The Coffee Hearth Majlis

A concept for a family majlis in a Riyadh home, built around a coffee-service niche.

In the traditional Najdi majlis, the wijar — the hearth where coffee was roasted, brewed and kept warm — anchored the room, and the host prepared coffee in full view of the guests. This concept brings that idea into a contemporary family home. A recessed niche in honed limestone takes the place of the old hearth, holding a small preparation counter, a sink, warming plates and open shelves for dallahs, cups and dates.

Seating wraps the other three walls in the familiar low, continuous arrangement, so the niche is visible from every place and the person pouring can reach each guest in a few steps. The niche is lined in warm stone and framed in walnut, with a ventilation hood concealed in its soffit and closed cupboards below for cups, cardamom and incense.

Because this is a family room rather than a formal reception, the palette is warmer and softer than in a guest majlis: clay-toned plaster, handwoven rugs, cushions in rust and sand, and low lamps that leave the niche as the brightest point in the evening. It is a room designed to be used every day, from morning coffee to the last cup of the evening, not only on occasions.