This Stylish Kitchen Mat Feels Like I’m Standing on a Cloud and Actually Motivates Me to Cook More

As much as I love cooking, it can be somewhat of a chore. As a professional cook, after weekly meal prepping for clients or a long dinner shift at the restaurant, it’s a challenge to muster up the energy over to my own cutting board. There’s certainly no shortage of sore feet over here! That’s where a quality anti-fatigue kitchen mat comes in handy, and the House of Noa Standing Mat has helped alleviate my tired feet and then some. It’s so comfy, that it’s motivated me to cook more for myself at home. Since I’ve been using it, all I want to do is be in the kitchen. Yes, it’s that comfortable.

House of Noa has seven different size options so you can pick the one that’s best for your kitchen layout. I opted for the 20×48 inch standing mat to span the area in front of my sink and counter top because that’s where I spend most of my time in the kitchen, either doing the dishes or prepping ingredients. Next up was the fun part: picking the design. Usually anti-fatigue or gel mats are, let’s face it, pretty ugly, but there were tons of chic styles to choose from. I decided on a striped black and white pattern that perfectly complements my amber-tiled apartment rental floor. I’m not the biggest fan of these kitchen tiles, so I give the mat bonus points for covering most of them up. If you have less than sightly kitchen floors, too, I recommend this mat as a genius rental-friendly hack, for sure!

When my mat arrived in the mail, I promptly unrolled it and positioned it on the floor. It fit perfectly, just as I had envisioned. I stepped on it excitedly and even audibly gasped at how comfortable it was to stand on. It felt like self-care, kitchen edition!

After spending time cooking (and cleaning) on the kitchen on the mat, it’s clear to me that this isn’t just any old anti-fatigue mat. Surprisingly, House of Noa started as a play mat company, selling floor mats for childrens’ play pens. If the mats are plush enough for kids to roll around on, it makes sense that it’s cloud-like and cozy under my feet during a day of meal prep. The mats are also 3/4-inch thick, which is the ideal thickness for back and feet support recommended by a chiropractor we spoke with on the matter back in 2019 (we care a lot about cooking comfort, and you should too). Lastly, the material is made with high-density foam so the mat doesn’t compress over time and no indented foot marks will appear over time. I also love that the mat cleans easy with just a quick wipe down or even with a pass of my Swiffer.

But there’s more where that came from! The brand makes matching placemats that I’ve been eyeing for my dining table — they’re the ultimate way to tie the room together.

I definitely recommend getting one long mat or a few smaller ones depending on your kitchen size. If I had a laundry room, I’d buy another mat to stand on when folding clothes — I’ll take any excuse to stand on this dreamy mat!

Buy: House of Noa Nama Standing Mat, $139