I did that in my guest room - no problem at all. The carpet is pretty low pile and the rug is a fairly thick sculpted type oriental. I have no pad under the rug. I also have a very short, dense wool oriental rug on the carpet in my living room. That also works fine. I have all these rugs on carpet because I moved from a house with wood floors to one with more carpet. I hope to get rid of the carpet someday when I feel like moving everything again. So then I will need the rugs and in the meantime I can't stand the plain beige carpet. In another room I have a thick wool runner that covers the width of carpet from the deck door to the wood floor in the dining area. It has no furniture on it that holds it in place so it ripples a bit. I need to find a way to keep it flat.

Okay - late to the party. I want hardwood floor in every room in my house except the bathrooms, where I prefer tile. I do have antique wool oriental rugs in all rooms. But if I could afford it, I would have some wonderful Stark wool carpet in my bedroom. Since the room is 24'x24', that is out of the question. Yes, I DO have allergies and asthma. My daughter has hardwood floor through out all the rooms in her house, but in the MBR, she has carpet over hardwood. She prefers a carpeted bedroom, not area rugs. Yes, she has cats and a son with allergies. Many decades ago, I had an allergist in St Louis who aid that unless a child is ending up in the hospital, there was no reason to get rid of carpet, draperies, upholstered furniture, stuffed animals, and family pets - the recommendation of most allergists for households where a child has allergies. He said that allergies are so complex, that just getting rid of a couple of things will not change things much. He said the only way to totally avoid allergens would be to live like "The Boy in the Bubble", and that wasn't recommended for serious emotional reasons. When we moved to LA, I started calling allergists, explaining that I had 5 cats and 2 dogs and no intention of getting rid of any of them. Finally found a terrific one who totally agreed with the St Louis allergist. When we moved to KY, I did the same - found one who agreed with them. He retired and I now have yet another allergist. He, too, agrees. Another thing I liked about all these allergists was that they were not selling ANYTHING other than their medical services! Most allergist's offices want to see you special filters, air purifiers, special bedding - you name it - they have a very expensive product just for you. This is especially true in pediatric allergist's office. Don't like that at ALL! Allergies are very complex. When I go somewhere without my dog (now only 1 dog), my asthma is no different than when I'm home sleeping with the dog. Allergies are very complex. If one is already having hardwood put down, put it down EVERYWHERE. If you prefer carpet in a bedroom, put it down over the hardwood. Do it for resale if nothing else.

Cinar Interiors has great info. Definitely Nylon carpet will wear better and the products he mentioned are great. Regarding cleaning every 18 months. This is standard in the carpet industry in every brand. It is just a standard warranty requirement. Not super realistic and majority of home owners probably do not do this. Warranties are not something you should purchase carpet based on as they have many little nit picky things such as not covering stairs, certain install methods, certain ft from a wall, cleaning requirements, etc.

Carpet is much more expensive than paint! Pick a carpeting color you like, then choose your paint!