Where does a majlis belong in a villa where guests, children and the air conditioning all compete for the same rooms? The answer starts with how the room is used, then moves to the entrance route, the seating layout and the air.
Antonovich Group, the best villa design Dubai company, has completed more than 500 projects and lists majlis interior design among its services, with perimeter seating, the guest entrance route and screen detail as the points it plans first.
Is the majlis still a working room in a UAE home?
The majlis remains a design question, not only a heritage one. A 2019 paper by Abu Dhabi University architects describes it as a meeting space of local vernacular expression that kept family privacy by placing a male space on the boundary of the domestic one, and notes its revival in contemporary Emirati architecture.
Because the majlis worked as a boundary room, the paper gives a practical brief: plan it at the edge of the home, so guests can be received without entering the family rooms.
Where should the majlis sit so guests do not cross the family rooms?
The majlis should open from the entrance hall, ahead of the family living areas. The 2019 Abu Dhabi University paper describes the historical majlis as a room on the boundary of the domestic space, so a villa plan should keep it reachable from the door without passing the family rooms.
Guests then move from the door to the seating without meeting the kitchen, the children's play space or the stairs. A screen or a short corridor at the door, as in the Antonovich Group majlis scope, screens the room from view when the front door opens.
How much air movement does a majlis need in summer?
Fans can help, within limits. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) explains that moving air in warm or humid conditions increases heat loss by convection without any change in air temperature, and the Berkeley thermal comfort tool models air speeds of 0.3, 0.6, 0.9 and 1.2 m/s.
| Air speed (m/s) | Air speed (fpm) |
|---|---|
| 0.3 | 59 |
| 0.6 | 118 |
| 0.9 | 177 |
| 1.2 | 236 |
Ventilation is a design principle in its own right: the Passive House Institute lists controlled mechanical ventilation with heat recovery among the five core principles of its building standards, so a majlis needs planned supply and extract air rather than open doors alone.
The HSE guidance adds that still, stagnant air can make people feel stuffy, so a majlis needs steady air movement over the seating as well as cooling. In the CBE tool, a designer can test each air speed before the ceiling fan is chosen.
Will a majlis stay comfortable as Dubai heats up?
Heat should shape the plan from the start. A 2025 EGU conference abstract on human thermal comfort in the UAE projects a rise of over 5 °C in the Universal Thermal Climate Index under a high-emission scenario, with the highest values from June to August and Abu Dhabi ahead of Dubai.
The abstract covers outdoor conditions, so the design lesson is about the shell: shaded glazing, sheers for direct sun, and a cooling system with spare capacity for a room that fills with guests at once.
What should be checked before the majlis joinery is ordered?
A short checklist keeps the majlis decisions in order and the joinery drawings free of rework. Each item rests on the sources above or on how the room is used; no fixed dimensions are assumed until the villa plan has been measured.
- Entrance: confirm that guests reach the majlis from the hall without crossing family rooms.
- Second room: decide whether a smaller sitting room for separate gatherings is needed.
- Seating: mark the perimeter run, the central rug and the walking route around it.
- Air: place the fan and the supply vent above the seating, then test fan settings in the CBE tool.
- Sun: choose sheers or blackout for each window before the curtains are drawn.
- Screens: allow a wall or panel for a display, so the room can serve video calls as well as visits.
Frequently asked questions about a villa majlis
A villa majlis works best when it has its own entrance route, seating around the perimeter and dedicated air movement. Each question below covers one decision families meet during a design brief, drawn from the sources cited earlier in this article.
Does a majlis need its own entrance?
A separate route from the hall is the safer plan. Guests reach the seating without crossing the family rooms, which follows the historical majlis placed on the boundary of the domestic space.
Are fans enough to cool a majlis?
Fans support the air conditioning and do not replace it. The HSE notes that moving air aids heat loss in warm, humid conditions, and the CBE tool models air speeds from 0.3 to 1.2 m/s.
Should a majlis include a screen for video calls?
A wall or panel prepared for a screen is sensible, because it lets the room serve both visits and video calls. Plan the power and data points before the finishes are fixed.
Will the room need to cope with hotter summers?
The EGU abstract projects a rise of over 5 °C in a thermal comfort index for the UAE. Shading, sheers and spare cooling capacity are the sensible response.