A majlis sofa for a Liverpool home is made to order, not picked off a shop floor. Sofhu, the manufacturer, cuts each set in Türkiye to the wall lengths you send, as a raised majlis or a low floor sofa, in a single row, L-shape or U-shape, fills it with 32 kg/m³ high-density foam and ships it free. A Victorian front parlour suits a small diwan well.
- Maker
- Sofhu, manufacturer, Türkiye
- Suits
- Front parlours, back rooms, loft rooms
- Sets can include
- Seats, backrests, armrests, rug, ottoman, curtains
- Foam
- 32 kg/m³ (32 DNS), no springs
- Care
- Zipped covers, machine wash at 30°C
- Shipping
- Free worldwide, including Merseyside
On this page
Liverpool’s Yemeni families came with the ships. The community dates from the port’s seafaring era and is centred on Toxteth, around Lodge Lane and Granby, where Yemeni-run newsagents and corner shops have been part of the city for generations. Somali and Arab neighbours share the same streets. For these households a majlis sofa in Liverpool is not a novelty. It is the room where guests are received, and Sofhu makes it to measure in Türkiye and ships it free.
A seafaring city with a long memory
Liverpool holds an early chapter of Muslim life in Britain. England’s first functioning mosque opened here in the late 1880s, and the building is now a heritage site. The Yemeni streets of Toxteth are part of the same long story of a port that looked outward.
In Yemen the words for the guest room are older than any of this. In the tower houses of Sana’a, the mafraj is the social room on the top floor, where family and friends gather in the afternoon and early evening. The diwan is a larger sitting room in the same kind of house. A Liverpool terrace has neither the height nor the view, but the habit of keeping one good room for company translates easily. Sofhu’s page on the Yemeni diwan and mafraj describes the tradition, and its existing page on the Yemeni majlis from Sofhu shows the sets.
The front parlour as a small diwan
Victorian terraces in this part of the city were built with a front parlour, a room set apart for visitors. It is close to what a diwan needs: a door that shuts, solid walls and a fireplace as a centre.
A full perimeter is rarely possible because of the door and the hearth, so most parlours take one of two arrangements.
- An L-shape along the wall facing the fireplace and the wall beside it. This seats the most people and keeps the window clear.
- A single row on the longest wall, with floor cushions and an ottoman for extra guests.
Neither a majlis nor a floor sofa is freestanding. Every back stands against a wall, so measure the solid stretches of wall at floor level and note where the door opens.
Sofhu makes two products for a room like this. The Arabic majlis is raised, sofa-height seating built as upholstered units with fixed backs and arm bolsters, like the black velvet L at the top of this page. The Arabic floor sofa is a low cushion set at floor level. The guide to the parts of a majlis set names each piece so you know what to ask for.
Choosing a design: velvet majlis or star floor sofa
A velvet majlis with striped backs is the formal choice for a parlour kept for guests. The navy set with cream eight-point stars is a floor sofa. It is a Sofhu design, long listed with its Yemeni-style sets, and it comes with a matching rug, ottoman and tasselled floor cushions.
| Design | Product | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Beige velvet with gold stripes | Majlis | A room kept for guests |
| Black velvet with cream striped backs | Majlis | A parlour used every day |
| Navy with cream stars | Floor sofa | A relaxed family room |
The article on majlis patterns and motifs goes through what each family of pattern is and where it comes from. If you want a full matching room, with curtains and rug in the same cloth as the seats, the page on Somali Arabic seating looks at that way of furnishing.
What is inside, and how to keep it clean
Sofhu fills its cushions with 32 kg/m³ high-density foam and uses no springs. Denser foam generally holds its height and support longer than light foam, which matters in a room where people sit for hours. Covers are zipped and come off, and Sofhu states they can be washed in a machine at 30°C. In a house where the same room serves guests week after week, being able to wash a cover properly is worth having.
Delivery to Liverpool
Each order is built for one address and sent there. Sets are vacuum packed for the journey and shipping is free. Depending on the destination, import duty or tax may apply, so raise it with Sofhu when you ask for your quote.
The majlis in England page covers the country, and Sofhu’s page on the Arabic sofa in the United Kingdom covers the UK as a whole. Nearby city pages include Manchester and Leeds. To start, send your wall lengths and a few photos and get a quote by measurement, or message Sofhu on WhatsApp.
