Majlis Sofa Manchester: Made to Your Room

The short answer

Sofhu builds majlis sofa sets to order for Manchester and delivers them free from Türkiye. Small made-to-measure sets suit the city's terraces and flats: a single row or an L-shape cut to your walls, as a raised majlis or a low Arabic floor sofa, with 32 kg/m³ high-density foam and zipped covers that wash at 30°C. There is no Manchester shop, so the next step is a quote by measurement.

Best fit for Manchester: Single row or L-shape, cut to the wall
Manufacturer: Sofhu, Türkiye
Foam: 32 kg/m³ (32 DNS) high-density, no springs
Covers: Zipped, removable, washable at 30°C
Business orders: Wholesale for cafés and restaurants
Shipping: Free worldwide

On this page

An Arab city outside London
Small sets for terraces and student flats
Washable covers for a damp climate
Arabic seating for cafés and restaurants
How to order a majlis sofa in Manchester

Walk down Wilmslow Road in Rusholme and the signs tell the story. The stretch long known as the Curry Mile has shifted heavily toward Middle Eastern restaurants, shawarma shops and shisha cafés. The people who run and fill those places go home to terraces and flats nearby, and many of them want the seating they grew up with. A majlis sofa in Manchester has to be small, washable and made to fit. Sofhu builds it to measure in Türkiye and ships it free.

An Arab city outside London

Manchester has one of the largest Arab communities in Britain outside the capital. It includes Libyan, Iraqi, Syrian, Kurdish and Yemeni residents, and Rusholme is one of its best-known centres.

Each of those communities has its own word for the guest room. Libyans call it the marbouaa. In Iraq the reception hall of a house is the diwaniya. In the Levant many families sit on floor mattresses with back cushions and armrests, like the mustard floor sofa below. The furniture is close kin in every case: seats along the walls and an open floor. Sofhu’s pages on the Libyan marbouaa and the other regional styles go into the differences.

Mustard yellow Arabic sofa at floor level with brown medallion cushions, ottoman and floor cushions — The mustard single set pairs golden chenille with brown and cream medallions.

Small sets for terraces and student flats

Terraced houses and student flats are common here, so the smaller made-to-measure sets lead. Sofhu makes them as two products: the Arabic majlis, raised to sofa height and fully upholstered with fixed backs, and the Arabic floor sofa, a low seat mattress with loose back cushions that packs down and moves easily. Three sizes of ambition cover most rooms.

One wall. A single majlis unit like the navy one below, or a single-row floor sofa with an ottoman and a pair of floor cushions. This is the starting point for a rented room or a studio.
Two walls. An L-shape into the corner farthest from the door. It turns a terrace front room into a proper sitting room without blocking the fireplace.
Three walls. A U-shape for a back room or a knocked-through lounge where the family eats and hosts.

Either product needs a wall behind every backrest, so the door, the chimney breast and the radiator decide more than taste does. Measure the clear wall at floor level. Sofhu cuts the run to that figure, which is the advantage over a ready-made set that almost fits.

Navy majlis sofa with silver medallion pattern standing alone on a wooden floor below arched niches — The single navy medallion sofa by itself, the smallest way to start the set.

The article on a majlis in a small apartment has more on studios and shared houses.

Washable covers for a damp climate

Manchester is damp, and soft furnishings feel it. Two features of a Sofhu set help.

The covers are zipped and removable, and Sofhu states they can be machine washed at 30°C. A cover that can be washed and dried through is easier to keep fresh than fixed upholstery. The filling is 32 kg/m³ high-density foam with no springs, so there is no metal inside the cushion. Denser foam generally keeps its height and support longer than light foam.

For fabric, a woven or chenille pattern in grey, navy or red hides marks between washes. Pale velvet is better kept for a room that guests use and children do not.

Arabic seating for cafés and restaurants

The shisha cafés and restaurants of Rusholme are natural buyers of low seating. A venue asks different questions from a home: can one design repeat across six booths of different widths, and can a cover be changed on a busy night.

Sofhu takes wholesale orders from small and large businesses and cuts each booth to its own walls. Its page on the Arabic majlis for cafés and shisha cafés shows commercial rooms, and the hookah lounge seating layout guide covers spacing between groups.

Red Arabic floor sofa with black and white sadu motifs in an L-shaped corner layout on a bare wooden floor — The red sadu corner set on its own beneath the arched niches.

How to order a majlis sofa in Manchester

Anyone searching for an Arabic furniture store in Manchester should know that Sofhu does not have one. It sells direct from the workshop, and the Arabic furniture store online hub explains how that works.

Send your wall lengths, a note of doors and windows, and photos. Sofhu’s designers talk through layout and fabric by video call and quote for the room. The set arrives vacuum packed, and delivery is free. Import duty or tax may apply depending on the destination, so check with Sofhu before you order.

The majlis in England page and Sofhu’s page on the Arabic sofa in the United Kingdom cover the wider country. Nearby city pages include Liverpool, Leeds and Bradford. Ready to measure up? Get a quote by measurement or message Sofhu on WhatsApp.

Gallery

A closer look

Tap any photo to see it full size.

The end view shows the embroidered armrest and fringed base of Model 25.

Seen from the side at seat height, the U-shaped khaki set wraps three walls around a soft white rug.

The navy medallion L-shape on its own, with nothing on the floor to distract from the fabric.

Grey velvet, gold stripes and a dark patterned base give the L-shaped set a tailored look.

An L-shaped Beige Medallion set with tall layered backrests and scalloped armrests.

The L-shaped blue set brings a cool accent to a room of cream walls and curtains.

A single Model 9 module sits beneath tall sheer curtains in a cream majlis room.

The U-shaped Gray Gold seating on its own leaves the centre floor open in a cream room with arched niches and brass jugs.

Questions

Before you order

Is there an Arabic furniture store in Manchester for majlis seating?

Sofhu does not run a shop on Wilmslow Road, in Cheetham Hill or anywhere in Greater Manchester. It is the manufacturer and sells direct. You choose a design from photos or on a video call, send measurements, and the set is made for your room and delivered.

I am a student in a rented flat. Is a majlis practical?

A single row is. It needs one clear wall, nothing is fixed to the building, and the sections come apart to move with you at the end of the tenancy. Choose a patterned or darker cover that washes well, since a rented room often serves for eating, studying and guests.

Will the covers cope with a damp house?

The covers unzip and Sofhu states they can be machine washed at 30°C, so they can be cleaned and dried fully. In a damp room, air the space often and lift the seat cushions now and then so that air can move underneath them.

Can you make booths for a shisha café or restaurant?

Yes. Sofhu takes wholesale orders from small and large businesses and can cut one design to several alcoves of different widths. Send a floor plan with each wall length marked and say how many guests each group should seat.

How is a Libyan guest room different from a Gulf majlis?

In Libya the guest reception room is called the marbouaa, and one very large rug covering the floor is a noted feature. Written sources say little about the seating itself; families commonly describe low seating along the walls. Sofhu can cut a set to line the walls of the room you have.

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