---
title: "Arabic Sofa in Portugal: Floor Seating for Homes and Beach Clubs"
url: "https://orientalsofa.com/arabic-sofa-in-portugal/"
lang: "en"
dir: "ltr"
date_published: "2024-12-05T00:00:00+00:00"
date_modified: "2026-10-13T00:00:00+00:00"
author: "Rafeeq"
---

# Arabic Sofa and Floor Seating in Portugal, from Wall Recesses to Beach Clubs

In an older home with walls about 50 cm (19.5 in) thick, a recess can take its own seat, and an Arabic sofa in Portugal is sized to that nook, not the whole room. A 250 × 50 cm (98 × 19.5 in) recess seat is made as two pieces of 125 cm (49 in), and a venue can keep a terrace in shape by reordering only the worn parts.

## Questions buyers ask

### Do you have a branch or a warehouse in Portugal, or anywhere in the EU?

No. There is no showroom or store you can visit in Portugal: every order is made in the Istanbul workshop. Because the goods come from outside the EU, the import steps are in the customs card below.

### We need the order before our spring opening, invoiced to our company. How far ahead should we order?

Count back from opening day. Production time depends on your layout and the season — ask us for the current schedule. Ready-made sets are packed soon after payment — ask us for the current dispatch time. Delivery across Europe is by tracked express courier — ask us for the current estimate for your country. Ordering in winter leaves room for a missing piece to follow before the first guests arrive.

## How do you fit seating into a recess in a thick wall or onto a narrow ledge?

A recess seat can be made to its exact width and depth. At 250 cm (98 in) wide it is longer than a single seat piece is made, so it comes as two equal pieces that are also easier to carry in. The import steps for a Portuguese address are on [our delivery page](https://orientalsofa.com/delivery/). A seat only 50 cm (19.5 in) deep leaves about 40 cm (16 in) to sit on once a 10 cm (4 in) backrest is added, so a slim backrest, or none, suits it best.

1. Measure the recess at the back and again at the front, because old walls are rarely square.
2. Note every door frame, handle or radiator at the ends, since each one shortens the seat.
3. Label each space separately on the sketch, and add a close-up of any odd corner.

> A buyer in Portugal wanted velvet floor seating for two separate spaces: an area of about 164 cm (65 in) by 92 cm (36 in), and a long, shallow ledge of 250 cm (98 in) by 50 cm (19.5 in) beside a thick wall with a door at one end. Our usual seat depth of 70 cm (27.5 in) did not suit both places, so the sizes were worked out area by area with photos and a call, after some early mix-ups between the two spaces. To judge the quality first, the buyer ordered only the smaller piece, in beige velvet 10 cm (4 in) thick, and kept the ledge for a later order. Labelling each area separately on a sketch was what finally settled the sizes.

## What can a venue reorder each season instead of whole sets?

Seat cushions, backrests and covers are separate pieces, so a venue such as a beach club can renew only what the season has worn. Backrests go two to a seat, in the pattern and color of the seats they join. Covers-only sets are there for foam that is still good.

Matching pillows are part of a custom majlis quote, so the pillows for a day bed can come in the same fabric as the seats; ask the design team for sizes. Keep a numbered list of design, color and quantity, and count the boxes against it when they arrive. Matching cushions across ten tables is a planning job, not luck.

Our [restaurant seating page](https://orientalsofa.com/arabic-jalsah-for-restaurants/) covers majlis and booth layouts for restaurants, and spares for seating a venue already owns are on our [floor cushion page](https://orientalsofa.com/floor-cushion/).

> A beach club on the coast of Portugal had bought a large number of seat mattresses in an earlier season and came back to finish its seating area. It ordered a pair of matching backrests for each of 23 existing mattresses, with every pattern matched by photo, and asked for small pillows of about 50 × 50 cm (19.5 × 19.5 in) for 30 daybed-style sofas where guests rest after lunch. It also ordered 12 complete single floor sets in four designs, plus four seat covers on their own because it already had spare foam. In a later season the club reordered pillows for its armrest positions from a list of colors, patterns and quantities, so new pieces would blend with older ones, and asked which fabrics hold up best under sun, salt air and humidity. One follow-up parcel went to an address that had not been updated, and the courier rerouted it.

## What should the invoice show, and what do you do with the courier's emails?

The commercial invoice shows what you actually paid. Customs can ask for proof of payment and may hold a parcel whose figures do not match, so a lower figure on the invoice brings delays rather than savings.

Once the order is placed, the courier needs a mobile number and an email for the parcel, and the tracking page lists each box separately. Count the boxes against the packing list when they arrive, and photograph what is there before you report anything missing.

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

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

| Time of year in Portugal | Istanbul runs ahead by | 9 a.m. with you is |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Winter, mainland | 3 hours | 12 noon, Istanbul time |
| Summer, mainland | 2 hours | 11 a.m., Istanbul time |

## How large is the Arab-origin community in Portugal?

Citizens of Arab League states are a small group in Portugal, far smaller than the Moroccan community in neighboring Spain, which [our Spain page](https://orientalsofa.com/arabic-sofas-in-spain/) covers. The counts below are best read next to the housing split, which is half houses and half flats.

| Place | What the figures show | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Portugal, citizens | On 1 January 2024: Morocco 4,422, Algeria 2,301, Syria 1,227, Tunisia 1,099 and Egypt 713 | Eurostat |
| Portugal, born abroad | About 16.0% of residents were born abroad, 1,703,848 of 10,639,726 | Eurostat |
| Portugal, housing | About 50.3% of people live in a house and 49.6% in a flat | Eurostat EU-SILC |
| Lisbon | Average highs of about 15°C (59°F) in January and 29°C (84°F) in August | IPMA normals, 1991-2020 |

## Which fabrics last under Lisbon's sun, salt and humidity?

Lisbon's 1991 to 2020 normals count about 2,875 hours of sun a year and humidity between 75% and 82% in every month. Nine months of the year sit between 18°C (64°F) and 32°C (90°F).

Indoor upholstery is not the right cloth for a terrace in salt air. A venue should ask for the outdoor range, a water-repellent fabric mostly in plain colors, and lean toward light or mid tones, which show sun fading less than deep reds and blues. No upholstery shrugs off a full season of sun and salt: I would choose one tone for the whole terrace and rotate cushions between sunny and shaded spots.

![Rust brown medallion floor sofa on three sides with navy accents, an ottoman and floor pillows in front](https://orientalsofa.com/media/sa/saray-u-shaped-floor-sofa-brown-view-01-1200.webp)

*A U-shaped set on a terrace by the water, one of the layouts a venue can reorder piece by piece.*

## Frequently asked questions

### Can we order a second set of covers in the same size and color, so one set can be washed while the other is in use?

Send the original sizes, the color number and a photo of the set in place, and the spare covers are cut to the same pattern. Covers unzip and can be machine-washed on a gentle 30°C (86°F) cycle, so swapping sets takes minutes.

### The fabric PDF we saved stopped opening. Can we see the kilim-style fabrics properly, each one on its own?

Ask the team for a fresh link to the fabric range and for single daylight photos of the two or three fabrics you are considering, each with a ruler for scale. Ask us about fabric swatches and a foam sample before you order.

### The courier keeps sending automated customs emails, and the phone line only reaches a robot. What should we do?

Forward the whole email, with the tracking number and any reference code, to the team before you reply. These requests usually ask for a document, such as the invoice or proof of payment, and the team can tell you which one. Then answer the courier in the same email thread, so your reply is matched to your parcel.

## Related pages

- [Arabic floor sofas and floor seating sets](https://orientalsofa.com/floor-sofas/)
- [Arabic Sofa and Majlis Seating Made to Measure for French Homes](https://orientalsofa.com/arabic-sofa-in-france/)
- [Arabic Sofas and Majlis Seating for Italian Homes, Measured Corner by Corner](https://orientalsofa.com/arabic-sofas-in-italia/)
- [Out-Door Sofas-Benches-Mats](https://orientalsofa.com/out-door/)
- [Arabic Sofa and Majlis Floor Seating in Hungary](https://orientalsofa.com/arabic-sofa-in-hungary/)
- [Arabic Sofas In Mexico](https://orientalsofa.com/arabic-sofas-in-mexico/)
- [How to Measure a Room for a Majlis, Wall by Wall](https://orientalsofa.com/guides/how-to-measure-for-a-majlis/)
- [Plan your majlis from your wall measurements](https://orientalsofa.com/tools/majlis-planner/)

## Sources

- [Eurostat, EU-SILC ilc_lvho01, population by dwelling type](https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_lvho01/default/table)
- [Eurostat, migr_pop1ctz, population by citizenship](https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/migr_pop1ctz/default/table)
- [Eurostat, migr_pop3ctb, population by country of birth](https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/migr_pop3ctb/default/table)
- [IPMA climate normals 1991 to 2020 for Lisbon, via the Lisbon weather box](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisbon)
- [IANA time zone rules, Europe/Lisbon and Europe/Istanbul](https://www.iana.org/time-zones)