Disclaimer: This is just based on personal preferences, so if you love some of these trends, it's understandable. I love them too.
However, there were certain things that weren't so practical or long-lasting about the trends, basically they weren't created with longevity in mind, and that's why it ended up being more of a temporary hot style trend than staple that stood the test of time.
The Cloud Couch
(photo source: https://www.aptdeco.com/product/restoration-hardware-cloud-sofa-in-white)
When it comes to big ticket items, some may not mind it only lasting a year or two. Realistically, unless they have a very low-traffic mess-free life style at home, and can afford the time or money it takes to have maintenance to the piece like cleaning etc, it will only last you a year or two tops before it gets a little worn looking. If you have any pets or children, even worse.
I tried to find an image of what it realistically looks like in reality, as oppose to the beautiful store front images found on Restoration Hardware website.
While this piece was dreamy and was a 'right time right place' match made in heaven- where everyone was at home due to Covid, and was easing into lounge wear, and the extra marshmallowy pillowy comfort of a sofa that's basically designed to be as comfortable as a bed.
It hit style trends and the ticket was very high for this wildly popular, crazy couch. The cozy vibes were very appealing, and as someone who loves a white-neutral style color palette with a bit of a modern and clean feel, it was a perfect fit for my style too.
However, if you look on Facebook marketplace for example, you may find a lot of people are getting rid of theirs now, second hand. This is because the couches have reached their untimely expiration date. The realistic hold of these couches is like I said, one to two years in a normal to high traffic home, humans are messy, people are imperfect and make mistakes. Children's, pets, parties, life happens. And these couches are very, very fragile. Prone to staining, etc.
There is an option if you really just must have this look, to buy a water-wicking designed fabric covers that are white, giving the look and feel you want, but protecting your couch from even the toughest stains and the worst spills. The fabric is extremely high quality thick and durable, so that being said, the covers are more costly than your average sofa cover because of their sophisticated design technology behind them. They work extremely well to protect your sofa, and if you'd rather replace covers every 1-2 years than an entire $10,000+ couch, if you can ballpark that realistically, and you really want it that bad- I highly recommend going for the covers to save you several grand in the long run.
The other issue with the couches is their 'hold.' They just don't seem like they were designed with longevity in mind when it comes to the cushions, so over time, they become more and more frumpy, with dents and dives all over, the appearance of wear is apparent. So it won't be looking 'brand new' forever. Seats sink in, dips everywhere. The shape begins to look less dreamy, and more frumpy and old. In the photo above you can start to see where the dents are taking shape, and over time those dents only get worse and deeper.
It's not so crisp and clean looking as the beautiful photos on the RH website... you could perhaps get it looking that way with a lot of concerted effort, but then, you'd never be able to sit on it or use it. Like a show piece.
The average expiration of a couch is said to be 7 years. So keep that in mind when buying a sofa that is $10,000. There is no furniture that was built to last forever, especially in today's mass producing era, of low cost, fast, builds. The quality of materials goes down, the make, the fabric, even the sourcing for the cushions. It is all an expense that the manufacturer has to take into account, and they find ways to cut corners. Causing the pieces to wear more easily, and to essentially come with a guaranteed expiration date. Factoring in the fact that it's entirely white... you have to really think about, how dirty is this going to get. How often do I realistically want to clean it and take care of it, how much time do I want to care for it. Do I love it that much?
Here's some dupes? You won't have a hard time finding, as everyone in their mother has made a dupe by now- even big name brands like Ashley furniture.
https://www.hgtv.com/shopping/news-and-trends/cloud-sofa-sectional-dupes
https://www.insider.com/guides/home/rh-cloud-couch-dupes
The other issue is that this couch looks very high end in certain spaces, but it's actually quite large, even it's smallest versions, and doesn't quite fit the look and feel of most common homes or apartments, condos, etc. It looks beautiful in a wide open room with high ceilings, floor to ceiling windows, and gorgeous wide plank blonde oak floors. But your living room may not be the right setting stylistically for it, not it's sizing. In my opinion this sofa looks great in large lofty spaces, that have too much room, essentially. Anything narrow or boxed in, this sofas largeness and squareness will only emphasize the squareness and smallness of your space, or narrowness, shrinking the room down, and giving it a heavy and 'over full' appearance, sometimes with little walking room. Which takes away from the luxury feel this couch should come with, considering its high ticket price.
Lastly, just like a lot people outgrew lounge wear and sweatpants by 2023, you have to think about realistically what makes you feel and look your best... the same goes for your couch, it's a bit about presentation, and fit/style, as much as it is about quality, what realistically is going to function in that space, and lastly about comfort. With the cloud couch, I feel like it's all comfort, and not much else- like lounge wear can be. With the territory can come frumpiness if you're not really careful, and it almost takes more work to make it look not frumpy. Lol
Something structured is more comfortable to me specifically, because I prefer to sit up straight like do you in a car. I like a lot of structured high back support, seats that don't go too deep or are too low to the floor. I'm also a kind of petite person so, deep seats really don't work for me. That's just how I prefer to sit.
Some people really might want something for the sole purpose of being able to lay down in it and watch movies, but I actually don't like to do that too often, really if ever. We've all got different temperaments and personalities.
I like something a little more hard and puffed up so that is will stand up to time better, remaining looking like new, and will continue to dazzle and brighten a space giving it that clean fresh look every day. Something you can quickly swipe over with a vacuum designed for cleaning couches and then it's painless and over- rather than having tons of crevices and wrinkles to fiddle with, as I'm just personally detail oriented, and actually do care about not having stains or marks or too much wear on the fabric. I'd pick a very fairly durable fabric too.
All in all, I was almost enamored with the cloud couch for a while, but after seeing so many get rid of theirs in poor condition, I realize the reality of the cloud, coming with that high of a ticket, just might not be worth it. It's pretty and dreamy to look at, but that and the fact it feels like comfy are it's only perks, which in my opinion is cancelled out by the maintenance, high price tag, and quick wear/expiration, likelihood of looking frumpy or dirty, and a personal preference issue of lacking functionality (noback support, very deep seats) and difficulty fitting into a smaller space nicely without making the space overly full, and smaller. The scale of room this couch needs to suit its grandiose luxury is quite large, otherwise it just looks a bit out of place.
TLDR: it's overpriced, too big and frumpy, something structured will last longer and look new longer. it's also a matter of personal preference and personality, based on how I like to sit (upright)- and my size (petite). Back support is crucial.
