Red works real well. Or, go the analogous color scheme route and do a soft peacock blue, but tie it in with artwork on the walls. You don't even have to paint the walls. It's fine as is.

Have you thought about a deep charcoal grey for the rug, too?

Agree that some art, a clock over the door, etc. will help a lot too!

The Chilewich wood grain mats are pretty cool. Might go with that retro decor nicely.

Another vote for red. I just painted a wall 'Orange Copper' that I think would look great in your kitchen. I love your floor.

I second the grey, but maybe a medium tone similar to the wall as seen through the second doorway in the bottom picture. Great floor by the way!

If Burdock is kind of a tomato red, I think it will look great.

I think red might be too much, as red and green are complementary colors and thus make each other POP.

So, unless you want ALL the attention on the floors, I would actually go with a rug that's almost the same color green as the green tile (or maybe a little darker/ deeper). That way, the tile colors look integrated into a larger design scheme and not like something you have to "work around". I think it could be very lovely.

what about a nice juicy orange rug?

Paint your walls a slightly toned-down version of the green (or: a version/tone of the green that you like), and then the floor will blend better and you won't notice it so much.

You get a vinyl runner type thing to put in front of your sink. (There's got to be one out there that's okay looking.) Then it can get dirty and you won't care. (Besides, i always think that rugs right in the work/prep area of a kitchen are a mistake - they are so impractical as to be funny looking, at least to me.)

The sisal suggestion seems reasonable too.

A greener option: FLOR. We've got FLOR down in our kitchen because the stone tile is murder to stand on for too long. And it's red: Morning Coffee style in Decaf. It's an orangey-red--they have a bluer red too. Get samples.

i see the peacock blue..maybe even on its way twoards turquoise! more so than the red. just my opinion.

i would put a yellow rug similar to the "lemon" one here:
http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Power-Woven-Parkway-Border-Rug-18-x-210/2291737/product.html

maybe paint the the walls a pale yellow too -- it would make your white appliances and cabinets look very crisp.

Are your floors tile or linoleum? I am curious because I would like to have the exact same floor in my kitchen. They are beautiful! Please let us know.

I'd have to agree with using red, but I'd make this kitchen retro all the way and do a small oval braid rug in red and then add lots of kitschy elements through accessories like a clock, a cookie jar, maybe some cooking utensils with painted handles hung on a rack. It's not looking lived in or even used at the moment because it's too bare. I love the floor but the room itself needs more pop than a rug.

yes, braided rug with bright red, yellow, blue. i got a small one at target for $3 not long ago. love it!

Dark purple/eggplant or dark pink/faded fushia.

A red, oval, braided rug would look great and last forever.

...I just read everyone else's suggestions, so I guess I too am with the majority here :)

yes, those vintage colors on the floor made me think braided rug right away. but a vinyl sisal or a painted floor cloth in reds or oranges would work also. i think the important thing is the shape of the rug, round or oval, this will stop the eye and counterpoint the visual motion of the checkerboard floor. good luck.

I would change the walls to a buttercream instead of beige, and use a darker green solid rug on the floor, maybe a gray-green.

I think I would like the peacock/turqoise color...very cheerful and summery!

kellylc - Because this green is fairly pale, if you use a tomato red (kind of orangey), they won't actually work as opposites on the color wheel, and won't pop nearly as much as if you'd used red and green full strength.

For what it's worth, here's what I was thinking:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/auie/2123006706/

Joan A.- That's true; a red rug wouldn't pop as much as it would if the floor tiles were a highly-saturated parrot green or something. But it's still true that a red rug is going to call more attention to the floors than one with a similar hue as the floor.

Diana said she wanted the rug to "tone down the colors in there". This leaves a few options, such as going with a neutral like gray or white (which I find impractical for a kitchen). And a butter cream color like the yellow tiles might wash out the room a bit (just like the beige did). But the red will have the opposite effect of what Diana desired, which is to tone down the floors.

That's why I still vote green rug. I would still add red elements, if that is your preferred accent color, but I would not do it on the floors. I's do it with other accessories around the kitchen.

I see your point.