Hosting for Ramadan and Eid: preparing your living room

Start with the gatherings you actually host, not the biggest one of the year. Most homes have a regular iftar group, close family and perhaps a few friends, and then a few larger evenings, often at the weekend and around Eid.

A common rule is to allow about 60 cm of seat width per adult. A 3-seater around 220 cm long seats three adults comfortably. A modular sofa such as Comfo gives you room to adapt: its U-shape of six modules, 457 × 229 cm, seats four on deep, soft modules, with two ottomans that move wherever children or tired feet need them.

For a fuller calculation, read how many seats you need. If your largest gatherings need more seats than a standard sofa offers, a sofa made to the length of your wall is often a better answer than squeezing in extra chairs: ask for a custom sofa and the team replies within 48 hours with a drawing and a price.

During Ramadan the living room works hard. Guests move from the iftar table to the sofas, coffee and dates go round, children play, and conversation lasts late into the night. A good layout lets all of this happen without anyone squeezing past knees.

• Face people towards each other. An L-shape with a facing sofa, or a U-shape along three walls, lets everyone join the same conversation. A common rule is to keep seats within about 3 metres of each other across the room.
• Keep a clear path from the dining area. About 60 cm is the minimum for a walkway; 90 cm is comfortable on the main route people take with trays.
• Bring surfaces within reach. Every seat should reach a table for a coffee cup, a glass of water or a plate of dates. Small side tables and a large, low coffee table work better than one small table in the middle.
• Let the television step back. If the room is usually arranged around the screen, angle a chair or two towards the centre for the month.
• Rearrange for the season. A modular sofa makes this easy: Comfo's modules can be separated and joined again in a new layout, and its ottomans move wherever guests want to put their feet up. Its U-shape of six modules suits a big family evening.

For layouts with several sofas, read how to arrange a majlis with sofas.

After iftar, people sit for hours, and in many homes the evening runs on until suhoor. That changes what comfortable means: a seat you perch on for twenty minutes is not the seat you want at midnight, and an older relative needs to stand up easily after a long evening.

• Seat depth: 53 to 56 cm lets most adults sit upright with their back against the cushions. 58 cm or more invites lounging and tucking your feet up.
• Seat height: around 44 to 46 cm makes getting up easier, which matters for grandparents and older guests.
• Feel: our Cocoon comfort is very soft, you sink in. Classic is the medium feel most sofas have: you sit on it and get up easily. Both cost the same.

A mix works best in a busy Ramadan home: a deep corner where the family can stretch out, with a firmer chair or two for elders. Comfo has a 74 cm seat depth, deep enough to curl up in, and a 48 cm seat height that makes standing up easy; with a couple of extra cushions behind the back it suits anyone who prefers to sit upright.

Ramadan evenings bring food and drink into the living room: Arabic coffee, tea, sticky dates, sweets and juice, often in small hands. Choose and protect the fabric with that in mind.

• Corduroy, like the fine corduroy of Brioche and Snoozo, copes well with children and everyday lounging, and a soft brush lifts the pile again after a busy evening.
• A smooth, tight weave is, in general, the easiest to keep clean and suits the busiest rooms.
• Bouclé, like Nuage, is lovely in a calm, formal sitting room, soft and warm to the touch.

Keep a few habits through the month: trays on the coffee table, a washable throw on the chaise where children sit, and a small kit of white cloths and mild soap ready for spills. Blot, never rub. Oud oil and perfume need particular care, because oils spread when you scrub them: see how to remove common stains from a sofa.

If you burn bakhoor, keep the burner at a distance from the sofa and air the room afterwards. Smoke and fragrant oils settle into upholstery over a month of evenings.

In 2027, Ramadan is expected to begin around 8 February, with Eid al-Fitr around 9 or 10 March, depending on the moon sighting. Work back from the first iftar you plan to host.

Pufflo delivers across the seven emirates, with delivery and installation included in the price. Read our delivery page for the details.

The mood of a Ramadan evening comes from light as much as from furniture. Warm white bulbs around 2700 K, a few table lamps and lanterns at different heights make a room feel calm after sunset, far more than a single bright ceiling light.

In the daytime, sheer curtains soften the strong sun and protect the sofa fabric. In the evening, cushions and throws in warm tones such as sand, clay and deep green bring a festive feel without redecorating. A runner on the coffee table, a bowl of dates within reach and a dallah ready for coffee say welcome before anyone sits down.

Eid visits are different from iftar evenings. They often happen in the daytime, with many short visits, more formal greetings and people coming and going. Arrange the seating so guests can sit down quickly as they come into the room, with the most upright seats kept for elders.

Before the first visitors, give each sofa ten minutes: vacuum, run a soft brush along corduroy, plump and turn loose cushions, and check the arms and the front edge of the seat, where hands and feet leave the most marks. With a modular sofa such as Comfo, slide the ottomans to the side to free the floor for guests coming and going, and bring them back for family evenings. A month of long evenings is a real test for any sofa. If yours is showing its age, it is a good moment to plan the next one, sized for the gatherings you really host.