Arabic Sofa in Germany: Majlis Floor Seating Made to Measure

How do an L and a U fit a German living room with heaters under the windows?

Eurostat counts about 59% of people in Germany in flats, so a majlis here usually starts from one long wall and a short return, and each heater marks where a seat must stop. Flats also mean stairwells, one more reason a long wall becomes several equal seats; our page on delivery and duties by country covers the paperwork that travels with the boxes.

Layout	Seat cushions	Pieces in a full patterned set	Seats about	Floor size
Single run	1	10	2 to 3 adults	190 cm (75 in) along one wall
L-shape	2	14	5 to 6 adults	190 × 260 cm (75 × 102 in) of floor
U-shape	3	19	8 to 9 adults	570 cm (224 in) of seating along three walls
Longer wall	Equal pieces	Counted on the drawing	1 adult per 60 cm (23.5 in)	A 450 cm (177 in) wall gives 3 seats of 150 cm (59 in)

U-shaped floor sofa set in rust brown with black and white kilim-pattern backrests, a square ottoman and floor pillows on a wood-look floor — A U-shaped floor set in rust brown, with kilim-pattern backrests, a square ottoman and floor pillows.

From the atelier

Questions buyers ask

Is there a place in Germany where I can sit on a majlis before ordering?: Every order is made in our Istanbul workshop, and a video call can show finished seating and foam on camera. Ask us about fabric swatches and a foam sample before you order. We don't have a showroom; ask us for a sample box or a video call.
One of my walls is 260 cm (102 in). Can a single cushion run the whole length?: Each seat piece is at most about 190 cm (75 in) long, so a 260 cm (102 in) wall is divided into two equal seats of 130 cm (51 in). Shorter pieces carry more easily up a stairwell and through a flat's doors, and with the backrests on they still read as one line.

How do you measure a German flat when a radiator sits under every window?

Start with the heaters: mark each radiator and its width, because seating that stops short of one leaves warm air a way into the room.
Measure every free wall corner to corner, skipping doorways, and note any wall a door swings across.
Say whether each figure is the bare wall or the space you want the seating to fill.
Add the stairwell turn and the flat door, so a long wall can be planned as shorter seats from the start.
Send one straight-on photo of each wall, window and radiator included, plus a short walk-around video.

In a living room of 530 × 400 cm (209 × 157 in) with an L on the two free walls, the 530 cm (209 in) wall takes three equal seats of about 177 cm (70 in). The second wall gives up one seat depth, about 70 cm (27.5 in), so its 400 cm (157 in) leaves 330 cm (130 in) for two seats of 165 cm (65 in). Without the keys yet, measure at the viewing and again once the flat is yours, before you approve the drawing.

Eurostat counts about 59% of people in Germany in flats, so a majlis plan starts with stairwells and radiators as much as with wall lengths.

What if someone at home finds a 20 cm (8 in) seat hard to rise from?

Foam seats are made 10 cm (4 in), 20 cm (8 in), 30 cm (12 in) or 40 cm (16 in) high. If someone finds low seats hard to get up from, choose 30 cm (12 in) or the 40 cm (16 in) step, about the height of an ordinary living-room sofa. A seat as tall as 60 cm (23.5 in) is beyond the standard range, which stops at 40 cm (16 in). For a chair-like seat, a wooden bench is about 40 cm (16 in) high with its cushion, and a wooden-base majlis model is built at 37 cm (14.5 in) to 40 cm (16 in) depending on the model; see our wooden bench majlis sets.

Can single pieces be added when guests outgrow the first set?

Single pieces can be ordered at any time: another seat cushion, backrests, armrests or replacement foam. Tell the designer which pieces you already own, and the new ones are quoted in the same design. Our page on floor cushions and spare majlis pieces shows what can be added.

What does German customs ask for, and how do the papers stay matched?

Each shipment travels with a commercial invoice listing the goods, their value, weight and materials, together with proof of payment. Keep the payment reference on your order and on the invoice the same, and send us any document request from the courier or customs so the team can issue the matching papers.

Each box gets its own tracking number when the order ships, and the boxes can reach you on different days. Open the vacuum bags in the room where the set will stand, within about a week of delivery, because the foam springs back to full size and cannot be pressed flat again at home. Photograph the boxes before you open them. One minute now saves a lot of back-and-forth later.

Delivery across Europe is by tracked express courier — ask us for the current estimate for your country.

Ask us

Import VAT applies to furniture shipped into the EU — ask us how it's handled for your order before you pay.

Ask us

Season in Germany	Gap to Istanbul	Istanbul clock at 9 a.m. in Germany
Winter, CET	2 hours	11 a.m.
Summer, CEST	1 hour	10 a.m.

Which Arab communities live in Berlin and across Germany, and in what kind of homes?

Yemeni, Iraqi, Lebanese and Moroccan families each name floor seating differently, and every plan starts from the room, including our Yemeni majlis designs.

Place	What the figures show	Source
Germany	About 1.28 million people with Syrian roots, 359,000 Iraqi, 262,000 Moroccan and 171,000 Lebanese	Destatis, Mikrozensus
Germany	About 889,500 Syrian citizens	Eurostat, migr_pop1ctz
Germany	About 1.46 million people mainly speak Arabic at home	Destatis, Mikrozensus
Berlin	About 182,600 residents with an Arab migration background, 4.7% of the city	Berlin-Brandenburg statistics office
Neukölln	About 26,000 such residents, 7.9% of the district	Berlin-Brandenburg statistics office
German homes	About 59% of people live in flats and 39% in houses	Eurostat, EU-SILC

How long can a balcony or terrace carry floor seating in Germany?

The 1991 to 2020 station normals for Berlin put the average January high near 3°C (37°F), and five months, May to September, have average highs between 18°C (64°F) and 32°C (90°F). Our regular upholstery fabrics are for indoor rooms; for a terrace we use a water-repellent outdoor fabric, mostly in plain colors.

What should a German shop, café or community hall list in a first inquiry?

We furnish restaurants, cafés and coffee houses, mosques and community halls, event venues and resellers with made-to-measure floor seating. Say in a first message which models and colors you have in mind, the quantities, the delivery region and whether the sets are for resale, display or your own premises. Café layouts are on our page for cafés and shisha cafés.

Local questions

Will I pay import VAT or customs duty when my majlis is delivered in Germany?

The customs note on your quote says how import charges are handled for your order. Any message about your parcel can be checked against the tracking number we email you when it ships.

Can I pay over time or with a pay-later service from Germany?

Pay-over-time options: installment payments on your card. Custom orders are paid in stages through a secure payment link — your quote sets out the schedule. The methods you can use are listed here: major credit and debit cards via a secure payment link.

Can I write to you in German?

If your German is stronger than your English, send the wall lengths as numbers on a labeled sketch, because the drawing we return shows every size.

A set sent back from Germany would be costly. How can I be sure before I pay?

Settle doubts first, because a made-to-measure set is cut for your walls. Custom orders start with a layout plan for your approval. Made-to-measure pieces can't usually be returned for a change of mind — ask us how this applies before you order.