A majlis can suit elderly guests if part of it is higher. The usual answer is one raised section in the same fabric as the rest of the set, placed near the entrance, with a firm seat and something solid to push up from. Sofhu makes sets to measure and can quote a floor sofa and a raised majlis together for one room.
- Main difficulty
- Standing up, not sitting
- Usual fix
- One raised run in the same fabric
- Seat feel
- Firm; softer or firmer foam on request
- Seat foam
- 32 kg/m³ (32 DNS) high-density foam
- Best position
- Near the door, facing the room
- Heights
- Confirmed in your quote
On this page
The oldest person in the room is usually the guest of honour, and too often the one who ends up on a plastic chair by the door. Planning seating for elderly guests in a majlis is about avoiding that. The answer is rarely to give up floor seating. It is to mix seat heights within one set so that a grandfather with a stiff knee and a ten-year-old sit in the same circle.
Sofhu makes both heights, as two separate products. The Arabic floor sofa is a low cushion set at floor level with loose back cushions and armrest blocks. The Arabic majlis is raised, sofa-height seating in upholstered units with fixed backs and arm bolsters, and it is what the photos on this page show.
Why getting up is the real issue
Sitting down on a low seat is easy for most people. Standing up from one is where the trouble starts. Lowering yourself takes control; rising takes strength in the thighs and hips, and it takes more of it the lower the seat is and the further the knees are bent.
Three things make rising harder:
- A low seat. The hips start below the knees, so the body has further to travel.
- A soft seat. The hips sink, which lowers the starting point again and gives the hands nothing firm to press on.
- Nothing to hold. No arm, no table edge, no wall within reach.
Fix any one of these and standing gets easier. Fix all three and most older guests need no help at all. None of this is medical advice. If a relative has had a hip or knee operation, follow what their therapist has told them about seat height.
A raised section in the same fabric
The neatest solution is one higher run that belongs to the set. Order a floor sofa for most of the room and a raised majlis section for one wall, or one end of a wall, in a matching fabric and colour. From the door the room reads as a single design. To the person sitting there it is simply a comfortable sofa.
Seat height falls into three broad families: the floor sofa at floor level, the diwan floor sofa on a thicker base, and the majlis, raised on an upholstered or wooden base, closer to an ordinary sofa. The carved-base majlis above is an example of the third. Sofhu’s wooden bench sets, shown on the live cedar Arabic majlis page, are raised seating of this kind, and cushion thickness can be chosen on any order.
There is good precedent for mixing levels. The Turkish sedir is a raised seat built along the wall, and the Moroccan salon sits at bench height on a wooden frame. Raised seating is part of the same family of rooms, not a departure from it. Our comparison of floor seating and the raised diwan sets the two side by side.
How high should the raised run be? We do not publish fixed heights, because sets are made to order. The practical method is to measure a chair your relative already finds easy, from the floor to the top of the seat, and send that figure with your room measurements. The majlis seat height guide explains the three families in more detail.
Firm seats and something to push from
A firm seat matters as much as a high one. Sofhu cushions are filled with 32 kg/m³ (32 DNS) high-density foam and contain no springs, and Sofhu describes them as firm. Density is not the same as firmness: it tells you how much material is in the foam, and denser foam generally keeps its height and support longer. For an older guest that means a seat that is less likely to sink with use. If you want a particular section softer or firmer, ask for it in the order.
Armrests need an honest word. On a floor sofa the armrests are loose blocks or bolsters. They are good for leaning on and for marking places. They are not a safe thing to put your full weight on when standing, because they can slide. Better supports are:
- the firm front edge of the seat itself, with both hands flat beside the hips
- a fixed arm on a raised, framed bench
- a sturdy side table that does not tip, placed beside the seat
- a family member’s forearm, offered without fuss
The raised majlis above has a flat tray arm on one side. On a framed piece like this the arm is part of the structure. If that is what you need, say so when you ask for a quote, so the right kind of arm is drawn in.
Placement near the entrance
Put the raised section where the walk is shortest and the view is best. For most rooms that is the run nearest the door, facing into the room.
Hosts sometimes hesitate here, because in many traditions the place of honour is the seat furthest from the door. Both can be respected. In an L-shape or U-shape layout, the raised run can sit on the main wall, with the path to it kept clear of tables, rugs with curled edges and floor cushions. What matters is that the route is short, flat and well lit.
A few details help:
- Keep the rug edge flat. A fringed or thick rug is a trip point. Tape it down or stop it short of the walkway.
- Leave space for a walking frame or stick. A gap beside the seat, not a pile of cushions.
- Bring the table to them. A small side table at hand height saves leaning forward to a low centre table.
- Mind the bathroom route. The path from that seat to the door should not cross the middle of the gathering.
Where a raised run meets a floor-level one, a corner piece or an armrest block marks the change of height cleanly, much as the wedge above joins two runs.
A chair that belongs
Sometimes a chair is the right answer. A guest who uses a wheelchair, or who needs a high seat with two solid arms, is better served by a good chair than by any sofa. The task is to make the chair part of the circle.
Place it at the open end of the layout, turned to face the centre, at the same distance from the middle of the room as the seating. Give it a cushion or a throw in the majlis fabric. Sofhu makes loose cushions as part of its sets, so ask for two extra in the same cloth. Put a side table next to it. Then sit there yourself for a minute and check that you can see every face.
Our guide to mixing a majlis with western furniture covers proportions when chairs and floor seating share a room.
What to send for a quote
Tell us who will use the room. A short note such as “my mother is eighty and uses a stick” changes the design more than any measurement. Along with it, send:
- The wall lengths, and where the door and windows are.
- Which wall should carry the higher seating.
- The seat height of a chair your relative finds easy, measured at home.
- Whether you want a fixed arm on the raised section.
- Fabric and colour preferences.
Sofhu is the manufacturer, each set is made in Türkiye to the measurements you give, and shipping is free worldwide. Read more about options on the custom majlis page or start from the Arabic majlis overview, then get a quote by measurement or message us on WhatsApp.
