Knowing how to mix and match the type of couch you have with the right table or floor lamps can define how a room feels by making it appear more open or closed, the way people interact by keeping eyes focused forward or on focal points, and how you'll be able to relax or keep concentration on a tv, book, or get a good rest. And that’s where this guide comes in.
Below you’ll learn how to mix and match table and floor lamps with sectional couches, sleeper sofas, and stand alone sitting sofas. These concepts apply to great rooms, family rooms, apartments, and anywhere else you have a couch and lamp combination. This way you can create a functional space for everyday use, get togethers and holiday parties, as well as a movie night.
This all starts with knowing the lightness or darkness of the lamp shade to buy, and if the light should point upwards or downwards.
- Light colored lamp shades diffuse light but allow for more to pass through the lampshade as light colors reflect light into the room for more ambient lighting. The more ambient light available may help you to feel like the room is larger when combined with proper design elements like horizontal lines with the goal of making rooms feel wider.
- Dark colored lamp shades absorb more light vs. allowing it to pass through to the room helping to keep light focused on a specific area and bring attention to the space if the light beams are present. The focus on a specific area helps create focal points that ground spaces in larger rooms and open floor plans, or keep you focused when reading and studying vs. having your eyes wander “into the light.”
- Upward pointing lamp shades can distribute more light across a room, spreading it evenly and keeping your eyes focused upwards so it is easier to have conversations and remain focused. They can sometimes make a room feel larger and more spacious.
- Downward pointing lamp shades keep eyes focused on the lit area. When they’re turned on in larger spaces, even with natural light, the extra light brings your eyes into that space helping to ground it so you can feel centered and focus on the people or objects in the area vs. wandering off.
Fun fact: Some students and researchers test the shape of the lamp shades with the color of fluorescent lights or color of the paper to determine their effect on our perception of the space and the light like this study published at research gate.
Now that you know the basics of lamps and how they work with a room, here’s how to combine them with the main types of couches to create the desired effect you want.
Sectional Couches + Floor Lamps
The combination of sectional couches and floor lamps allow you to push light against a wall and fill a room from the outside in while modifying the shapes and functions of the seating areas.
When you need to host more people, floor lamps can be moved to the outer edges of the room to make space compared to table lamps which require a table, and pieces of the sectional sofa can be placed in other rooms allowing people to move unobstructed. Other times they can be kept central and if the lampshades face downwards create a grounding effect if you need to create a centralized area in a larger or open space.
This level of flexibility for entertaining makes this combination perfect for:
- Great rooms
- Living rooms
- Sitting rooms where you entertain
- Large basements
Sectional Couches + Table Lamps
When you want to keep eyes focused on the area of the room, but the room can host sleepover parties, guests, or be used for studying, a table lamp keeps the light focused on the area you’re sitting in. At the same time they keep light pointing downwards and a contrasting color can bring eyes into the area making them perfect for creating focal points in large spaces with open floor plans.
The ability to create focal points and study spaces makes this combination perfect for:
- Open floor plan living areas where you want to separate the space
- Living and family rooms where you do not entertain often as the table lamps and accent tables are harder to move than floor lamps.
- Other spaces that become gathering spots during the holidays or birthday celebrations, and remain static in their layout the remainder of the year.
Sleeper Sofas + Floor Lamps
For multi-purpose rooms where you have guests and entertain, or a smaller space like an apartment, this is your go-to combination. Floor lamps are easier to move than side tables and table lamps making extending a bed and maximizing space for suitcases easy, and they take up less space making them perfect for apartments and smaller rooms.
The sleeper sofa doubles as somewhere to enjoy your company while giving them a private bed to sleep in at night, or works perfect as an alternative to a murphy bed in a studio apartment.
This combination is perfect for the following room types:
- Guest bedrooms
- Studio and one bedroom apartments
- Unusual shaped living rooms as the lamp can work in a nook behind the couch to provide enough light to find your way around the room without lighting the entire space, or light up a curved wall for dramatic effect while the sofa bed can face the opposite direction allowing for eyes to drift towards the dark and relax.
Sleeper Sofas + Table Lamps
If the goal of the room is multi-functional for entertaining guests and giving them a place to sleep, sleeper sofas with table lamps could be a good go-to solution.
This set up allows you to keep eyes focused for reading, studying, or provide light for games and puzzles. Make sure to have the table lamp in reach from the couch for a quick twist of a knob or pull of a string to shut off the light for a good night sleep. Not having to get up keeps you in a resting position unlike a floor lamp which could require you to get out of bed and step on a button or switch.
The combination of a sleeper sofa and table lamp are perfect for rooms that double as guest bedrooms including:
- Family rooms
- Game rooms
- Mancaves and she sheds
- Home offices
Standard Sofas + Floor Lamps
If you have a room where you entertain guests with party games like charades, watch movies and tv, or entertain guests for coffee, tea, and even a good gossip session, this is the combination for you.
Floor lamps can be moved behind the sitting area so they don’t distract from the focus in the front of the room, but provide light so people can go to the restroom or get snacks without tripping or stumbling. The floor lamps provide ambient light upwards (depending on the lamp shade) and then out, so eyes stay forward or down vs drifting around the room at tv or people height keeping the room feeling spacious and airy, while eyes can focus on the subject vs. drifting.
Since the couch is stationary and not able to be split, the focus of the light and direction is important to keep your guest’s attention focused in the proper direction. This can include another couch on the opposite side of a coffee table or a subject matter presenting during a game or a person unwrapping gifts for friends and family.
Allowing eyes to stay forward without distraction, but provide light to move around makes this combination perfect for:
- TV rooms
- Home theatres
- Family rooms
- Sitting rooms
- Game rooms as the floor lamps are easier to move out of the way
Standard Sofas + Table Lamps
Table lamps keep your eyes focused, and because it is more difficult to move and store a standard sofa compared to a sectional, you want this combination in a room where you plan to entertain, have conversations, need a grounded focal point, enjoy hobbies like puzzles, or hosting seated gatherings including tea time and catching up with friends.
The set up with light pointing into the section keeps eyes focused on each other, and the couch or couches keep you facing each other if two and looking at each other with a lamp on each side.
This combination is perfect for:
- Great rooms
- Sitting and drawing rooms
- Living rooms not used for tv and multi-purpose
You cannot go wrong mixing and matching floor and table lamps with the types of couches. Each has a purpose and if you have the flexibility and space, you can make them meet your needs. When you have to choose, go with how you’ll need to light the room and the flexibility you’ll need to seat yourself, your friends and family, or sleep overnight guests.