IMO a kitchen rug is a tripping hazard and in that small kitchen no , add some colorful teatowels and maybe a colored toaster

Thanks for your input. The colorful tea towels are an interesting suggestion!

To me the issue is that a kitchen rug gets grundgy. It's not like a floor that you can wipe with a sponge or swiffer. Sure, you can throw it in a large front loader washer, or take it to the dry cleaners. But do you want to add that to your list of chores? And if you don't get around to doing that, you will have to look at a grundgy rug in your kitchen.

My rec is to get rid of the stuff on the counters - it is not doing your kitchen any favors. Replace the toaster with a brightly-colored one - you can find them easily on Amazon. Replace the utensil holder with brightly-colored ceramic one, check out Williams Sonoma or Sur La Table. Same with tea kettle.

i have several Turtlemats throughout my home. They are thin, washable and stay flat. Outstanding! The color seal goes well in my home.

https://www.turtlemat.co.uk/front-door/

We use Ruggable.com rugs for our kitchen and mudroom.

I’d get a rug. They make a lot of nice synthetic ones these days. I’ve never had tripping issues with mine but can see why that may be a concern for some. You can spot clean if you spill something. I like Rug Dr. carpet/spot cleaner. There are a bunch of ones out there. I even ha e scrubbed spots off my wool/silk rug under the kitchen table. I’ve also used a shampooer/carpet cleaner on my synthetic rugs. I borrowed my mom‘s Hoover. Try esale rugs thru have free shipping and free returns. Make sure to put a good quality mat underneath.

I love seeing Oriental style rugs in kitchens. I’d pick one with red but I really like red. :). Definitely would look nice to add color. Then I’d repeat colors possibly in towels, washcloths, art and accessories.

I second Ruggables, they really do clean right up in the washing machine. I’ve washed the one I have behind my bar (and we’re all a bunch of messy drunks when we have a party LOL) and it has done just fine.

I'm a sucker for old Persian/Turkish rugs in kitchens, even small ones like yours and my own. You can find small runners relatively inexpensively on Ebay or at consignment stores, and they hide everything.

Alternatively, I loved the rag rugs/runners in this thread of an amazing kitchen renovation: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5738196/we-finished-our-kitchen-danby-and-soapstone

The OP of that thread posted the link where she found them on Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/str/Antique-Vintage-European-Textiles/STAIR-RUNNER-RUGS-/_i.html?_storecat=698457010

Ooh, I am excited to check out these ruggables! My family loves to cook, so kitchen rugs always get messy after a couple of weeks. Thanks for the tip!

How about a colorful curtain or valance on the window? Colorful utensil holder and put near your stove, and put toaster in the corner.....seems to me that is all you need on your counters.

I have used Flor carpet tiles in my kitchen for years. They have a backing to prevent slipping, and come in a ton of styles/colors. They are washable: last week I dumped a whole bowl of liquid scrambled eggs as I was pouring them into the pan.....just picked up the tiles and scrubbed them with soap and water in the sink and let them dry. Flor.com