A majlis sofa for a Brooklyn home is ordered made to measure, not picked off a shop floor. Sofhu manufactures raised majlis sofas and low Arabic floor sofas in Türkiye to your wall measurements, with 32 kg/m³ high-density foam. A floor sofa travels as separate vacuum-packed cushions, which helps on narrow stairs, and shipping is free. Send measurements for a quote.
- Maker
- Sofhu, manufactured in Türkiye
- Sizing
- Cut to your wall measurements
- Packing
- Floor sofas travel as separate cushions, vacuum packed
- Foam
- 32 kg/m³ (32 DNS) high-density foam, no springs
- Covers
- Zippered, removable, machine wash at 30°C
- Shipping to Brooklyn
- Free
On this page
In Brooklyn the staircase decides what furniture you can own. Arabic seating gets past that limit better than a three-seat couch, because it is made as a run of sections along your wall. Sofhu makes two kinds in Türkiye, both to the measurements you send, and ships them free to Brooklyn.
The Arabic majlis, or majlis sofa, is raised to sofa height: upholstered units with a solid base, fixed backs and arm bolsters. The Arabic floor sofa is the low set: seat cushions, back cushions and armrests that travel separately and come together on the floor. For a walk-up, the floor sofa is the easier of the two to carry in, so ask for the size of the largest piece before you order a majlis.
Arab Brooklyn and the rooms it gathers in
Brooklyn has been a centre of Arab New York for generations. The Arab shops of Atlantic Avenue, between Brooklyn Heights and Cobble Hill, were started by merchants who moved across from Manhattan’s old Little Syria. Bay Ridge has one of the city’s largest Arab communities today, with Yemeni, Palestinian, Egyptian, Lebanese and Syrian families among them.
Each of those households has its own word for the sitting room. A Yemeni family may say diwan or mafraj, a Syrian or Palestinian one jalsa arabiya, an Egyptian one qa’da arabi. The furniture is close kin in every case: a firm low seat, a back against the wall, an armrest between neighbours. You can read how the traditions differ on the pages for the Yemeni diwan and mafraj, Levantine Arabic seating and the Egyptian qa’da arabi. There is also a neighbourhood page for Bay Ridge.
Which layout suits which Brooklyn room
Many homes here are brownstone floors, railroad apartments and co-ops, so the layout follows the wall you can actually spare.
| Room | Layout that usually works | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Railroad apartment | Single row on the long wall | Keep the walkway through the room clear |
| Brownstone parlour floor | L-shape in the back corner | Bay windows and radiators shorten the usable wall |
| Co-op living room | L-shape, or a U if the room is yours alone | Doors that swing into the seating |
Arabic floor sofas are not freestanding. The backrests lean, so every run needs a solid wall behind it. Measure only that solid wall at floor level and mark the radiator, the baseboard heater and any door on your sketch.
A single-row floor sofa with a rug in front, as above, is often all a railroad living room needs. The guide to a majlis in a small apartment goes further into tight layouts.
Up the stairs in pieces
Sofhu vacuum packs its seating in sealed bags, and a floor set is made of separate cushions. That is a practical advantage in a building with narrow stairs and no lift. Open the bags by hand, without a blade, and the foam recovers its shape as it takes in air.
Two things are worth asking before you order: the packed size of the largest piece, and how the carrier hands over at a walk-up address. The article on how a majlis is packed and delivered explains the general process. Shipping is free. Duty or taxes may apply to goods entering the United States, and importing a majlis to the USA sets out what the official sources say.
Foam and covers that take daily use
A Brooklyn majlis is rarely a spare room. It is the living room, used every night, so the filling has to last. Sofhu fills its cushions with 32 kg/m³ high-density foam and no springs. Density measures how much material is in the cushion, not how hard it feels, and denser foam generally keeps its height longer. You can ask for a softer or firmer seat. The navy and silver set below is a raised majlis sofa in an L.
Every cover has a zipper and comes off. Sofhu states they can go in the machine at 30°C, which matters in a home where the same seat serves dinner, homework and guests.
An Arabic furniture store in Brooklyn, or made to order
People searching for an Arabic furniture store in Brooklyn usually want to see and touch a set today. Sofhu cannot offer that, and it is better to say so plainly. There is no Sofhu shop in the borough. What you get instead is a set built for your exact walls by the manufacturer, in the fabric and colour you choose, with the design agreed over messages or a video call. The Arabic furniture store page explains how buying this way works.
Ordering from Brooklyn
- Measure each usable wall at floor level, corner to corner.
- Photograph the room, the entrance door and the stairs.
- Request a quote by measurement or message Sofhu on WhatsApp with the layout you have in mind.
For the wider picture see the New York City page and the statewide New York overview. Sofhu also covers the Bronx and Astoria.
