A Tunisian majlis is the reception room of the house. In Kairouan it is called bit el-mejlis (بيت المجلس): a T-shaped room with painted ceilings and tiled walls, where seating fits into the recesses. Sofhu makes seating for a Tunisian salon to your measurements in Türkiye, as a low floor sofa, a raised majlis or a wooden bench set, with free worldwide shipping.
- Local name
- Bit el-mejlis (بيت المجلس), recorded in Kairouan
- Other names
- Salon tunisien, salon arabe
- Room plan
- T-shaped, with recesses off a central space
- Decoration
- Painted ceilings, ceramic-tiled walls, decorated friezes
- Sofhu options
- Floor sofas, raised majlis sets or wooden bench-frame sets
- Sofhu foam
- 32 kg/m³ (32 DNS) high-density foam, no springs
- Shipping
- Free worldwide
On this page
In the old houses of Kairouan the reception room has its own name, bit el-mejlis, and its own shape. It is planned like a letter T: a central space with recesses opening off it. The ceiling is painted, the walls are faced with ceramic tile, and a decorated frieze runs above. A Tunisian majlis starts with that room, and the seating is made to fit it.
Bit el-mejlis: the room behind the name
Bit el-mejlis (بيت المجلس) means the room of the majlis. Mejlis is the same word the Gulf writes as majlis, a place of sitting, so the Tunisian term and the Gulf term describe one idea: the part of the house set aside for receiving people.
What is distinctive in Tunisia is the architecture around the seating. Descriptions of the Kairouan house mention ceilings painted in blue, yellow, brown and green, ceramic-tiled walls and ornamental friezes. In the medina of Tunis, houses are arranged around an open courtyard, and the Dar Ben Abdallah museum shows period interiors laid out in the same T-shaped apartments.
On the seating itself, the written sources we found say little, and we will not fill that silence with guesses. This page gives you what is recorded about the room and then the practical knowledge needed to seat it well.
Seating a T-shaped room
A T-plan gives you three recesses: one at the head, facing the entrance, and one on each side. Each recess is a natural place for seating, because it has walls on three sides to carry the backrests. That suits an Arabic floor sofa, which is never freestanding and always needs a wall behind it, and it suits a raised majlis just as well.
To plan a set for a room like this:
- Treat each recess as its own small room. Measure its width at the back wall, its width at the opening and its depth.
- Decide how each one is seated. A shallow recess takes a single row across the back. A deep one can take a U that follows all three of its walls.
- Keep the centre clear. The crossing of the T is where people walk and where the tray is set down. Seating should stop at the mouth of each recess.
- Check the walls. Tiled dados, niches and window sills affect how high a backrest can stand. Note their heights.
The same method works for any room with a bay, a chimney breast or an alcove, which covers a great many flats in Europe. Our guide to measuring a room for a majlis explains how to record walls that are not square.
Salon tunisien today: floor level or raised
Outside the old medinas, most people searching for this page type salon tunisien or salon arabe, or in English “Tunisian sofa” and “Tunisian floor seating”. They want long seating along the walls for receiving family and guests. Whether that seating should sit on the floor or on a base is a matter of household habit, and Sofhu makes both: the low Arabic floor sofa and the raised Arabic majlis, as well as wooden bench sets.
| Floor sofa | Arabic majlis | Wooden bench set | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made of | Seat mattress on the floor, loose backrests, armrests | Upholstered base, fixed back, arm bolsters | Wooden base with seat and back cushions |
| Feel | Low and relaxed | Raised and formal | Upright, raised seat |
| Good for | Alcoves, family rooms, guests who stay late | Reception rooms, older relatives | Formal rooms, meals |
The photographs here show both upholstered products. The khaki green and navy medallion sets and the grey velvet set are Arabic majlis, raised with fixed backs. The cream set with burgundy bands below, and the kilim, emerald and star-pattern sets in the gallery, are low Arabic floor sofas. The wooden bench sets are described on the page for wooden bench-frame seating. Tunisia’s neighbours lean in different directions: the Moroccan sedari is firmly a raised bench, while the Libyan marbouaa is known for one very large rug covering the floor. The Algerian salon oriental page covers the choice between the two in more detail.
Colours that sit well with tile and painted wood
A room with tiled walls and a painted ceiling already has pattern and colour above the seating. The upholstery has to work with it, not compete.
- With strong blue and white tile, a pale grey seat with navy detail keeps the room calm and picks up the blue. The majlis in the hero image on this page shows that combination: light grey velvet seat tops over a quilted navy base, with navy bolsters.
- With warm ochre, brown and green, olive or khaki weaves with a silver or cream medallion settle in well.
- With plain plaster walls, the seating can carry the ornament. A navy or emerald medallion fabric, or cream with burgundy geometric bands, gives the room its pattern at sitting height.
Judge any colour against the room in daylight and again in the evening. A colour that looks quiet at noon can turn heavy under warm lamps.
Sofhu’s range includes velvets, linen-type weaves, chenille and woven jacquards. The differences in feel, upkeep and warmth are set out in velvet vs linen vs jacquard, and every series is listed on the fabrics page.
Foam, covers and care
The seat cushions are filled with 32 kg/m³ (32 DNS) high-density foam. The number is the foam’s density, the weight of one cubic metre. It tells you how much material is in the cushion, which is a different matter from how soft or firm it feels. Denser foam generally keeps its shape longer, and that is what you want in a room where the same seat is taken every evening. There are no springs inside, and on a custom order you can ask for a softer or firmer feel.
Covers are zippered and come off. Sofhu states they can be machine washed at 30 degrees. For velvet, wash cool and do not tumble dry. In a home with small children or frequent guests, that one feature does more for the life of the set than any amount of careful sitting.
Tunisian households abroad
Large Tunisian communities live in France, especially around Paris, Lyon and Marseille, and in Italy. In Germany, Cologne and Berlin are the main centres, and there is a smaller community in Canada. For many of these families the salon is one wall or one corner of a flat, not a separate T-shaped room.
The principle carries over. Find the recess the flat already has, the space beside a chimney breast, a bay or the end wall of a long living room, and seat that fully. A well-fitted alcove with a low table in front of it can hold more people than a sofa of the same width.
Sofhu builds every set to order in Türkiye and delivers to your door; shipping is free worldwide and there are no shops abroad. Import duty or tax may apply depending on the country. See the country pages for France, Italy and Germany.
How to order
Sofhu is the manufacturer, so each order starts from your measurements. Send the dimensions of each recess or wall, a note of doors, sills and tiled areas, your choice of floor sofa, raised majlis or wooden bench, and a photo of the room through the quote by measurement form or on WhatsApp. The custom majlis page lists what can be changed, from cushion thickness to stitching details.
For the wider range, see the Arabic majlis hub and the oriental sofa sets.
