Arabic seating suits a Philadelphia row house because it comes in sections, not as one large frame: a floor sofa arrives as separate vacuum-packed cushions, and a raised majlis is made up of separate upholstered units. Sofhu manufactures each set in Türkiye to your wall measurements, fills it with 32 kg/m³ high-density foam and ships it free to your door. There is no Philadelphia store; you start with a quote by measurement or a WhatsApp message.
- Why it suits row houses
- Floor sofas come as separate vacuum-packed cushions
- Made by
- Sofhu, manufacturer in Türkiye
- Sizing
- To your wall measurements
- Foam
- 32 kg/m³ (32 DNS), no springs
- Shipping
- Free to any Philadelphia address
On this page
Anyone who has tried to get a sofa into a Philadelphia row house knows the problem: a narrow front door, a vestibule, and a staircase that turns before it reaches the second floor. An Arabic floor sofa avoids most of that. It is a row of separate cushions, backrests and armrests, and Sofhu, the manufacturer, packs them compressed in sealed bags. A raised majlis sofa, the other product Sofhu makes, is built as separate upholstered units, not as one long couch. Each set is made in Türkiye to the measurements of your room and shipped free to your address.
Why separate cushions suit a row house
Sofhu makes two kinds of Arabic seating. The Arabic majlis, like the light grey L-shape at the top of this page, is raised to sofa height, with an upholstered base, fixed backs and bolster armrests. The Arabic floor sofa is the low set of loose cushions, and it is the one this section is about.
A floor sofa has no frame to wedge in a doorway. The seat is a firm foam cushion in a zippered cover. The backrest is another cushion that leans on the wall, and the armrests are loose bolsters. Sofhu vacuum-packs them, so what comes through the door is a set of sealed parcels, not a couch.
Once inside, open the bags by hand, without scissors, and the foam starts to recover. Give it time before you judge the height. The article on how a majlis is packed and delivered describes the unpacking step by step.
The same modular build helps later. If you move from a rental in one neighbourhood to a house in another, the pieces can be rearranged into a different shape. The grey and gold kilim-pattern floor sofa below is a single row of this kind.
Layouts for a long, narrow room
In a row house the party wall does the work. The typical first floor runs front to back with windows only at the ends, so the long side wall is the natural place for seating. Three plans cover most houses.
- Single row on the party wall. The simplest plan. It keeps the path from the front door to the kitchen clear.
- L-shape into the front window. The run turns under the bay or front window and gives a corner seat for the guest of honour.
- Two facing rows in a separate room. This works in a middle room or a finished basement where the floor between them is wide enough to serve food.
Measure the party wall at floor level and note radiators, baseboard heaters and the stair opening. The guide to L-shape and U-shape majlis layouts shows how corners are joined, and a majlis in a small apartment is useful if you live in a converted flat. The navy and silver set below is a raised majlis in an L-shape.
The communities behind the orders
Philadelphia’s demand comes from more than one tradition. The city has Palestinian, Syrian and North African communities, and one of the largest African-American Muslim communities in the country.
These households do not all want the same thing. Palestinian and Syrian families often ask for the floor set they call a jalsa arabiya: mattresses, backrests and armrests that can also sleep a visiting relative. The page on the Jordanian and Palestinian madafa covers that tradition. Moroccan families grew up with a raised salon on a wooden base, described in the guide to the Moroccan sedari, and may prefer one of Sofhu’s bench-frame sets. Many American Muslim families simply want a room where a study circle or an iftar can sit together on one level.
The state page on Arabic sofas in Pennsylvania covers buyers outside the city.
Foam and covers for daily use
The cushions are filled with 32 kg/m³ polyurethane foam and have no springs. The figure describes density, which is the amount of material in the cushion, and denser foam generally holds its height and support longer. It does not tell you how hard the seat feels; on a custom order you can ask for softer or firmer.
Covers unzip. Sofhu states that they can be machine washed at 30°C, which matters in a house where the same room hosts children’s homework, dinner and guests. Philadelphia summers are humid, so dry covers completely before they go back on.
Ramadan and Eid in a small house
A floor sofa seats more people along a wall than armchairs do, and that is its advantage in a narrow house. Loose floor cushions and an ottoman can be added for the evening and stacked away afterwards. Because the centre of the room stays open, a cloth can be spread for the meal. The iftar and Eid seating plan works through guest numbers and spacing.
Getting a quote
Sofhu has no shop or stock in Philadelphia; every set is built to order and delivered. Send the wall lengths, door and stair widths, a few photos and the fabric you have in mind through the quote by measurement page or on WhatsApp. To compare styles first, read the guide to Arabic sofa sets. Buyers at the other end of the state have their own page for Pittsburgh.
