they make a special pad for hardwood .
Depends on how big your pocketbook is .
Wool would be my first choice .

You at least need the very thing anti slip pad.

Not as important if the dining room table is on the rug to anchor it.

We've had hardwood in two different homes for the last 40 years. We collect hand-made rugs but also have some machine-made, so we cover the gamut - wool to silk to olefin to polypropylene. I've had at least half a dozen of them under the DR table at various times, so here's the skinny from our considerable experience:

- A good rug pad will help a good-quality rug last longer. Conversely, though, because it makes it more plush underfoot, it makes it more difficult to scoot those chairs in and out! Personally, I love my rugs so I use pads under all of them, whether machine-made or hand-made. As I have a bad back and sciatica, I gave up appearance (nice traditional chairs that match the big DR table) for a set of used Herman Miller desk chairs with wheels. Not beautiful, but they scoot nicely over any rug, LOL. I've had guests tell me they're in love with how comfy the chairs are - which they should be, as these originally cost $800/ea and are fully adjustable in every way.

You've probably got nice traditional chairs, so just be aware it isn't going to be easy for your guests to get in and out unless you put those large-sized 'glider' buttons on the chair feet.

- Bed Bath & Beyond not only has those lovely 20% off coupons (you can ignore the expiration date, they never expire), the foam pad they sell is extremely cushy and good quality. We've been using some of them for over a decade and they've never broken apart or crumbled, nor stuck to the oak hardwood flooring.

- If you want a thinner pad, I suggest you go to a flooring & carpet store. They usually sell a high-quality, very dense, thinner pad that they'll cut to size.

Now, for rug size and type:

- You want a rug sized to the width of your table with a chair pulled out for someone to try to sit down on it. There is nothing worse than a rug too small so when the person sits down, they discover when trying to move their chair forward and closer to the table, they've got the rug caught in the back legs of the chair!

- My preference for DR rugs is wool. It doesn't matter whether it's handmade or a good machine-made (I've used both). The lanolin in a wool rug is one of the best stain-repellancy coatings around. The few things that will defeat it are coffee and sugar, curry, blueberries, or red wine (all of which will stain just about anything), so get those cleaned up pronto. A damp sponge will take up everything else; you can save the Resolve cleaner for the heavy-duty stainers.

Vacuum the rug regularly and have it professionally cleaned every couple of years - I admittedly am terrible at getting around to this last and average every 10 yrs. But it really does make a difference in the vibrancy of the colors and plushness of the rug fibers.

- Polypropylene, often sold as outdoor rugs, can be either plush or woven. The woven kind look similar to jute, and that tight flat weave makes it easier for chairs to slide over it. The upside is they clean with a garden hose, the downside is: 1) a big rug is heavy, and not easy to lug around or lay out to dry, and 2) oil stains can be more difficult to remove on some of them. They would be my distant second choice behind wool.

- the real trick to stain-resistance is pattern. Any interior designer can tell you that, especially for those commercial spaces. Solid light colors are death for trying to keep stain-free, which is why you'll never see them used in any public spaces or even reception areas.

Oriental rugs are great, you could drop an entire pan of paella on them and hardly see a thing wrong! This one was a great choice when I was giving sit-down formal dinner parties twice a month back in the '70's and '80's. Now it's in our LR still looking just as beautiful. It's just a machine-made Couristan but obviously will outlast us:

Question for jkom51.

Is this the pad at BB&B that you are referring to?

Thank you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Is this the pad at BB&B

I'd also like to know the name of the pad at BB&B?

I bought a pad from a company called rug pad usa called eco-cushion that was very comfortable to walk over. A bit price tho I'm wondering if BB&B has something similar. I can't find anything at other big box stores.