Turned off desktop and folder items from iCloud by mistake. Need them back!

When you turn off desktop and documents, new desktop and decrements folders are created on your Mac (as you have seen). Your files remain in iCloud Drive (as you have also seen). Simply drag the files from iCloud Drive to the desktop and documents locations if you wish.

It's not clear what your status is now. Is it correct that

• You have iCloud Drive turned on
• You have "Desktop and Documents Folders" turned on in iCloud

Is that right?

If that's right, then you have a Desktop folder inside the iCloud Drive folder, and you have a Documents folder also inside the iCloud Drive folder.

Without iCloud, those two folders can be seen to reside in the User's folder along with Music and Pictures and so on. You could have several folders named "Desktop," just like I have several folders named "Taylor"-- but they're in different places, in different containing folders. "Desktop" is a folder, like any other folder-- but its contents also show up in the desktop-screen. And if you have more than one "Desktop" folder, then things might get confused.

If you have "Desktop and Documents Folders" turned on, then only the "Desktop" folder inside of iCloud shows things on the desktop-screen. Any other "Desktop" folder is just a folder. So, if you have stuff in "User/Desktop," that stuff won't show on the desktop screen. If you try moving a file from iCloudDrive/Desktop to the desktop-screen, you're just putting back in the same place.

If you have "Desktop and Documents Folders" turned on in iCloud, the those are the "real" ones, and any others you find with those names don't behave like the "real" ones.

This might help some:

Understanding iCloud Drive - Apple Community