Why The Nugget Couch Has A Cult-Like Following

More than 10 years since its launch, the Nugget Couch is still a phenomenon in the parenting world (and apparently, also in the bedroom. More on that later). If you've never tested one of these kid-sized modular sofas, we dive into why parents of babies, toddlers and preschoolers rave about the Nugget. Its uses are practical and imaginative, as well as sanity-saving. Anyone who got their hands on one during the pandemic would surely attest to this.

What is the Nugget?

Launched in 2014, simply put, the Nugget is part toy and part furniture. It is made of four squishy, yet sturdy foam pieces, covered in removable and washable upholstery, that come in over 15 colours and patterns. There is a base, a cushion and two triangular pieces.

The founders had originally intended to make ‘a better futon’, one that was portable, durable, and long-lasting. Instead, they created what feels like a sensation. In 2020, the North Carolina-based company was ranked among the fastest-growing manufacturing companies in the United States by Inc. magazine.

So much of the couch’s popularity resulted from strong word-of-mouth endorsements that spread from family to family. Which takes us to the point at the start of the pandemic when parents were scrambling to get their kids moving and occupied indoors at the same time that global manufacturing slowed or stopped altogether. This led to the Nugget lottery, where would-be buyers threw their proverbial hat into the ring to have the opportunity to purchase the highly sought-after couch. There’s a lot to be said about people clamouring for the chance to buy a kids’ couch for over $490 USD.

Why kids love it

It’s a fort, it’s a diner, it’s a trampoline, it’s the thing you lie out and throw a sheet over when your kids have a sleepover. It can be almost anything. Ask a five-year-old. Or Washington D.C. parent, Martha Hoffman. She heard the buzz about the couch around 2019 and thought it might be a good addition to her home office, where she works with kids with ADHD. She realized the purchase was a hit when her own children kept stealing it and rocketing (safely) down the stairs with pieces of it.

“It’s portable, it’s versatile, we use it for play, and it’s functional,” she says. When her clients come in, they might work together to build a fort or, if they’re feeling a little shy, they make a triangle and they can hide behind it but still participate. With her own kids, she says, “I feel like no matter what age they are, they can have independence. They’re not going to hurt themselves. It’s not like a piece of furniture that’s going to tip over on them. They launch off the bed by making it a slide-type structure, or they create mazes and put pillows on the ends. And we use it as a couch.”

Hoffman brings it into her kids’ rooms in the evening for bedtime stories, throws fitted sheets over the Nugget when nieces and nephews sleep over and uses it for backyard movies. A lovely by-product in her home is that her children, who’ve gone back to sharing a room, use the Nugget to create a cozy walled-in space within the room. It allows her one daughter to go in and be nestled in a little sensory barrier, yet still be in the company of her sister.

Does it have to be a Nugget?

In short, no. There is a selection of modular sofas for kids, but you'd be hard-pressed to find negative reviews. What comes up mostly is the cost, as well as justifying the shipping. There are Canadian alternatives like the Joey,  Go Coconut and Kiddie Couch, but none seem to have the caché of the Nugget.

Why parents and experts love it

Sharyn Timerman is an E.C.E., Child Behaviour Specialist and Founder of the Early Years Development Centre, based in Montreal, Canada. She purchased Nuggets for two sets of grandchildren. She is effusive about the benefits of the couch, which range from aiding in physical development to fostering creativity and imagination. “There are some fine motor skills involved in arranging the smaller pillows, but kids are also using their whole body to move the bigger pieces, depending on what they’re doing with them,” she says.

Highlighting a lot of kids’ natural inclination to jump on and off of things, Timerman says that the Nugget gives them permission to do so in a way that they wouldn’t get, let’s say, if they wanted to jump off their beds. “It’s respecting the child. It gives them an option or alternative. You can say ‘no, you can’t jump off the couch, but you can jump off the Nugget’”.

Timerman reminds us that children learn from play and highlights how this modular furniture aids in different types of schematic play. In the filing system of a child’s mind, if one can refer to it in that way, kids learn one skill and then build on that. “A child might think, Ok, I was able to build a wall with that piece of cushion, what else can I do? What if I put a little table inside? Now I’ve created a restaurant,” she says. The different schemas that the couch assists with include enveloping and positioning (think lying under forts); construction; containing (putting things inside other things); trajectory (jumping on the couch); and transporting.

What is it made of and how do you clean it?

Nugget fans say that the quality is unmatched by dupes. The Nugget is GREENGUARD Gold certified, meaning it’s been tested and meets strict limits on chemical emissions. Its celebrated, sturdy foam is CertiPUR-US certified, ensuring that it meets specific health and environmental safety standards. It's made without harmful chemicals like formaldehyde and heavy metals, and has low volatile organic compounds (VOCs), for better indoor air quality.

The couch covers can be easily unzipped and popped into the washing machine. Mom to three children, Tanya Skinner, proud owner of two Nuggets, has had hers for over nine years and says they still look brand new. “The covers are washable, and they vacuum and wipe well. The pieces get thrown around, and when my kids use them to make forts, they use the handles as footholds to climb up. After nine years of very heavy use, there isn’t a stitch out of place,” she says.

The product isn’t waterproof, so the company suggests purchasing a liner set. The covers and liners can be removed, washed on cold and hung to dry. The website gives easy-to-follow guidance on how to spot clean a variety of spills and messes, from grease to crayons.

Some drawbacks

Apart from it being slightly awkward to fit the covers back onto the cushions once they’ve been washed, one of the main drawbacks to the Nugget is its size. The couch is 66 inches long and 33 inches deep, with a total height of 22.25 inches. Given these dimensions, and depending on living space, buyers might feel they have to choose between a Nugget and a traditional couch. And yet, Skinner, who used to live in Toronto, says, “We had such a tiny house, and our living room was the size of a postage stamp, because…Toronto…and we still kept it in the living room. And it got played with every single day; it never went away.”

If the Nugget is going into a small area and you are foregoing a couch, then keep in mind that it is on the firmer side. What makes it a great play castle by day might not make for the comfiest place to Netflix and chill. Which brings me to…

Nugget After Dark

There’s an inevitable moment, when speaking to gushing Nugget owners, where the conversation turns, a little, how can one say it, NSFW. Yup. If you're not familiar with the drama, Nugget After Dark is the name of a Facebook group with the description that says ‘Not your typical mom’s group. If you searched for the group, you know what you’re here for. Come here, ya filthy animal’.

Need I say more? Forts by day and, for some parents, something very different by night.

Nugget alternatives

If the Nugget just isn’t for you, be it cost, availability, shipping or that your elbows are firmly up and you’d rather support a Canadian company, there are several alternatives:

• The Figgy 
  A modular couch, with a muted, soft-toned colour palette and Velcro connectors
• Foamnasium Blocksy 
  Has a wipe-clean, medical-grade vinyl cover option
• Cushy Couch
  Cut, sewn and handmade in Canada
• SoftScape and ECR4Kids
  Floor cushions more commonly found in educational settings.  
• Roo & You, the Joey
  A Canadian company that makes couches, chairs and fort-building sets.

Should you buy one?

If space and money aren’t an issue, then this would likely be a no-brainer. But for the overwhelming majority of Canadian parents, these are real concerns. Spending upwards of $400 on a piece of kids’ furniture is nothing to sneeze at.  

Think about what boxes this modular furniture ticks for your family and if it would meet your specific needs. Ponder the product’s durability and look into the resale value in your area (it's usually pretty good). Are grandparents eager to gift grandkids something both fun and functional? Tackle the decision with the classic pro and con list, and you might just find yourself in the pro camp of this jack-of-all-trades couch. Or is it a toy? 

Experts

Sharyn Timerman is an E.C.E., Child Behaviour Specialist and Founder of the Early Years Development Centre