Yes, it is rough on the feet. My 10 yr old son complained! I don't think I would put one in a room where you might sit or lie on the floor. I've heard that it softens over time. Will be interesting to see if that happens. Right now I almost always have socks on, but once it warms up I will be barefoot most of the time. I am wondering if I will hate it then. Hope not, because I love the way it looks. At first, my powder room door would drag. But, it was not sitting totally flat due to being rolled up during shipping. Now, it's flat and the door is fine. But, I suspect if your door is real low, it might not work.

Your kitchen is beautiful! Very inspirational to me :) Are you familiar with Ballard Designs? They have a huge selection of "outdoor rugs" (although I can't imagine using one outdoors where I live!) But we have a few as door mats and one in our Dining Room, and they are perfect! Easy to wipe down to clean. But they look really, really nice! Take a look--they are all on sale right now. And maybe one or two will inspire you? Just a few examples... OR Now, under your eating area, I am going to just caution that it will get MESSY under there one your little eater is eating independently. But you can enjoy the rug until then, and then see how you feel. It's just hard to get under there and clean, with the built-in there. Also, I had wooden fabric seated chairs, and they will be getting re-upholstered in a few more years--they are trashed! Even the wood backs are "gunky" from so much wet hands/jelly/cereal/yogurt/etc. I switched to industrial style metal chairs from World Market (so not very expensive!) and I love them. Sooooo easy to wipe down--even easier than wood! And I have the coordinating wood table, so it does look good with wood tones, too. And my kitchen is white, Here they are: Finally, go into stores, like World Market or Pier One or anything that floats your boat. Find some napkins or placemats that inspire you. They are a good way to bring in some color in an inexpensive way, test it out in the room, and use it as inspiration for your room. Here is a link that might be useful: Outdoor rugs

I'll look at the indoor/outdoor rugs. I hadn't thought of that. I've been so stuck on "NO RUGS NEAR EATING AREAS"! I think I may just get a few different panels and live with them for a few days to see what I fall for. Yes, I had planned on hanging them so they barely touch the edge of the window to make it look larger. Thanks again for the feedback. Sometimes I just need to hear that I'm heading in the right direction from all of you (I've been so impressed with what I've seen everyone on this forum do in their own homes that it has made me want to make mine look the best it can).

Rookie - You know I love your kitchen. I agree with Emily - let it happen naturally. I was surprised with my kitchen that little things like dish towels and bowls I already owned are giving me direction for accent colors. I have this great bright/slightly olive green pottery bowl with a bunch of red and yellow tomatoes in it that looks amazing with my gray/white/stainless/natural wood kitchen. I also have some nice darker blue/not quite navy towels that also look great and a vase of sunflowers were "wow". I didn't imagine these were colors that would look good but with such a neutral backdrop vibrant things just pop - real life things not props - in the kitchen. If you really want to find some "colors" - just buy a bunch of dish towels and drape then on your stove for a few days to see how it does.