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[jlkz]

In my home, I have a small carpet in front of the sinks.  They are over wall to wall carpet:

In the mountain house, in front of the fireplace:

They do have felt mats under them.

[ALRATIBA]

Our lease requires that we have floor coverings.  Some of my neighbors have wall-to-wall but it's rather boring.

I have a one-bedroom apartment.  The main living area is a large L shape - divided into dining room, living room and "library."

I have different area rugs in each "room."

Living room is a fire-engine red velvet pile carpet,  dining room carpet looks like zebra skins spread out over flagstones .... shades of black and gray, and library has sculptured black crarpet with gray patches that look like scattered clouds.

(Bedroom has a leopart patterned rug.)

[BirkiLady]

Try oriental rugs on top of carpeting for a pretty, colorful look. 

[Flatbush]

I don't think there are any hard and fast rules about this. You should do what looks good to you. After all, you are the one who has to live with it.

[Mominohio]

In the past, I did use smaller scale area type rugs on top of carpeting, like under a coffee table kind of thing. 

A number of years ago, I looked at that, coupled with the small entry way kind of rugs in some of my rooms, at the doors to the outside, and thought things just looked too busy (because of the rugs, and a number of other things I had going on, like throws draped over the back of chairs/sofa, toss pillows etc.). So I eliminated a number of things, including all area rugs, except for those at the entry doors to the outside. It just felt less cluttered, more streamlined and clean with I did it.

I still see people who do layer an area rug over carpeting, and sometimes it is a nice look to me, other times no. I think it all depends on the room, the size, the placement, the colors and patterns, how much other stuff is in the room, etc. I don't think there is a wrong or right answer to it, but it just works in some applications. 

[Regal Bee]

We have hardwoods and carpeting in our home and I use area rugs on both surfaces. I particularly love textured area rugs over my carpets in both the family and living rooms, under the coffee tables and also the master on either side of the bed. I prefer solid colors with lots of texture. It helps the room to have a lush and welcoming feel. 

[Snicks1]

I do use an area rug under my dining room table, over carpeting. It warms the room up, imo.

[AuntG]

They make an impact when placed over plain vanilla carpeting. I just placed a second hand area rug in our sunroom and it really makes the space pop with color.