In my humble opinion, yes. A coffee table should be lower than your couch. Why? When you sit on the floor, it is hard to see things and to be aware of where you are sitting. With a coffee table you can put the lid on the cup and have a full view of what you are doing and who else is around.
Think of the kids. Kids are active and playful. They are always jumping around and playing with something. It wouldn’t do them any good to have a table that was too low for the height of their head or shoulders. I remember seeing a movie where the head of one of the characters was as skinny as a stick. That made me very uncomfortable when watching that movie.
Now think about this. A sofa and an entertainment center or even a bookshelf would make a nice set-up in your living room. What if you were going to watch a movie together or if you had some company over. It would be much more comfortable sitting on a sofa than on a coffee table.
There are other reasons why you should consider putting a coffee table lower than the couch. If you have a lot of books and knick knacks it would be more convenient to lay them all out on the table rather than on the couch. Your guests might even like it better if they could access all of your treasures from such a high spot. The same would go for music collections and movie memorabilia. When everything is laid out neat and tidy, it makes the room look more organized and appealing.
Lastly, a coffee table should be higher so you can put chairs wherever you feel like doing it. It doesn’t necessarily have to be higher than the sofa, but it shouldn’t be too low. It would be much nicer to be able to sit on the floor and play some music. A nice coffee table with a few chairs would be a great place to entertain friends.
These are just a few of the reasons why it’s important to pick the right type of coffee table. Pick one that fits your needs. Don’t settle for the first one you see, but instead take your time and shop around. It will probably be worth it in the end.