The Nugget Couch

Way back in the early days of the pandemic, my sister messaged me about a lottery to purchase a Nugget Couch. Respectable there were a few questions pop up. Why create a lottery just to purchase one? Why does that seem strange? More importantly, What in the world was a Nugget? My mom, sister, and I all entered the lottery with no luck. As time went on I completely forgot about it.

Fast forward to my daughter’s third birthday back in May and she very kindly received a Nugget from my sister. The day after her party we settled in the playroom to see what all the fun was about regarding the Nugget. I’m not kidding when I say we were playing and building new things for 2 hours straight. For a 3 year old, that’s a miracle to have her focused for that long.

While playing with the Nugget, my husband and I kept repeatedly saying the same thing over and over again. Why did we not have this when we were little? Now for the important question….

What in the world is a Nugget?

The complex answer is whatever you want it to be. The simple answer is foam pieces to build things with. There’s 2 rectangle pieces, a firm base piece and soft one, and 2 triangle pieces. Imagine fort building without needed to grab the couch cushions off.

You can build a fort, a tree, tent, obstacle course, couch and play floor is lava. The idea is incredibly simple. Imagination.

I highly highly recommend finding a facebook group or looking at pinterest ideas for Nugget set ups. This will even allow you to see what other people regularly use as accessories for their Nugget. Although it does get dangerous because it randomly sends you into a buying spree seeing what others have.

The nugget was such a huge hit after a couple weeks with 1 nugget, I went ahead a ordered a second nugget. I went back and forth with actually ordering another one, but there were a few key reasons I opted to do so. First and for most, I have 2 kids. While my son was only 3 months old when we ordered the second one, I was picturing when he’s more mobile and will be able to enjoy the Nuggets just as much as my daughter.

Secondly we have the space for 2. This was a big factor for me. I really like having these for the days I need to get my kids energy out on cold Michigan winter days. Our basement is still a work in progress from being a storage area to turning it into a finished basement with room for the kids to fully run and play.

I think secretly we wanted a second one so my husband and I can build things… I’m fully okay with that.

Harbor & Willow

Do you really need 2?

While you may be tempted once you start diving into everyone else’s build, you absolutely do not need 2! We had a lot of fun with just the one Nugget couch. I really think you should realistically see how much space you’re willing to use up while they are being played with and stored. More often than not I have ours set up as a couch so my daughter can look at books there or watch a movie.

If you are worried about even one Nugget, just know that I have seen quite a few people living in travel trailers that have one and love it. So it is possible to enjoy one in a small space!

Any “accessories” needed?

Part of the fun of building with Nuggets is using accessories to ramp up the fun and imagination. One “accessory” I really suggest investing in are waterproof covers. I held off of this for more than 6 months, but the more mobile my son became and more accident prone my daughter became I am so glad I finally bought them. They’ll protect the foam from getting wet so when spills or accidents happen you won’t need to worry about the foam getting wet and potentially growing mold. Bonus is that it makes getting the covers back on the foam so much easier.

Our accessories that we use in our builds are a wobble board, collapsible tunnel, and a tumble mat. I do plan on buying steppingstones for my daughter’s birthday to add to it. Other things people have really enjoyed are pet steps, couch slides, pickler triangles, ball pits, and crash pads/a ton of squishmallows to land on.

None of these are absolutely needed. All you really need is a bunch of imagination and kids have no shortage of that.

If you really want to plan this as a gift, be prepared. When my sister placed the order, shipping was 8-10 weeks. When I ordered our second one, shipping was 4-6 weeks and they impressively got in down to 1-2 weeks at one point. Nugget Comfort is preparing for the holiday season though. So if you are planning on getting it, the sooner the better! They are constantly updating their website and social media with what shipping is looking like.