I think having two different floors in one large open plan area would be unusual. Is there a reason why a big rug wouldn't suit your purposes? You can have rugs made out of carpet (although I'm not sure whether they add an underlay for extra softness).

I'm personally a big fan of wood floors - our last house had wood floors everywhere except the bathrooms; our current house has wood floors in the hallways and living/dining areas, carpets in the bedrooms, and tile in the wet areas. We had and have area rugs everywhere (including on the carpet). And personally, I preferred the flooring in our previous house with wood just about everywhere. But that's me, not you. Unless you're planning to flip your house, you should choose the flooring you want, not what the glossy mags say you should have. (That said, you can always put underlay under a big rug on a wood floor - sheer heaven underfoot!)

We too have timber floors & rugs, no fitted carpet but that is the look I prefer. Rugs can be as expensive as carpet so if that is what you want & like then I don't see a problem. If you are selling the house then maybe that is a consideration & I would ask the real estate agent.

Carpet is a good cold and noise insulator, if those are issues for you. Not so great for asthmatics, but not impossible.

Can you post a photo of the room relly72?

Thankyou for all your opinions. It is a new build and will be our home for a few years. So guess we will factor our preference above looks.

I prefer timber floorboards over anything else. Easy to clean, no dust produced once sealed, etc., easy to repair in many cases if something gets split on them, always fashionable, etc..

Oh yeah, they look fantastic too.

Want something warm underfoot, use a rug. These can be changed and will really change the look of a room with limited expense.