New home gift ideas
What do you give to say “Happy new home!” to someone who is knee-deep in packing boxes? Getting a housewarming bottle is the easiest option, but maybe not the longest lasting, or the most imaginative (although we like a drop of fizz as much as the next person). Ideally we’re looking for something practical, stylish and a little bit different, something that lasts and helps make their new house feel like a home.
Have a look at our collection of new home gifts →
Or read on for some of the things The Scandinavian Shop team reaches for when we’re celebrating someone’s big new house adventure:
A vase makes a great new home present
It sounds almost too simple, but a really lovely vase is the perfect new home gift. New houses are often a bit bare at first, and a good vase — with or without flowers in it — is the quickest way to make a room feel lived in. And it’s pretty straightforward to find one that fits their tastes.
- Sleek and architectural? Lyngby Porcelain, or an Iittala Aalto vase.
- Bold and quirky? Bjørn Wiinblad.
- Classic? Kähler.
- Small but beautifully formed? Lindform.
- Colourful? Kosta Boda.
- Fashionable? Broste Copenhagen.
Lyngby Tura Vase White Porcelain 18cm
Broste Copenhagen Liva Mouthblown Glass Vase Brown Tortoiseshell Large
Kosta Boda Meadow Vase Spring 19.5cm
See our favourite vases for inspiration →
Something for the kitchen
The kitchen is the heart of a home (it's a cliché for a reason), so it's fertile ground for gifting. Eva Solo kitchenware is beautifully designed, extremely useful, and something that makes a daily task feel a fraction nicer. Other good kitchen brands worth a look at include Zone Denmark (good gadgets), Rosti (mixing bowls, kitchen scales and chopping boards), and Dreamfarm’s superlative supoons (silicon spoons worth their weight in gold). Iris Hantverk hand-made Swedish brushes make unusual but very welcome presents. And Broste Copenhagen oak chopping boards and Nordic Sea tableware make great gifts, too – practical and good looking, they can be mixed and matched, or added to over the years.
Broste Copenhagen Nordic Sea tableware
Broste Copenhagen Olina oak chopping board
Iris Hantverk Tall Dustpan & Brush Set Granite Grey
See our full kitchen & dining collection →
Read about our favourite kitchen gadgets (the ones we use ourselves) →
Make it smell like home
Fragrance is the fastest route to making a space feel settled and yours. Skandinavisk's scents are built around Nordic moods and natural places — forests (Skog), coastlines (Hav or Oy), spring orchards (Fjord) and a cosy home (Hygge or Stuga). A reed diffuser or a scented candle makes a lovely new home gift precisely because they help a new, slightly echoey house feel warm and inhabited. There are matching handwash and hand creams, too – perfect for after all that unpacking and DIY.
The big present
If you want to give something with a bit more sense of occasion to it — a significant first home, say, or a couple you're close to — there are plenty of Scandinavian design classics which really stand up to the occasion. A piece of Kosta Boda art glass, a sculptural Iittala bird, a statement vase that anchors a whole room: all have substantial presence with a name and a story behind it, and are gifts that are treasured.
Things to have a look at:
- Kosta Boda art glass
- Iittala Birds by Toikka
- Large statement vases (especially Broste Copenhagen / Lyngby Porcelain / Kosta Boda / Iittala)
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Kähler figures
Kosta Boda House 13.8cm
Or if you like the idea of something that is very sleek and elegant but also practical, have a look at Stelton. The Arne Jacobsen-designed Cylinda Line range includes a tea pot and coffee press, champange cooler and even a salt mill - all classic, stylish, and very appropriate for a new home. Or the elegant Brus carbonator would make an unusual but very usable gift - and is good enough to be left out on the kitchen work surface.
Stelton Arne Jacobsen Cylinda-Line
Stelton Brus Carbonator in black (also available in stainless steel)
Alternatively, you could go down a very different route, and go for a something techy. We’ve bluetooth speakers from Danish brand Kreafunk which both look and sound great. The larger versions are great for filling a room so would make a much appreciated housewarming gift – and the smaller pocket-sized versions are hugely popular gifts for all sorts of other occasions, too. We also have some great LED lamps from Eva Solo and Rosendahl which work well in modern interiors and are practical and portable. But if you can’t decide between a speaker and a lamp, then Kooduu lamp speakers do both in one stylish multi-tasking package.
Kreafunk Karl Bluetooth Speaker Black
Smaller budget, still special
A thoughtful or quirky housewarming present doesn't need to break the bank.
Spira of Sweden does cheerful and fun home accessories illustrated with characters. Have a look for cushion covers, trays and coasters that you can pretty much guarantee that no one else will have bought for them. Keeping with the illustration theme, Arabia Finland Moomin mugs are colourful and collectible, with drawings of the characters from the books, and are bound to make them smile when they're having a tea break from unpacking boxes.
Spira of Sweden face cushion cover Kerstin
For something a little more serious, a pair of Iittala Kastehelmi glasses, a small Lindform vase or a glass votive (try a Kosta Boda snowball, or one from Orrefors) or Lyngby Porcelain candleholder will tick all the boxes.
Iittala Kastehelmi glasses, set of 2, clear
Lyngby Porcelain Candle Holder White 11cm
We can wrap and send it, if you like
If you're not delivering it in person, we can gift wrap it and send it straight to their new address — handy if they’re not just round the corner. And UK delivery is free over £60, so it saves you having to queue in the post office. Not sure what they'd love? A gift voucher lets them pick something for the new place themselves.
Go to our collection of new home gifts →
You might also like to see our wedding & engagement gift guide →
