Buying for someone’s home can feel daunting, especially if you’re choosing something designed to be on show. A few rules of thumb: if you feel you’ve got a handle on your recipient’s sense of style, go for something bold like an art print or cushion. Less confident? Try gifts that can be tucked away when not in use, such as salad servers or a bud vase. For a truly safe bet, opt for something few of us can have too many of, such as tea towels or candles.
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I like to avoid gifts that feel overtly Christmassy in favour of things that will look good throughout the year, with bold, joyful colours that will brighten a home in the bleak midwinter but look just as good in midsummer. Here is my edit of the best interiors gifts this festive season.
The best home gifts for interiors lovers
Get ready to tumble
Tumbler glass
£16 at Anthropologie
This playful Maegen Atina collection features graphic stripes and bold colours: effortlessly elegant and the perfect finishing touch for a chic nightstand.
Fruity feeling
Hand towel
I love Donna Wilson’s charmingly naive aesthetic. This towel is part of a fun, fruity collection that goes from facecloth to XL bath sheet, all made in cotton by a family-run company renowned for its weaves.
Serving time
Salad set
£20 at Nordic Next
When all other ideas fail, a lovely set of salad servers like this colourful pair, handmade in glass, is a safe bet.
Dairy delight
Butter dish
This butter dish, handmade by the multidisciplinary artist Sophie Alda, is a little work of brutalist sculpture for the breakfast table. One for the minimalists.
Colourful container
Reversible glass vase
£26 at National Portrait Gallery
The NPG shop is a brilliant go-to for inspiring gifts. This elegant vase has a clever reversible design, with definite shades of the chemistry lab.
Decent wedge
Concrete doorstop
£50 at Etsy
Handmade in east London, these beautifully brutalist concrete Reggie’s Wedgie doorstops – in a range of finishes – prevent slamming and inadvertent lockouts, and they look lovely even when not in use.
Dine hard
Ceramic napkin rings
I never used to bother with anything as fussy as napkin rings but, perhaps as we eat out less, a certain sense of ritual is creeping back into home dining. These fun sculptural pieces would also look great dotted around a bookshelf, or clustered on a mantle.
Tea light holder
Cottage tea light holder
£45 at John Lewis
This playful tealight holder celebrates cosy evenings indoors, which I heartily endorse.
Rest easy
Spoon rest
For messy cooks, neat freaks and anyone who hates the post-dinner clean up (like me), this sunny-toned terracotta spoon rest, handmade and hand-painted in Portugal, does the job beautifully.
Pressed into action
Stainless-steel lemon squeezer
£35 at Selfridges
When you’re lacking in gift-giving confidence, find something unique, like this lemon squeezer, to help your recipient do a kitchen task stylishly.
Shady behaviour
Glass shade table lamp
£45 at Argos
Any home-obsessive knows you don’t turn on the big light except in emergencies. Art nouveau-inspired, this Habitat and Morris & Co collaboration lamp, with its draped shade and marble base, feels like a vintage find.
Wonderful wall art
Pink print
If you know someone who would rather be hibernating than partying this festive season, this fun print will ensure they feel validated.
Serving suggestion
M&S glaze round platter
£20 at M&S
I love a single plate that makes a statement, whether hung on the wall or as the focal point on the dinner table. This intricately decorated stoneware platter has a homespun, vintage quality and would be a lovely way for any enthusiastic baker to showcase their wares.
Tactile toy-art
Replica sculpture
This jesmonite replica has been made for the Kettle’s Yard gallery in Cambridge using moulds taken from an original bronze piece by the artist Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, who envisaged this sculpture as a toy to display as well as handle – a sort of fine art fidget toy. I have one on my kitchen shelf and love it.
Sneezy-pleasey
Tissue box
For the devoted aesthete who considers every design detail in their home, idiosyncratic interiors shop Pentreath & Hall offer a range of tissue boxes wrapped in their own patterns.
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Heartfelt slurping
Ceramic mug
£12.50 at Oliver Bonas
Gifts from Oliver Bonas always seem to be well received. Say it in ceramics with this series of mugs, each toting an ego-boosting message to give a lift to someone special in the morning, even before the caffeine hits.
No flower power
Stem vase
£10 at Next
Part of the veteran interior designer Nina Campbell’s collaboration with Next, this cheery vase would look lovely on a dressing table or shelf; blooms optional.
Striking design
Luxury matches
From a selection of beautiful matchboxes from the homelessness charity Crisis, this deserves to take pride of place on the mantelpiece; also the perfect gift for candle lovers.
Don’t worry, eat happy
Ceramic trinket dish
£4 at Dunelm
I’ve been finding Dunelm increasingly on the money in terms of imaginative homewares at affordable prices, and this jolly dish is no exception.
Floral lounging
Cushion
The maximalist floral pattern of this cotton velvet cushion is tempered by its calming colour palette, and I love the tactile fringing.
On message
Bath mat
£14 at Dunelm
A cheerful bathmat and/or a low-key passive-aggressive hint to a family member or flatmate who’s slow to get started in the mornings.
Shine on, you crazy diner
Metal dessert cup set
A lovely way to indulge a lover of sweet treats, while tapping into the fast-growing silver metals trend.
Know your place
Cherry placemat, set of two
£28 at Damson Madder
If you know a maximalist couple who are happily nesting, why not give them something to make every dinner à deux that bit fancier.
Home comforts
Linocut
I’ve long loved this Somerset-based creative studio’s output, particularly this hand-carved and printed linocut in vibrant red, celebrating the importance of home.
A bit dishy
Asymmetric dish
£14.99 at H&M Home
This gorgeous chrome-like bowl (also available in gold and cream) is a great statement piece for the money. Personally, I would give a pair of them – always a très-chic gesture – one for each side of the sofa, bed, table …
Touch of glass
Mug
I’ve always had a soft spot for pretty pastel shades in the home and love how these hand-pressed milk glass mugs are designed to stack, making them perfect for compact kitchens.
The perfect tea
Tea towel
Part of Domestic Science’s collection of printed textiles and wallpaper, these have a pretty, retro quality – and there’s always room for another tea towel.
Side or die
Side plates
Celebrating food and drink from around Europe, these charming little side plates double as trinket trays, which are great for keeping jewellery.
Colourful candles
Dinner candles, set of 12
Inspired by the colours of a beautiful Devon day, these candles are handmade in Indonesia by a small, fair-trade business, using sustainably sourced stearin wax and coconut oil.
For more, read 42 small, snuggly updates for your home and 12 cosy comforts you loved in October
Kate Jacobs is a writer specialising in design, interiors and gardens. She gets the biggest buzz from finding pieces for her own home at car boot fairs and charity shops, and even things dumped in the street. She is trying to keep on top of a serious Facebook Marketplace habit
