For a Bridgeview home, a majlis sofa is made to order and delivered, not bought on Harlem Avenue. Sofhu manufactures raised majlis sets and low Arabic floor sofas in Türkiye to your wall measurements, most often as a U-shape for a basement or family room, using 32 kg/m³ high-density foam. Shipping is free. Send your measurements to get a quote.
- Maker
- Sofhu, manufacturer in Türkiye
- Typical Bridgeview order
- U-shape for a basement or family room
- Pieces
- Seats, backrests, armrests; rug, ottoman and curtains optional
- Foam
- 32 kg/m³ (32 DNS) high-density foam, no springs
- Covers
- Zippered; wash at 30°C
- Shipping
- Free to Bridgeview
On this page
After taraweeh in Ramadan, the cars come back from the mosque and the house fills from the bottom up. In many Bridgeview homes the basement is where the family really gathers: tea, sweets from Harlem Avenue, cousins on every cushion. A majlis sofa in Bridgeview is usually ordered for that room, and Sofhu builds it to the basement’s own walls.
Why Bridgeview families order a majlis
Bridgeview and the neighbouring southwest suburbs are known as Chicago’s Little Palestine, home to one of the largest Palestinian communities in the United States. Harlem Avenue has many Arab bakeries, restaurants, sweet shops and hookah lounges.
In a community like this, Arabic seating needs no introduction. The reference point is Levantine: a low seat along the wall, backrests, armrest cushions between sitters, and room in the middle for the tray. The clan guest hall of Jordan and Palestine is the madafa, a word built on the root for guest. A family room in Illinois is smaller, but it does the same work. Sofhu’s pages on the Jordanian and Palestinian madafa and on Syrian and Levantine Arabic seating describe those traditions.
Seating the basement
Many homes here are single-family houses with a basement, and the basement often gives you the longest walls in the house. That makes it the place for a U-shape.
Sofhu makes two kinds of seating for it. An Arabic majlis is raised to sofa height and fully upholstered, with a solid base and fixed backs. An Arabic floor sofa is the low set many families remember from back home: a seat mattress on the floor with loose back cushions and armrest blocks.
The red floor sofa above runs along three walls of a room and leaves the floor open. In a real basement, measure only the wall you can use. Leave out the stretch behind the stairs, the door to the furnace and the laundry corner. Sofhu’s floor sofas are not freestanding and need a wall or something solid behind the backrests, so a support post in mid-room marks a break in the run.
The guide to basement majlis ideas deals with low ceilings, windows and stairs, and L-shape and U-shape layouts shows where each shape works.
Long, narrow rooms
Some basements and family rooms are long and narrow. Seat both long walls and the far end, and keep the door end open.
This photograph shows a black and cream striped majlis fitted that way: seating down both sides, the window end closed, a rug in the lane between. Facing rows suit conversation, and nobody sits with their back to the door.
Colour: what the room is for
Choose colour by the occasions the room hosts. The beige and charcoal medallion majlis at the top of this page is a formal choice, dignified enough for an engagement or a condolence gathering. A khaki green majlis in medallion damask is quieter and suits a room the family uses daily.
The red floor sofa in black and white sadu-pattern weave, shown earlier, borrows from Bedouin weaving and reads as festive. None of these patterns belongs to one country. Pick what your family recognises as home. More combinations are in emerald green and burgundy majlis ideas.
Foam, covers and winter
A basement set is sat on hard through Ramadan and both Eids, so the filling has to last. Sofhu uses 32 kg/m³ high-density foam with no springs. Density is weight per cubic metre and not a firmness rating; denser foam generally keeps its height longer. Ask for firmer or softer foam if you have a preference.
Covers unzip and, as Sofhu states, wash at 30°C. For Illinois winters, velvet and chenille feel warm to sit on, and a rug over a cold basement floor makes more difference than any fabric. Planning for a crowd is covered in the iftar and Eid seating plan.
How to order from Bridgeview
Sofhu has no shop in Illinois and keeps nothing in stock there; it is the manufacturer and makes each set to order.
- Measure each usable wall at floor level and sketch the room with doors, stairs and posts.
- Take photos from the doorway.
- Send the measurements for a quote or message on WhatsApp with the colours and layout you want.
Shipping is free. The cushions arrive vacuum packed; open the bags by hand and they recover their shape. Duties or taxes may apply to imports into the United States, so ask Sofhu before you confirm.
For the wider area see the Chicago page and Arabic sofas in Illinois. The Arabic majlis guide covers the range as a whole.
