker! Yep. Ugly.

No rubber. Ever. That includes antifatigue mats.

@SJ McCarthy Even if it's moved around a lot? We lift it at least once a week for sweeping and cleaning.

@Chris and @Benoîte Yver, it's engineered hardwood in hickory, handscraped "natural" from Hardwood Canada.

@SJ McCarthy does the no rubber on hardwood include anti-skid fabric? I have some under my front hall mat. The floor is new as of March so I want to baby it. (Sorry to OP - didn't mean to hijack your thread.)

You need to see the packaging. It MUST SAY: "Safe for use with Hardwoods".

Latex or man-made rubber products have 'plasticizers' in them. These are chemicals that allow the rubber/latex to stay soft and pliable; in a word 'rubbery'. The plasticizers are the things that cause chemical reactions with the chemicals on the wood (aka. polyurethane).

The OP asked if rubber was ok if it is moved around 'a lot'. The answer is: it will make it LESS nasty in 10 years. And by 'a lot' I mean you move the mat 10ft over here. And then the next day you move it 10ft over there. And then maybe the next day you move it 3ft back. And then 3ft forward. If you mean, I pick it up for 5 minutes and put it down in the same spot (or within a few inches of the same spot), then no. It won't help - at all.

Rubber damages hardwood floor finishes. Unless the company SPECIFICALLY states "100% Lifetime guarantee Not to damage your Hardwood flooring", then leave it on the shelf. Because if it doesn't come with the guarantee than you can be guaranteed it will damage the floor.

As for 'high wear' areas, wood does just fine. The finish will take the abuse (which is why it is there in the first place) and when the finish wears through (10 - 25 years or so...depending on the finish) you simply pay someone to sand and refinish your flooring and you have another 25 years of life.

@ OP if you have a link to the company, I can tell you what type of finish and what type of longevity you can expect. I've tried looking up "Hardwood Canada" and it comes up as generic...which means it is an off-brand from somewhere. I've seen the name many times but have been unable to pull up anything meaningful about the floors (ie. where the product is made, who carries it, the name of the finish, the species used, the Indoor Air Quality Controls, etc).

Please send a link. I'm dying to sink my teeth into these guys. I'm in Vancouver BC...so 'Hardwood Canada' should be something I can access easily.

@SJ McCarthy I'm in Toronto and purchased it from AA Floors. I asked for tech specs but got only the following. Am now concerned that I made a bad decision... it sure looks nice, though.

• 6" x 3/4" x RL
• 18 mm overall thickness
• 1.2 mm face wood layer
• Multilayer Core T&G Profile
• Hickory, light wire brushed UV Finish, low gloss finish;
• Installation: Stapled, nailed, glued-down, floating Limited 35 year wear warranty and lifetime structural warranty

@SJ McCarthy Deleted my last comment because, guess what, http://www.hardwoodcanada.com is the same company that I purchased it from (AA Floors). Sales rep says it's manufactured in Asia by BiYork Floors.

OK...looks like the product is one of their 'brands' they carry but the name of the brand has been obscured. They carry some decent names (nothing exceptional) like Bruce and Armstrong and Vintage. Nothing wrong there.

I would hazard a guess one of their 'brands' created some hickory product and they have brought it in as a 'no name' product (which is why you see their sticker on the sample but not the brand).

The wood is finished in Bona = very good thing. But without knowing WHO made it (ie. all the stuff I need to know) I cannot say what TYPE of Bona they used (is it the SUPER DUPER stuff that takes FOREVER to wear through...or is it the Ho Humm Bona that gives you 10-15 years of service?).

The plank is thick (3/4" = gold standard) but the WEAR LAYER (the hickory) is very thin. You will never get a sand/refinish out of it. And that's why you want to take VERY good care of the finish.
You do NOT want a large orange 'rubber' stain on your floor. You will never be able to correct it once it sets in. A full sand/refinish is what gives you the ability to 'fix' a rubber-stain. Once the stain is there, you can never get rid of it.

Which type of install did you go with? How is your home's humidity levels? Do you have FULL home humidity control (like touch of a button)? Toronto has some serious swings of humidity (summer can be brutally humid yet winters can be cold and dry at times). You will need to be able to regulate the humidity (dehumidify in summer and ?humidify in winter?).

We have some humidity control when the windows are closed and the A/C & dehumidifier, or heating & humidifier, are running. The boards are glued down.

Appreciate your help and it's good to know that we need to read the labels before we put any winter mats down near the doors. That hadn't crossed my mind!

Looks like this is the link we need:

https://www.biyorkcanada.com/collections/engineered-hardwood-collection/products/natural-hickory?variant=31455773065327

Here's the technical: Not much in it really...but worth loading:

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0271/4422/4879/files/NOUVEAU_6_Technical_Data_Jan_2020.pdf?v=1591888768

Here is your warranty unless you bought a discontinued product that was sold "As-Is":

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0271/4422/4879/files/General_Hardwood_Warranty.pdf?v=1591888769

And finally the installation instructions which include the humidity and heat requirements as well as the care and maintenance stuff.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0271/4422/4879/files/Nouveau_6_Install_-_Jan_2020.pdf?v=1591888773

With a wear layer as thin as 1.2mm, you will need to be very good with your humidity.

Good to know. Thank you!

Pam A, I want to follow up with you about a post I found where you commented on workstation sink depth being adjustable. Can you turn on your ability to message so I can PM you? Thanks!