Hello, I work from home using a "Stand-up" desk, so I have also been on the hunt for an anti-fatigue mat. After some research I decided on a wellnessmat.com mat, especially after reading all the great things people are saying on Amazon about them. But I haven't tried one in person. I recently went into a Bed Bath and Beyond and tried out a Gel-Pro mat and I think an Imprint mat, and I thought the Gel-Pro didn't add much cushion, not much different than standing on carpet over standard carpet padding and the Imprint, like many others, presses down flat like memory foam does. I just ordered a brown Moire pattern 2 x 3 Wellness mat from Brookstone today (they had free shipping, compared to Amazon or Wellnessmat.com that didn't). I will post back on here my opinion once I've received the mat and have had some time to try it out.

I have had a gel pro mat on the laminate floor in my kitchen for several years, with no problems whatsoever. But there isn't any tacky material in a gel pro mat. I think the only problem with the anti-fatigue mats would be if you get water (or something wet) underneath them and then don't clean it up, the wetness would probably warp the laminate pretty quickly. I also have a regular area rug in front of a side entry door. I had to put an anti-slip mat on the floor under the rugs - without something anchoring them they slid out from under your feet pretty dangerously! (It made bringing groceries in quite exciting. :) ) Anyway, there is residue stuck on the laminate there from the rubber mat....but I've never even tried to clean it up, because I'll always have a rug there so I'm not too worried about it.

I splurged on two 5-foot gel pros that arrived two days ago. My Christmas present to myself. The color and pattern are a little cheaper than their other stuff, an "introductory price" for new basketweave product and grey color, plus there was free shipping and Holiday price, or something like that. I must say that already we hop from mat to mat whenever possible, avoiding the floor like little kids who don't want to break their mother's back. The mats will make it easier for me to stand in kitchen on my sore feet. I'll give my mats a workout today when DH's family comes for dinner. Wish I'd known about the Imprint variety sooner. Thanks for posting, Red. People who don't have foot trouble may not understand how significant these products can be. It doesn't matter how pretty the kitchen is if you hate being in it because you hurt there.

Thinking on this but my first thought is not to do black cabinets. And, don't worry about "floor fatigue" so much. It's not like you'll be standing for hours in a kitchen like a restaurant chef. I have porcelain wood look tile and I don't notice the "fatigue" of a hard floor. It always looks best to have the flooring the same throughout so nix the idea of changing the flooring from the living space/kitchen space. The floor plan you show is too small to see details. I'm thinking if you are going concrete floor, mix the cabinets with natural wood look and a light counter...maybe a white quartz.