I'm about to move into a fully carpeted apartment, which is in no way my preference, but it's my best option at the moment. I'll be steam-cleaning it religiously, but the thing that's really preying on my mind is the fact that the dining area is fully carpeted.

I have a kitchen cart/supplemental countertop that I'm planning to put in the dining area, abutting the existing kitchen counter, and I have a dining room table and chairs. However, I'm getting the ick about having carpet underneath the Food Places.

Does anyone smarter about design than me have an idea for some kind of tasteful, easy-to-clean, apartment-friendly floor covering that won't get jacked up from having chairs on top of it? I'm not very good at decorating, at best I can passably mimic the ideas of others, but coming up with these ideas on my own is totally my Achilles's heel.