It can be dangerous to put them under rugs,some people have outlets installed in the floor, but that can be ugly too if you rearrange. Any baattery operated that work well? I haven't seen any, just wondering.

You could always install pendant lights. To prevent people from bumping into the lights, have a table under the light. Pendant lights can be either fixed height or pull down.

here's an example of an adjustable pendant light:

Floor outlets seem to be the best solution, but if you have a slab foundation, it's probably cost prohibitive. I think Suero's idea of pendants is the next best option. Candice Olson puts pendants in living rooms all the time.

Still, for the most part unsightly, there are floor cord covers that would address the safety part.

Ian

Thanks for all of the suggestions! I guess maybe lamps are just not workable with the arrangement I'd like. It is a basement, and the floor is concrete, so I don't think floor outlets are really an option. The pendant idea is interesting, but the installation is probably more involved than I'm looking to get, and there are some recessed lights in the room (and a hanging light in the center), and I think adding pendants might get kind of strange looking. I could try those recessed-to-pendant conversion things, but that would require lots of swagged-to-the-right-spot pendants, which might be kind of odd looking too?

I have a huge family room....I solved the problem, partly, by putting a big blanket chest behind the sofa. It brought the sofa out into the room and the cord for the lamp on it doesn't have to travel over a foot over open floor.
Also....many lamps make the room bright enough without resorting to overhead lighting.
There are 4 lamps that can hold a 3 way 50-100-150 bulb, one that can hold 3 60 watt bulbs, another that can hold 2 100 watt bulbs and a small lamp with 40 watts on the piano. Lots of lamps will make a room bright without that overhead thing.
Linda c

What about a swag type light - like they had in the 70's. They had a chain type link. But, I have seen some fancy ones lately. Check Lampsplus.com You may find that 1 or 2 works to solve your issue.

Check out this site for 'swag' lights. I just put swag in the search box. Check for plug in style.

dody

Here is a link that might be useful: lamps plus

You might think about one of those floor lamps that have a base and long arched rod that can be positioned over the sofa. Think they are called octopus lamps but I am now seeing them with drum shades also.

May sound dumb...but with your cement floor, can you pull up the carpeting, chisel out a tunnel from the wall that the outlet is on to under the sofa. Take a piece of pvc pipe and lay it in the tunnel...run an extension cord through the pipe. Lay your carpet down again. You will see the cord coming up from the carpet and plugging into the outlet. The other end of the cord will be under your sofa to plug the lamp in. All will be level with the floor and should not pose a safety hazzard.

i don't know how far away from the wall your couch is, but if it's only a small distance, then a sofa table with lamp/s on top might work. if not, then a nice floor lamp with arm is probably your best choice.

I like the idea suggested to install swag lights - you could drop them down to the height you'd like.

I totally understand your not wanting overhead lighting - my husband and I are the same - have never found overhead light fixtures to be relaxing.

We have an open living room and when we built, were fortunate to be able to have outlets installed in the center of the room - was a really scary commitment when you're looking at just a foundation with no walls to judge placement.

I've seen cordless/batter operated lamps, but they're all pretty pricey.

My vote is for the swag fixtures. :)

Could you show us a couple of pix of the room and what you are thinking about for the arrangement? Sometimes seeing the real thing can help people make suggestions, perhaps even coming up with an idea that hadn't occurred to you.

I totally agree with you about overhead lighting. Not a fan, either.

I had multiple floor outlets installed when I remodeled.