In Sheffield, home to a long-established Yemeni community, Sofhu supplies majlis and floor sofa sets made to measure and shipped free from Türkiye. Yemeni-style floor sofas lead: a low U-shape or L-shape cut to your walls with matching rug and ottoman, 32 kg/m³ high-density foam and zipped covers that wash at 30°C. There is no Sheffield shop, and every set is built to order.
- Lead style
- Yemeni-style floor sofa sets for the diwan
- Made by
- Sofhu, manufacturer, Türkiye
- Cut to
- Your wall measurements
- Foam
- 32 kg/m³ (32 DNS), no springs
- Covers
- Removable and washable at 30°C
- Shipping
- Free to Sheffield
On this page
Ask a Yemeni family in Sheffield where guests are received and the answer is the diwan. The word, and the room, came to the city with the steelworkers. So a search for a majlis sofa in Sheffield is usually a search for a Yemeni-style set: low, close, lining the walls. Sofhu makes these to measure in Türkiye and delivers them free.
A word on names. The low sets on this page are what Sofhu calls Arabic floor sofas: seat mattresses at floor level with loose back cushions and armrests. Its other product, the Arabic majlis, is a raised, fully upholstered set at sofa height with a fixed back. Two of those, in beige and in teal, are in the gallery further down.
From the steelworks to the diwan
Sheffield has one of the longest-established Yemeni communities in Britain. Yemeni men came to work in the city’s steel industry in the 1950s, and many of their families still live in Burngreave, Firvale and Darnall, alongside Somali and Pakistani neighbours. Decades on, the diwan is still part of many of those homes.
In the old tower houses of Sana’a the diwan is a large sitting room, and the mafraj above it is the social room at the top of the house, with wide windows over the city. Family and friends gather there in the afternoon and early evening. A Sheffield terrace offers a different view, but the room does the same work. The page on the Yemeni diwan and mafraj describes the tradition, and Sofhu’s existing Yemeni majlis page shows what it builds.
Laying out a Yemeni majlis in a terraced house
Sheffield is built on hills, and its terraces climb them. Rooms are compact and stacked over several floors: front room, back room, bedrooms and, in some houses, a loft room. Any of them can be the diwan.
- Front room. An L-shape along the two walls without the door. The window wall can take a row if the sill is high enough for a backrest.
- Back room. A U-shape on three walls, with the fourth left for the door and the way to the kitchen.
- Loft room. A row on each full-height wall. The sloping ceiling suits low seating better than any other furniture.
Every backrest must lean on a wall, because floor sofas are not freestanding. Measure at floor level, and write down the chimney breast and the radiator. The Arabic majlis hub explains how a made-to-measure order is planned, and the guide on how many backrests and armrests you need helps you divide a wall into places.
Navy, burgundy or something quieter
The star-pattern floor sofas are the sets most often chosen for a Yemeni-style room. They come in navy with cream stars and in burgundy, each with a rug that repeats the motif. The star is Sofhu’s own design. We have found no source that ties it to a historical Yemeni textile, so we describe it plainly as a pattern Sofhu makes.
For a calmer room, the taupe kilim design does the same job in neutral tones.
More examples of the dark blue sets are in the navy blue majlis gallery.
Fabric and foam for cool, damp weather
Sheffield’s weather is cool and damp for much of the year, and that shapes two choices.
The first is the cover. Sofhu’s covers are zipped and removable, and it states they can be machine washed at 30°C. In a damp season a cover you can wash and dry properly stays fresher. Velvet and chenille give a warm hand. Sofhu’s fabrics page lists the series it works with.
The second is the filling. Sofhu uses 32 kg/m³ high-density foam with no springs. Density is the amount of material in the foam, not its hardness, and denser foam generally keeps its shape longer. On a custom order you can ask for a softer or firmer seat.
Ordering from Sheffield
Sofhu builds to order and delivers to the door. It has no premises in the city.
Send the length of each wall, the position of doors and windows, and a photo of every wall. Say whether you want the rug, ottoman and curtains with the seating. Sofhu quotes for your room and a designer can go through the choices on a video call. Once made, the set is vacuum sealed and sent to you with no shipping charge. Import duty or tax may apply depending on the destination, so ask about it before you order.
The majlis in England page gives the national view, as does Sofhu’s page on the Arabic sofa in the United Kingdom. Nearby cities with their own pages are Leeds, Bradford and Birmingham. When you are ready, get a quote by measurement or continue on WhatsApp.
