Majlis or family room: choosing the right sofa for each

The majlis is the room of hospitality. Guests are welcomed, coffee and dates are served, and conversation is the point: everyone should see and hear everyone else. Many homes keep it more formal, and some have separate majlis rooms for men and women.

The family room is the opposite. It is where children do homework, where the family watches a series together and where people curl up after a long day. Comfort means sinking in, stretching out and putting your feet up.

Guests in a majlis sit upright for a long time, often hold a cup in one hand and stand up each time someone new arrives to greet them. The seat has to make all of that easy.

• Upright depth: 53 to 56 cm lets guests sit back against the cushions with their feet flat on the floor.
• An easy height: seats of about 44 to 46 cm make standing up effortless, which matters for elders. Lower, majlis-style seats of around 40 cm feel more traditional but are harder to rise from.
• A supportive feel: a medium seat, like our Classic comfort, keeps everyone sitting well through a long visit.
• Length: by the common rule of about 60 cm per guest, a 4-metre wall seats six or seven people.

A traditional majlis often runs seating around three walls in one continuous line. Standard sofas rarely match those lengths exactly, so a majlis is a natural case for a custom sofa: describe the room and the team replies within 48 hours with a drawing and a price.

• U-shape: seating along three walls, with the host at the head and guests on both sides. The most traditional and the most welcoming for large groups.
• L-shape: a corner sofa along two walls, with armchairs or a second sofa facing it. Works well in a smaller majlis or a modern sitting room.
• Facing rows: two long sofas opposite each other, with low tables between them. Ideal in a long, narrow room.

Whatever the shape, keep the centre clear or use low tables that everyone can reach for coffee and dates. A common rule is to keep facing seats within about 3 to 4 metres of each other so conversation flows without raised voices. For seating plans, seat counts and table distances, read how to arrange a majlis with sofas.

In the family room, depth and softness win. A seat of 58 cm or more lets you tuck your feet up or lie back with a cushion; a chaise lets one person stretch out completely while others sit.

• Shape: a corner sofa fits the whole family in front of the screen and turns into a daybed on lazy afternoons.
• Feel: our Cocoon comfort is very soft, you sink in. If grandparents use the room every day, Classic is easier to get up from. Both cost the same.
• Fabric: choose for real life. In general, a smooth, tight weave is the easiest to keep clean of dust and sand and good with children and pets. Corduroy, like the fine corduroy of Brioche and Snoozo, is warm and copes well with family life.

Doudou, with a 65 cm seat depth, and Comfo, with 74 cm, are both built for this kind of lounging. Comfo is also fully modular: rearrange its modules for a film night and move the ottomans wherever someone wants to put their feet up.

Comfo adapts most easily to a majlis: its modules can be separated and rearranged whenever you receive, its U-shapes gather everyone around the coffee table with ottomans that move where they are needed, and its 48 cm seat makes standing up easy. Its 74 cm depth is generous, so keep a few firm back cushions for guests who like to sit upright. Doudou is the most versatile corner: at 352 × 210 cm it seats a large family and, in Classic comfort with a few extra back cushions for guests, works as a modern majlis. If you want help with depth and height, read sofa seat depth and height.

A majlis is usually more formal, receives more visitors in good clothes and sees fewer snacks and toys. A family room sees everything.

• Majlis: a fabric with a crisp, tailored look suits the room, and fine corduroy adds a soft sheen. Light tones such as Ivory, Chalk or Ecru feel classic and welcoming.
• Family room: a mid tone such as Biscuit, Olive or Grey forgives the daily traces of family life and fine dust.

Matching the two rooms is not necessary. Many homes use lighter, more formal tones in the majlis and warmer, deeper colours in the family room, which helps each room keep its own character.

In many apartments, and in some villas, one living room is both the majlis and the family room. Then the sofa needs a balance.

• Choose a corner or a long sofa with a seat depth around 56 to 60 cm, so guests can sit upright and the family can still curl up.
• Pick the Classic comfort if visitors come often; it is easier to sit on and get up from.
• Keep extra back cushions to hand: they make a deep seat upright for guests and come off for family evenings.
• A modular sofa such as Comfo makes the switch easy: rearrange the modules when guests come, and bring the ottomans back for family evenings.
• Add poufs or floor cushions for the busiest visits, such as Eid, and store them away the rest of the year.