First, consider a gel mat ... rather than a rug (which you should expect to get dirty and may well be a stumble problem). Where are you placing it? In front of the stove ... as wide as the stove. In front of the sink ... as wide as the sink or as wide as the windows above the sink.

I was going to suggest an outdoor rug because with larger rug sizes I personally prefer to hose them off outside and let them dry in the sun instead of using my washing machine. In my last kitchen I had some larger rugs like that, I’d take them outside to my sunny pool deck, spray them as needed with a degreaser, then hose them off with a powerful spray. They lasted many years that way. But I got rid of them when my color scheme changed with my current kitchen.

Transparent rug? Is that like those clear plastic protectors that go under office desk chairs? I'm off to paint some flower on mine and will send in my patent in on Monday! 😄 Jinx, I have a rug from Claremont! We spent a few hours at both their showrooms, in the San Francisco area, a few years ago. The photos don't do the rugs justice and the owner and employees were very knowledgeable and friendly.

Thanks for the marmoleum suggestion. I just looked up their floating tiles and they have a cork in them. Not as much cork as a cork tile, but still, they seem worth checking out. I'm going to try to find a show room with a display today. I have heard that cork is much more shock absorbing than LVT. My parents live in a coop with parquet on concrete subfloors, just like where we are moving to. It kills my back. Their kitchen is floating cork and is glorious to stand on compared to the rest of their place. I checked out the vinyl mats and they aren't really doing it for me. I think I'm a sucker for the real deal rug and just need to find some way to find a floor that I like more and ditch the rug/covering notion. Ultimately, I could get a cork floor that looks ugly and have a happy back and chalk it up to health comes first, as I do with much the rest of my life! I certainly sacrifice fashion daily with Hokas!