What is a majlis style, and what does it leave open?
I read a majlis style in the order the eye does: first the pattern or border on the seat, then the color around it, then the shape of what stands behind. Cushion thickness, wall lengths and the layout stay open, because a custom set is cut to the room, and sizing it is a separate step, set out in our measuring and seat-height guides.
From the atelier
Questions buyers ask
- Do you have a plain, classic majlis style without heavy patterns or carved wood?
- Plain, classic styles are available: velvet sets and solid-color floor seating with no carving or pattern, and a simple floor majlis with no visible wood is also possible. Ask for the velvet collection or a solid-color set, then choose the seat thickness, 4 in (10 cm) to 16 in (40 cm), and the color by number from the color card.
- Besides Arabic majlis, do you make Yemeni, Iraqi diwan, Moroccan or other traditional floor seating styles?
- The range covers Arabic majlis, floor sofas, diwan sets and Moroccan-style seating, plus near versions of regional looks such as Yemeni seating, where a mattress sits with separate cushions to lean on. For a regional style, a reference photo is the clearest brief, because pattern, color and seat height are matched from it and every piece is sized to your walls.
- Do you have majlis floor seating in turquoise or light blue?
- Blue majlis seating comes in many shades, from deep turquoise to pale sky blue. Most models can be made in the shade you choose, either as a ready set when that color is in stock or sewn to order in an available fabric color. Ask for the catalog, and we confirm whether the color comes ready or made to order.
How do you choose a majlis style, step by step?
- Stand in the doorway at the busiest hour and note the strongest color: wall, floor or window light.
- Decide what leads: the pattern on the seats, the color across them or the shape behind them. Let the other two stay quiet.
- Pick the build. All foam keeps the look low and soft. The Sedir Bench line sits firmer, and some wooden models frame the backrests in gold-tone trim.
- Match the seat height to the people: 4 in (10 cm) or 8 in (20 cm) suits a classic floor room, and 12 in (30 cm) or 16 in (40 cm) makes standing up easier.
- Choose the fabric by touch, not by photo, and ask for samples.
- Keep one pattern in charge, on the seat or on the rug, and keep the other plain.
- Send room photos and the looks you like, and for a custom set, check every piece on the layout drawing before approving it.
When the walls are plain, the seat can carry a bolder border, and a border is what the eye reaches first from the doorway. If the walls are busy, let the seating be calm.
Which choices make up a majlis style, and what does each one change?
A style is made of six choices, and most of them stay open in almost any room. The build is the one that sets limits on frames, gold trim and seat height.
| Choice | What you can pick | What it changes in the room |
|---|---|---|
| Fabric family | Velvet, chenille, linen-look and cotton-polyester weaves, plain faux leather, and a kilim-style weave on the Sedir Bench line | How the surface takes light, from soft pile to matte weave |
| Color | Most models in any color of the fabric range, with solid colors picked by number from the color card | Which color is strongest, and whether a pattern leads |
| Build | All foam, a wooden backrest on a foam seat, or a full wooden base and back | Frames, trim, firmness and seat height |
| Seat height | 4 in (10 cm), 8 in (20 cm), 12 in (30 cm) or 16 in (40 cm), or 14.5 in (37 cm) to 16 in (40 cm) on a wooden base depending on the model | How traditional the room feels, or how close to sofa height |
| Gold trim | Optional on most models, with gold-tone frames on some wooden ones | How formal the set reads from the doorway |
| Seat depth | About 27.5 in (70 cm) deep on floor sofa sets and 29.5 in (75 cm) on custom or raised majlis, 19.5 in (50 cm) to 23.5 in (60 cm) for a narrow room, up to 33.5 in (85 cm) on request, and up to 75 in (190 cm) long per seat | How much floor the seating takes |
How do traditional, modern, royal and palace looks differ in a real room?
Traditional rooms lean on texture. The Sedir Bench line is built on a solid pine frame and covered in a heavy kilim-style weave, and its wooden bench sets sit firmer than all-foam seating. A standard bench is 75 × 27.5 × 16 in (190 × 70 × 40 cm) with its cushion, and bench sets use 35.5 × 16 × 4 in (90 × 40 × 10 cm) backrests, two per seat, so a row of benches reads as one long, even line.
Modern rooms lean on restraint. Plain velvet or linen in one color, with no carving and no visible wood, keeps the seat quiet and moves the interest to the rug and the cushions, as in the grey set below.
Royal and palace rooms lean on ornament. Royal is usually read as gold bands, star-shaped tables and damask-type covers, and palace as lattice, baroque-style bases and an ordered, balanced room. Gold accents are optional on most models, so you can borrow the structure of a royal set and leave the gold out. The royal majlis designs and modern majlis designs pages show finished rooms in each look.
When does the look you want decide the build?
A framed backrest is the clearest case where a style choice turns into a construction choice.
| Look you want | What it needs | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Gold-tone frames around the backrests | A wooden-frame build | A seat of 8 in (20 cm) or 12 in (30 cm) with a wooden backrest on a foam seat, or a higher seat on a full wooden base |
| A set away from a wall | A full wooden base and backrest | Foam-only backrests lean on a wall or another firm surface, and metal back supports are available on request |
| A low, traditional floor room | All foam at 4 in (10 cm) or 8 in (20 cm) | A wooden-base model is not made lower than 14.5 in (37 cm) |
| A pattern in an unlisted color | A plain fabric from the color card, or the pattern in its own colorways | A patterned design may be woven in only a handful of colorways |
| True black in a pattern | Very dark navy or charcoal | Some patterns, such as the palace pattern, are not woven in true black |
Why do some style choices look different once the set arrives?
- Choosing a pattern from a photo and never seeing the fabric in the room's own light.
- Putting two loud patterns on the seat and the rug, so neither one is read.
- Planning gold-tone frames onto a foam build instead of the wooden one.
- Expecting a patterned design in a color it is not woven in.
- Mixing collections: a linen set stays linen throughout, so match fabrics within one collection.
- Picking the seat height last, after a wooden base has already settled it.
Which order lines should you read back for a style choice?
Before production we confirm the model, every measurement, the seat height and the fabric code with you. For a style choice, four more lines are worth reading back.
| On the order | What to check |
|---|---|
| Pattern name and photo | They match the design you have in mind |
| Set contents | Sofa only, or the full set |
| Build | All foam, a wooden backrest or a wooden base |
| Gold trim | Kept, or left off |
Compare two fabrics from the sample box by the window, then again once the lamps are on. Keep the one that still pleases you at both hours.
Frequently asked questions
Does a wooden frame change how the set looks from the front?
Often it does not. Most designs can be built with or without a wooden base and backrests, so the fabric and pattern stay the same. What changes is the seat: a wooden base sits at 14.5 in (37 cm) to 16 in (40 cm) depending on the model and feels firmer than all-foam seating.
How many patterns can one majlis room carry?
Let one pattern lead and keep the rest plain. A patterned seat works with a solid rug, and a solid seat works with a flat-woven kilim-style rug. Pillows and curtains then repeat one color from the leader instead of adding a second motif.
Which seat height goes with an ornate, formal style?
Framed backrests sit on a wooden build, so the seat is 8 in (20 cm) or 12 in (30 cm) with a wooden backrest on a foam seat, or higher on a full wooden base. An ornate fabric in a low, traditional room is still possible in all foam.
What if two styles tempt me equally?
Send room photos with both style photos, and ask the team which fabric and build suits your walls. Ask us about fabric swatches and a foam sample before you order.
