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Owned and adored by celebrities such as Kendall Jenner, Kerry Washington, Nina Dobrev, and Naomi Watts, the Cloud Sofa by RH (known by many as the Cloud Couch) is a soft sofa, launched by the brand in 2015, which has become a cultural object in its own right. To some, it’s simply known as the Cloud, and it is highly desirable. To others, it’s a bit more controversial. Retailing at over $4,000 at RH for one section alone, the luxury sofa has swiftly captured the attention of the design world, with its streamlined aesthetic, crisp white color scheme, and customization potential of 150-plus fabrics. Yet others believe that the attention is unwarranted. Love it or hate it, the Cloud is a study in both functional design and luxury marketing, and we wanted to understand how it became such a go-to for celebrity designers and consumers alike.
Timothy Oulton, the London designer behind the Cloud’s instantly recognizable silhouette, originally conceptualized the piece as part of his quest to build the ultimate sofa. At its core, the couch consists of the three cubes: A corner, an armless section, and an ottoman. Each modular component is available for purchase in multiples so that the couch can be customized to fit an individual space or adjust over time. It is also sold as a regular sofa set. “We really felt the ability for a person to customize it to his own space was fundamental,” Timothy says.
In terms of his design process, Timothy often returned to this key question: What would the world’s most comfortable sofa look like and what would it feel like? At first glance, the couch looks simple, but Timothy clarifies that the inside of the object is quite complex and that it took over seven years to design. In fact, the designer calls the couch a “study in contrast.”
“The proportions of Cloud are beautifully conceived, lending it an innate presence in a room, while its sleek lines and modularity make it easy to work into almost any space. Its simplicity is also open and inviting. But then the feathers kick in with such an all-consuming and enveloping feel—it’s so relaxed and effortless,” Timothy says. “It’s an almost contradictory combination of presence and effortlessness. Lining up all those elements is not easy, but with Cloud we managed it.”
Jonsara Ruth, associate professor of interior design at The New School and design director of the Healthy Materials Lab, highlights the impact of the materials on the overall effect. She notes that the solid wood, feather and down-covered pillows, and easy-to-wash slipcovers convey a degree of intimacy, as humans understand how to engage them. “All of this is well communicated by RH and appeals to a very human way of interacting with materials and furniture.”
Tenlie Mourning, founder of Dendwell, a new marketplace for vintage furniture and home decor, describes both comfort and luxury as critical components of the Cloud’s popularity. “A main characteristic of a cult favorite is that it embodies or reflects a cultural moment, and I think this couch is no different.” Tenlie notes. “In a world where we have all realized the importance of home, this piece fulfills an inner longing for comfort and connection without completely sacrificing style. The design itself is also neutral enough to support a range of interior styles, and RH is a brand that speaks to multiple consumers.”
At the same time, Tenlie says that the couch is a cousin of so many others by a huge range of brands and designers—at both high and low ends of the market. “The Cloud couch takes this very familiar and contemporary form and asks one question: How can we make this phenomenally comfortable? And then it does that incredibly well,” Tenlie says. “I think it is this tension between the totally familiar, singularly novel, and our current cultural moment that makes the Cloud couch so palatable to such a wide range of consumers.”
With its many aspirational qualities, the Cloud draws an audience from all walks of life. Actress Kerry Washington shared her love of the piece, which is featured prominently in her NYC living room. “I’m gonna warn you that if you dare get a Cloud sofa in your home, you should have a backup plan for anything else on your calendar that day because it’s like sleeping or sitting on a cloud. It’s amazing,” Washington told AD.
But the quest for the ultimate sofa (or Olivia Pope’s sofa) will be pricy: Each individual section starts at $4,000. Oftentimes, a fully complete couch can retail at over $10,000. For this reason, many consumers find themselves turning to look-alikes and dupes to achieve the experience of the Cloud without the price tag.
Editor and influencer Aquia Francisco explains that she values RH’s sophistication as a brand, but ultimately could not justify the full price of the Cloud. After spending hours on TikTok and Instagram searching for alternatives, Aquia was shown an ad for Valyou Furniture’s $1,800 version of the iconic white sofa. Though she chose to forgo the original, she is content with her alternative, describing it as “classic, accommodating, and life-proof.” Aquia also cites the versatility as a value-add for the design: “People are able to truly take the couch and style the space around it in so many ways. I believe celebrities gravitate toward it for the same reason—it is a very luxurious buy, but is also as functional as it is aesthetically pleasing.”
Ultimately, the Cloud’s simple luxury accounts for its ubiquity among both consumers and interior designers. Despite its popularity among celebrities, the simplicity of the design and attention to detail reminds us that anyone and everyone should have access to comfort. “The Cloud Sofa was really an industry changer, we had never seen anything like it before, and we haven’t created anything like it since,” Timothy says. “We attribute its popularity to what we call disarming comfort—when you sit in the Cloud, your soul is relaxed, and you go to another place.”
