To improve someone’s home is to improve someone’s life. But don’t let that intimidate you. The inverse doesn’t hold. You won’t ruin anyone’s life with a popcorn maker. But a cool home gift can actually affect someone’s life. When done right, it can serve as a kind of silent bond between gift giver and gift receiver. Like you’re living in each other’s homes… without living in each other’s homes.
Photo via JURA
For the Person Who Treats Coffee Like an Art Form
[PARTNER] Some gifts keep on giving, long after the holiday season. The JURA Z10 is one of them. It’s a fully automatic coffee machine that makes hot espresso, real cold brew, and sweet foam lattes. All with just a tap of the finger. Beautifully designed, easy to use, and built to make 40 different specialty drinks, we wouldn’t blame you for gifting this one to yourself this year.
Photo via Mooni
Art*
*Caveat: Buying art for someone requires a trust of taste. If you don’t have that, don’t buy them art. Just keep scrolling to the next one. But if you trust yourself enough to translate their taste into an original piece of art, it can be a fun and unforgettable gift to give. We’ve been loving places like Mooni. Based in CDMX, they carry a bunch of small artists and have some originals available on their site.
Photo via Anthropologie
Put Their Feet Up
We got one of these for our place earlier this year, and it’s our most-used piece of furniture. The thing follows us around like a puppy. A chair we never liked sitting in? All the sudden, our favorite spot with this ottoman. A sofa we’ve loved for years? Made even better with this ottoman. We even sit on it if we’re snacking coffee-table-side. This little ottoman has changed our little world. Assuming it’ll do the same for others.
Photo via Schoolhouse
Soft Light Them
Soft lighting is a gift, we don’t care who you are. Tiny lamps look good everywhere, and Schoolhouse makes this petite little thing in a wine and moss color scheme that both stands out and blends in. Wild. Every time they turn it on, they’ll think of you.
Photo via Lanny Fuller
Let It Slip
Wearing a pair as we write this. Once you live with Krygies, you can’t live without them. The warmth of the wool. The ritual of putting them on at the door. The comfort of wearing shoes indoors without wearing shoes indoors. What’s not to like? These are hand made in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, a mountainous region of peaks and fertile valleys. Kyrgies embody the ancient, essential connection between the sheep that roam the hillsides and the Kyrgyz people that raise them for their wool.
Photo via Juniper
Book Smart
Juniper Books released a bunch of classic novel sets wrapped in original artwork designed and printed in their Boulder studio. J.D. Salinger, Jane Austen, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Baldwin, Morrison, Didion, et al. If there’s a book lover on your list, there’s a book set they’ll love in Juniper’s collection. Trust us.
Photo via Quiet Town
Something Fluffy
Quiet Town brings just the right amount of funk into the bathroom. Their designs are not something you see anywhere else. But they’re also not over the top. And their ultimate towel bundle lets you pick four different ones. A perfect stack for a gift set.
Photo via MoMA Design Store
Just a Jar
People love little jars. This glossy number from the MoMA Design Store is a great gift on its own. But our advice? Fill it with their favorite candy or snack before you give it to them. Makes it feel more intentional and not… just a jar.
Photo via Lost & Found
A Little Vase
Sometimes a small weird vase is the perfect way to say, “I was thinking about you this year.” It’s polite in size, doesn’t take up too much room, but it’s big in attitude. At least these designs from Studio Arhoj are. Inspired by popular Japanese flowers, each piece is hand-cast and hand-glazed, one-of-one.
Photo via All American Maker
The Second Best Part of Waking Up
The best part of waking up? The coffee. The second best part? The smell. Light this candle in any kitchen and tell us we’re wrong. Inspired by coffee brewed over an open flame, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who wouldn’t enjoy this scent.
