In August 2017, Business of Home sat down with British designer Timothy Oulton to talk about the Cloud Sofa. The brand describes it as the culmination of his seven years of work to build the world's ultimate sofa. It is three cubes, customizable, with goose feather cushions wrapped in down, and it comes in three depths. Oulton's own explanation is the part I like: goose down feathers are tiny and curled, so they trap little pockets of air.

He also said feather-filled sofas used to be hard or overstuffed, and that he wanted soft without losing a streamlined, modular shape. That is the whole appeal in one sentence. A low body, wide arms, loose slipcovered-look cushions, and a seat you sink into. Kendall Jenner told Architectural Digest that everyone has a Cloud couch, and I think that is why plenty of people now go looking for a different route to the same silhouette.

So this RH Cloud couch dupe edit is not about copying a design. It is pieces from other labels that share the detail that sells the look: a deep, low seat with plush, slouchy cushions. Nothing here carries the original's name or parts.

Begin with the modular sofas. The Harmony Modular Sofa from West Elm in white is the easiest read of the idea, with loose back cushions and rolled-in pillow arms, and the multi-piece version stretches it to three seats. The Elyza in cream has wide square arms and reversible, overstuffed seat cushions. The Bodhild is gray chenille with feather-filled cushions and flip-up arm pillows, and the oversized cream cotton-linen modular with an ottoman is the one I would picture in a sweater-and-blanket October. Sit on the seat, lean back, and check that the cushions rebound. Deep should not mean sunk.

A slipcover is a construction choice, not just a look. The fabric is cut as a loose cover over the frame, which is why the shape reads relaxed. The Strategist traced this whole family back to Rachel Ashwell's slipcovered sofa of 1989, and called the Cloud its sleeker descendant, still informed by that original. So the slipcovered sofa is a shared ancestor, which makes this the most natural place to look.

The Sophie Skirted Slipcover Sofa and the Harris Skirted Slipcover Sofa from West Elm are both white with straight track arms, which is the closest echo of the wide arms people notice first. Sophie has two soft back cushions, and Harris has loose seat and back cushions. The Maxine from Pottery Barn in cream has clean track arms and two relaxed seat cushions, while the York Slope Arm trades them for a gentle slope and a tailored skirt. The Lucie in white has a long bench seat, which I would choose for a long wall.

Tug the cover at a seam in the fitting room: it should sit smooth over the arm without pulling at the corners. Check that the skirt hem hangs evenly. Linen-look fabric in white or cream shows every sofa pillow you throw at it, so I would add one dark cushion and a wool throw for fall.

What I would skip: a skirted base if you vacuum under your sofa often, and a rolled arm if the wide, flat track arm is the detail you came for.

Sectionals are where this look gets serious, because the original is modular by design. The thing to look for is whether the pieces are actual separate seats you can move, or one long sofa wearing a sectional label. Chronogram's guide to the category says modular flexibility matters especially for apartments, open-plan homes and rooms that may need to change over time, and I agree.

The 108-inch L-shaped one with an ottoman in gray corduroy and the five-piece U-shaped version are the roomiest, and corduroy gives you a texture that feels very October. The four-piece chenille set in black is the dramatic one. The Cioffi is the one to read closely: charcoal, five pieces, down-blend cushions and a removable cover, which are the features Oulton's design leans on. For smaller rooms, the Asher two-piece chaise sectional in cream and the Harmony two-piece chaise from West Elm in white keep the low, deep seat without the footprint.

In the fitting room, press down on a corner piece and see whether the connectors hold. Measure the doorway before the sofa, and plan for the chaise end to face the window or the television, not the door.

What I would skip: a five-piece set for a room under about ten feet wide. The deep seats take more floor than the dimensions suggest.

The chair-and-a-half is the quiet hero of this search. It is a single seat, wide enough to curl into, and it brings the deep, slouchy shape of a cloud-style sofa into a corner without the sofa. Think of the one chair you would claim for a Sunday with a sweater and a long book.

Several of these carry real construction notes. The Hartig armchair is 47 inches wide with a down cushion, wide track arms and two back pillows, in tan. The Estevan is oversized, slipcovered and feather-blended, in striped linen. The Latitude Run oversized accent chair has a removable slipcover on a 40.2-inch frame with a 30-inch seat. In white, the Luna slipcovered chair and a half and the Lucia pair well with a gray sofa, and the Remy in gray velvet is the plush one with wide arms. The navy Marin skirted slipcover chair from West Elm is the easiest way to add some color to an all-cream room.

Test the seat depth with your feet up. If your knees land on the edge of the cushion, it is too deep for sitting upright, and fine for curling up. Check the arm height against the side table you own.

What I would skip: a chair-and-a-half in a very light fabric if it will sit by a door or a window with a lot of afternoon sun.

This is the quickest way to borrow the original's shape. Add a chaise or an ottoman to a sofa you already have, and the room starts to read deeper and lower. Burrow makes the Span Storage Chaise in light gray, with a track-arm silhouette and a long ottoman seat that hides things. It is a very practical idea for a living room that doubles as a guest room.

I would also look at the white chaises. The Luna slipcovered chaise has a squared pillow back, the Remy chaise lounge has a plush pillow back and a deep seat, and the Lucia slipcovered chaise lounge has a tall back and an extra-wide seat. The Thornton in cream is the relaxed upholstered one.

Ottomans do the other job. The Harmony Modular Ottoman from West Elm in white is made to sit beside the modular sofas, and the Haven in cream has a removable skirted slipcover. The Charleston from Pottery Barn is a skirted white one at 38 inches with a tailored welt, big enough to carry a tray.

Check that the ottoman height lands at or just below your sofa seat, so your feet can rest on it. Then pick a fabric that matches, not one that almost does.

What I would skip: a square ottoman in a room that already has a big rug with a bold pattern, because the edges will fight.

I would start with the seat. Sit, lean back, and decide whether you want to curl up or sit upright, because that settles the depth. Then pick the cushion fill: down and feather for the sink-in, foam-wrapped for something that holds its shape, and check that covers come off. Then measure the room twice.

Then I would add a chair or an ottoman, because that is where this style comes together. Oulton set out to make something that felt like sitting on a cloud. Any of these can borrow that idea in their own way, and the best test is still the one you do with your own shoulders against the back cushions.

For the full story of the sofa that started it, I sorted the overstuffed and modular picks in a deep cloud couch guide.