Majlis seat height falls into three families: floor sofas that rest on the floor, mid-height seats on a thicker base, and the raised majlis on an upholstered or wooden base. Lower suits cross-legged sitting and small rooms; higher suits older guests and stiff knees. Sofhu makes all three and offers different cushion thicknesses on request.
- Height families
- Floor-level, mid-height, raised
- Cushion thickness
- Selectable on request
- Seat foam
- 32 kg/m³ (32 DNS) high-density foam
- Floor sofas
- Lean against a wall; not freestanding
- Exact heights
- Confirmed in your quote
On this page
Who sits in the room decides the height of the seat. A grandfather with a bad knee, a toddler who climbs everything, guests who expect to fold their legs under them: each points to a different answer. Majlis seat height is the one choice in a set that is hard to change later, so it deserves ten minutes of thought before fabric and colour.
Three height families
Arabic seating comes in three broad heights. The names vary between sellers, but the families are easy to tell apart. Sofhu sells the low ones as the Arabic floor sofa, a seat mattress with loose back cushions, and the raised one as the Arabic majlis, built as fully upholstered units with fixed backs.
| Family | How it is built | Sits like |
|---|---|---|
| Floor-level | A foam seat mattress directly on the floor or on a thin base | Cross-legged, legs folded to the side, or legs out |
| Mid-height | A thicker seat, or a seat on a deep upholstered base | A low lounge sofa |
| Raised | A seat on a solid upholstered base, a wooden frame or a carved plinth | An ordinary sofa or bench |
Floor-level is the Arabic floor sofa and the Afghan toshak. As a guide to scale, classifieds listings for floor seating sets in Jordan commonly show mattresses of 14 to 15 cm, with options up to about 20 cm. That is listing data from one market, not a standard.
Mid-height is a floor sofa on a thicker base, which lifts the seat so the knees bend less sharply. Many people who did not grow up with floor seating find this the easiest introduction.
Raised seats are the Arabic majlis proper, upholstered units on a solid base like the one at the top of this page, and the bench-style sets: the Turkish sedir tradition, the wooden-base sets that Sofhu’s site calls cedar sets, and carved-frame designs like its Turkish majlis line. For comparison, ordinary Western sofas are usually quoted at around 43 to 48 cm from floor to the top of the seat. A raised majlis sits nearer to that than a floor seat does; the figure for a particular Sofhu set is confirmed in the quote.
Sofhu makes all three families and offers different cushion thicknesses on request. Exact heights are not published as fixed figures, because sets are made to order. They are confirmed in the quote.
Who suits which floor sofa height
The useful test is the knee. On a low seat with feet on the floor, the knees rise above the hips. That is a natural resting position for someone flexible and tiring to stand from for someone who is not. As the seat rises, the knee angle opens until thigh and floor are parallel, which is the easiest position to stand from.
| Who mainly uses the room | Height that usually suits |
|---|---|
| Family used to floor sitting; children | Floor-level |
| Mixed household; guests of all ages | Mid-height |
| Elders; anyone with knee, hip or back trouble | Raised |
| Formal guest room, visitors in formal dress | Mid-height or raised |
A few notes that a table cannot hold:
- Habit counts more than age. Many people in their seventies who have sat on the floor all their lives are more comfortable there than on a chair. Ask them.
- Small children are safest low. A fall from a floor-level seat is a roll onto the rug.
- Eating changes things. If meals are served on a cloth on the floor, floor-level seating keeps everyone at the same level as the food.
- Sleeping guests. A floor-level seat with the backrests lifted off is a ready guest bed.
If your concern is older relatives, the article on hosting elderly guests in a majlis goes into arm support and seat firmness, and is floor seating comfortable covers posture and getting used to it.
How high should floor seating be for your table
The seat and the table should be chosen together. A common furniture guideline is that a coffee table top sits level with the seat or a few centimetres below it, so you can reach a glass without leaning down or up.
For a floor sofa that rules out a standard coffee table, which would stand well above the seat. The traditional answers work better: a tray on the rug, a tray on an upholstered ottoman, or a purpose-made low table. For a mid-height set, a low table or an ottoman of matching height suits. For a raised set, ordinary coffee table height is right.
The photo of the navy set earlier shows the idea: when the seat was raised on a thicker base, the ottoman was made taller to match. Heights and shapes are compared in majlis tables for floor seating.
Seat height, backrests and the window sill
The top of the backrest sits at seat height plus backrest height, and that line matters wherever there is a window. Measure from the floor to your window sill before you choose.
- If the backrest top comes below the sill, the cushions lean on solid wall. This is the tidy result.
- If it comes above the sill, the upper part of the cushion leans on glass or on nothing. Curtains get trapped, and a sill that projects can push the cushion forward.
A low seat with a standard backrest clears most sills. A raised seat under a low window may not. Radiators raise the same question from the other direction. Remember that floor-level sets are not freestanding: the backrests need a wall or another firm surface behind them, so a run across a full-height window or balcony door needs a different plan. Give sill and radiator heights with your measurements; the steps are in how to measure a room for a majlis.
Room proportion follows the same line. In a room with a low ceiling, a floor-level set leaves a tall band of wall above it and the room feels higher. In a large, high room, a raised set with a tall back holds its own against the space.
A raised majlis and a floor sofa in the same room
You do not have to choose one height for every wall. Mixing is common and looks intentional when it is planned.
- One raised section near the door. Elders sit without walking the length of the room, and the low seating continues around the other walls.
- Raised along the main wall, low on the sides. The seat of honour gets presence; the side rows stay relaxed.
- Low set plus floor cushions. Not strictly a second height, but it gives children their own level.
Keep the fabric, piping and trim the same across both heights and line up the tops of the backrests where two heights meet on one wall, or separate them clearly with a corner. The trade-offs between the two families are set out in floor seating versus a raised diwan. For a cleaner, lower-profile look, see modern Arabic sofas.
Test majlis cushion thickness at home with folded blankets
You can try a seat height tonight with what is in the cupboard.
- Fold firm blankets or stack flat cushions against a wall until the pile is the height you are considering. Measure the pile while someone is sitting on it, since soft layers compress.
- Sit with your back against the wall for at least a quarter of an hour, in the ways you really sit: cross-legged, legs to the side, legs out.
- Stand up without using your hands, then with one hand. Note how it feels.
- Ask the oldest and the youngest person in the house to do the same.
- Add or remove a layer and repeat.
Write down the height that suited most people, and the height your eldest relative preferred. Foam behaves differently from blankets. A dense foam holds you up where a blanket pile sinks, so the same height in 32 kg/m³ foam will feel firmer and slightly higher in use. Density and feel are explained in foam density for floor seating.
Send those notes with your wall measurements. Sofhu is the manufacturer, so the thickness and base are decided for your order, not picked from a shelf. Start from the Arabic floor sofa range for the low heights, look at raised majlis sets if you want sofa height, or plan a custom majlis, then get a quote by measurement or ask on WhatsApp which height the workshop would suggest for your household.
