I used two in this kitchen.

Elmhurst Kitchen · More Info

I would do one runner on the back/window wall in the first pic.

I am going to do two like Kristin showed above. They will have similar patterns/colors, but not identical. I am using 10 ft and 8 ft. runners.

Describe daily kitchen soil? The floors in my kitchen rarely get dirty from kitchen activities, so the rugs won't either. They get vacuumed several times per week. DH drops stuff, but it is usually dry coffee grinds and those can be vacuumed up. Major spills do happen once in a while, but I try not to decorate based on worst case scenarios! I am using wool hand-knotted runners and they spot clean very easily. If I did have a major mishap then I would throw it in the car and drop it off at the rug dealer for cleaning.

My kitchen runner doesn't collect dirt, but if it were to become soiled it's easily spot cleaned. Not every soft furnishing must be machine washable in order to have a proper place in the food prep area.

OP - aren't Becki's rug inspirations super! In your kitchen, I'd opt for one runner in front of the sink.

IMO runners in kitchens are just tripping hazards but if you must check out Chilewich for floor mats.

"the new design trend of putting a runner in the kitchen" says it all. I love the look of your floors. I wouldn't want to cover even an inch of it!

Runners in the kitchen are not a new design trend. I would do 2 in your kitchen.

fwiw, my parents had two in their kitchen for 32 years (into their 80s). No one ever tripped and they never looked dirty. No pets, no kids helped. For years I had a printed jute rug in the kitchen and breakfast room of house we raised the children. No problems. In our new kitchen, DD1 brought home numerous rugs/runners. We now have a runner in front of pantry wall, a smaller rug in front of range (who wants to cook standing on hard floor?) and a larger rug in front of sink and ice machine. They don't match, but go together.

People need to understand there are things in pictures for decorating purposes that should not be used in real life. And runners and rugs in kitchens is one of them. Sure, they might look good in one instant in one picture in a designer kitchen, but your kitchen doesn't look like a designer kitchen. And no one in that picture is actually using that kitchen at that moment. Rugs and runners do not belong in kitchens for tripping/slipping hazards and for sanitary reasons. Kitchens needs to look clean and you should be showing your flooring as part of the overall design.

I can assure you that the photo I posted is a functional kitchen and the runners remain there after six years. It's not my house, so I cannot speak for how many times they trip over them.

Edited to add...the artichokes were just for the photo. I'm not sure if the homeowners even like artichokes.

No rug, your floors are beautiful. Show off that wood!

I just throw mine in the washing machine when needed, which is about 2-3 times a year. I've used the same one for 8 years with 2 adults, 2 dogs, and 2 kids. It came from C&B, so not a high-end wool rug, but works perfectly. The only issue we've ever had is my kids get mad when they can't push their chairs over it to belly up to the counter. wah wah.

I don't now how tile with liquids spilled on it isn't a worse slip hazard than a darn rug (been there & broke a toe jamming it into the toe kick). Or how a rug in a kitchen (where everything is within a few steps of each other) is a worse trip hazard than a rug in the hallway or living space where kids run around. wth.

Haven't people had rugs/mats in front of their sink forever? A runner is the same concept just longer and nicer looking. geez.

The old runner I just got rid of was used in the kitchen for 14 years. It was a hooked wool rug and still looked pretty good. No one ever tripped on it in all that time, not even toddlers, teens, adults, 80 year olds or dogs, big and small.

You could always mix it up with rugs in the winter and bare floors in the summer.

I agree with the comment to put rug in front of sink only. And I would choose one that either contrasts with your kitchen - a natural jute - or one that blends - a lovely Asian in darker colors.

Laura, your kitchen is stunning. Please know that cpaul1's comments are very often critical.

I have had rugs in my kitchen for 30 years and never once tripped on one. I just bought a hand-knotted wool oriental for fall/winter. The pink arrow I added shows the soft green throughout the rug which blends nicely with my SW Softened Green cabinets.

Nice choice! I really like how the blue tones in the rug complement your backsplash.

I agree, runners in kitchen are OK. The place i bought has a galley style, 1980s WHITE tiled kitchen floor, i hate it. It's white and HARD and yes, slippery sometimes too. I added a runner and used a no slip rug backing. Works great. yes the rug gets stains, I wash it (why else (as a single guy) did i get that expensive washer? with the bazillion settings?).

Please be careful with rug tape and no slip backings on wood floors, they can react to the wood finish and leave permanent marks (think shroud/rug of Turin like images)...

I have a heavy Caucasian hand-knotted runner in my kitchen. I typically don't do rug pads for pile rugs (only for flatweaves), but if you're going to be standing on something for a while, save your back and buy a good rug pad, they are not at all expensive. Strong traditional rug colors like red and blue look fabulous on hardwood with clean lines of shaker cabinetry (at least this is what I tell myself).

I have another rug at the entrance to the kitchen. We are just a rug family, I guess. My suggestion would be to go with a good-quality, heavy-weave (as opposed to fine weave) wool hand-knotted rug. Nothing keeps and cleans like wool. It's hair! I wouldn't touch any of the polypropylene "hand-tufted" nonsense. Machine made rugs aren't rugs.

Machine made rugs aren't rugs.

Oh, of course they are. Perhaps not to your preference, but many of us live happily with hand-crafted rugs as well as machine-made rugs, and both serve to add warmth and beauty to our floors. Not everyone can afford a good-quality, heavy-weave piece, you know. In fact, there's been a polypropylene runner shared in this forum for a number of years as an example of how beautiful they can be.

IdaClaire, a good-quality, wool machine-made rug will cost on par with a hand-knotted wool rug, and if the price is the same, why not get a better product? Wool rugs last longer and can be cleaned an indefinite number of times with good care, while polypropylene and other fibers trap dirt and their backing crumbles eventually. You are right that it's a personal preference but it is as they say, evidence-based. But if a particular design makes you happy, then that's all that's required.

Anyway, here is the runner in my kitchen. Going strong for four years with three slobbering children, a messy husband, and no more than vacuuming plus annual pro cleaning. Caucasian rug with heavy rough weave. Cost $400. I expect it to outlive me.

But if a particular design makes you happy, then that's all that's required.

Yes, we know. My kitchen runner cost less than $50 and I'm thrilled with it. I find it irksome when someone claims that what countless other people live quite happily with is "nonsense." Surely you can understand how snobby and off-putting that is. We see entirely too much of that sort of thing in this forum, where there are participants at all points on the economic scale trying to make a nest with what they can.

Pretty runner though.