The mashab in the Gulf majlis
Long before air conditioning and open-plan living rooms, the mashab was where a household and its guests gathered. A low fire in the centre or the corner of the majlis, the dallah beside it, and conversation that lasted as long as the fire did. It still lives on at the istiraha, on the farm and in the courtyard, and in the memory of everyone who grew up in the Gulf.
But a traditional mashab burns wood or charcoal. That means smoke that needs a chimney or open sky, ash to sweep every morning, and a smell that stays in the cushions and curtains. So in most modern homes the mashab moved outside, or disappeared.
What changes with a modern mashab
A Decoflame mashab keeps what matters, a real, moving flame at the centre of the seating, and drops everything that pushed the fire out of the house.
| Traditional mashab | Modern bioethanol mashab | |
|---|---|---|
| Flame | Wood or charcoal | A real flame from bioethanol |
| Smoke and ash | Yes | No smoke, no soot, no ash |
| Chimney | Needed indoors | Not needed |
| Where it goes | Mostly the courtyard and istiraha | The indoor majlis, the courtyard, the rooftop, the istiraha |
| Lighting and putting out | Time and effort | One touch on an automatic burner, or a long lighter on a manual one |
| Shape | More or less one | Made to measure, in the finish you choose |
Bioethanol is a renewable, plant-based fuel that burns clean. It needs no gas line and no chimney, so the mashab can come back into the majlis itself.
A mashab inside the majlis
Indoors, a modern mashab is an automatic burner set into stone, plaster or one of our casings. You choose the form:
- A linear mashab with a Denver F6 burner, from 620 to 3,920 mm, set into a low wall or a stone bench at seating height, so everyone in the majlis sees the flame.
- A round mashab with a Denver Round F6 burner, from 500 mm across, in the middle of the seating like the mashab of old.
- A mashab in a table, a burner set into a stone table between the seats, with the coffee at its edge.
What the room needs:
- A non-combustible surround. Stone, plaster or steel. No wood or fabric touching the burner.
- Enough room volume. Every burner has a minimum in its datasheet. A 1,020 mm Denver F6, for example, needs at least 102 m³, which most majlis exceed. Our safety guide shows the check.
- Ventilation while the fire is lit, as with any flame in a room.
- A power point for the automatic burner, which we plan with you.
The Denver F6 has six flame levels and control from the panel, the remote or the Decoflame app, with a CO₂ sensor, a spill sensor and an automatic emergency shut-off. An optional 60 L automatic tank can feed it from a cupboard up to 10 m away, so nobody refills in the middle of the evening.
A mashab in the courtyard or the istiraha
Outside, the mashab is closest to its original form: a fire in the open air with the seating around it on winter nights.
- The outdoor built-in burner, 980 mm long, sits in a flat surface of stone, concrete or masonry: a seating bench, a low wall or the middle of a stone table.
- The Nice series, Round, Square Lounge and Square Tower, as drop-in burners or table-top fires that move with the seating.
Three things we plan with you outdoors:
- Wind. In a steady breeze a flame leans and fades. We place it where a wall, planting or a glass screen shelters it. An open rooftop needs more care than a walled courtyard.
- How guests move. Keep a clear path between the house and the seating, so nobody passes the fire to reach a seat or to serve coffee.
- Open air only. Outdoor models are never used inside a house or a closed tent. For the indoor majlis we design an indoor mashab to its size.
For more on outdoor seating, read outdoor fireplaces for Gulf terraces or browse the outdoor range.
Modern mashab styles: which one suits your seating?
A modern mashab does not come in one shape. The first question is not the model, it is the seating: where your guests sit, and where they see the fire from. Four questions narrow it down:
- Do you sit around the fire, or in front of it? If the seats wrap around the fire on every side, a round mashab in the middle is closest to the mashab of old. If the seats face one way, a long mashab in a low wall or stone bench gives every guest the same view.
- Inside the majlis, or in the courtyard? Indoors you need a burner made for indoor use, a non-combustible surround and a large enough room. For the courtyard, roof or istiraha, the outdoor burner or the Nice series, placed out of the wind.
- Fixed, or moving with the season? A mashab built into stone becomes part of the majlis. A Nice table-top fire moves with the seating, from the courtyard to the roof.
- A real flame, or the look of fire all year? Bioethanol gives a real flame and gentle warmth for winter nights. If the majlis is used in summer too, a water vapour fireplace gives the look of fire with no heat.
Either way, each mashab is drawn for its place, not picked from fixed sizes. Tell us about the seating, and we suggest the shape, the length and the finish.
What a modern mashab does not do
So you can choose with open eyes:
- It is not for cooking. No dallah or pot goes on the burner. Coffee is served beside the fire, not from it.
- There is no wood smell. Bioethanol burns clean. If you want the scent of a wood fire, you will not find it here. If you are tired of it in the majlis, you will not miss it.
- It is not a main heater. It gives gentle warmth close by and is chosen for the gathering and the mood.
If the majlis is used all year and you want the look of fire in August as well as January, compare it with a water vapour fireplace, which draws a flame from light and mist with no heat. Our guide bioethanol or water vapour sets out the difference.
A finish for your majlis
The Denver F6 top plate comes in black, brushed steel, Corten, copper, brass or any RAL colour. The round burner comes in brushed steel, brushed brass, brushed copper or RAL colours. So the mashab sits with the stone, wood and metal of the majlis as if it was always there.
Next step
Every modern mashab is designed to measure and handmade in Vestbjerg, Denmark, where Decoflame has built fireplaces since 2008. Read designing a majlis around a fireplace to see where the fire can go, browse bioethanol fireplaces, then book a private design consultation at home or by video call. Tell us about your majlis in a few words, and we will come back with ideas, then drawings.
