Gifts for the homebody
she rsvp’ed “yes” last week but magically got sick an hour before
mood:
Damson Madder tea towels & oven gloves
As if Damson Madder didn’t already have me hooked with their playful pattern mixing & oversized big collars that give pilgrim but in a CPH fashion week kind of way, now they’re bringing us fun & fab kitchen & home accessories. Loving this tea towel set with frilly edges & their oven gloves specifically in the leopard & baby pink print-I mean really, oven mitts could never.
Allow me to take you back to 2021 home decor trends-everything was checkerboard & candles looked like everything but candles. There were blob candles, squiggle candles, tie dyed candles, & candles that looked & smelled like bowls of cereal. I fell head first into the trend & though, for the most part I feel like it’s very “been there, done that” I do think there’s a couple exceptions that are so beautifully designed and niche that they still warrant a place on our shelves. Gohar World is one of my fave home decor/lifestyle brands for gifting. Their pieces have an enchanting, old world charm aesthetic. I love this eerily realistic biscuit tin containing candle “biscuits” and a tin that would make a trés chic way to store/hide your collected bits & bobs. Another notable faux food candle that I’ve been back & forth about buying is this delicious looking baguette.
One of my “must stops” while I was in Paris last month was the concept store at the Ritz. They have a collection of little boutiques that resemble jewel boxes lining a grand hallway & Bacha, a Moroccan coffee company, was calling my name with its glistening gilded gold interior and colorful pour over coffee boxes stacked in endless rows. Gifting a box of Bacha requires no wrapping-believe me, the packaging alone is luxurious & counter worthy. I recommend two of their most popular blends, 1910 which has notes of strawberries & cream & Milano Morning, which has notes of bitter chocolate & sweet brioche.
Everyone’s fave shop for all things dinner party related just introduced their “glitter”, a crunchy, toasty, “put it on everything” seasoning mix with pistachios, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, fennel, coriander, & salt.
Hidden in plain sight on the second floor of a building on Mercer is BOMI, a thoughtfully curated store for beautifully designed homeware, accessories, beauty & more. Here you’ll find hand stitched silk scrunchies from Amsterdam & Japanese organza cord covers to decorate even the most unsightly of wires. A few of my personal wants needs are the canteen style stainless steel mug & saucers which come with a tiny spoon! I clocked that my forever style icon, Emili Sindlev, had one of these mugs in her fittingly stylish office so I now need one too, of course. Also take a look at the Apartamento Atelier September cookbook by CPH chef Frederik Bille Brahe. The book features some iconic recipes from the popular CPH cafe and convincingly delicious looking images that will make even the most unlikely of cooks, aka me, dabble with stepping foot in the scary kitchen.
One of the “it” gifts of last year was undoubtedly the Gohar World bird/fish lemon squeezer that comes with it’s own very chic little colored suede pouch. This year, Gohar is adding to the family by introducing a lemon squeezer swan!
An obvious, & very popular choice for a stovetop espresso maker, which has taken gift guides by steam storm this year would have been the Bialetti Dolce & Gabbana espresso maker which I do find to be very, very chic however I also wanted to give another option. I love this Gemini espresso maker because it pairs utilitarian stainless steel with a pop of color like cherry red & Bottega green & it also comes with two cups & saucers.
Justifying spending $65 on a bar of pink Loewe soap that will inevitably break my heart when I actually decide to use it is hard. Almost impossible. And that my dear readers is what makes it the perfect gift! The best gifts are ones that the recipient typically wouldn’t be able to justify buying for themselves. Pink, designer soap, will bring delight to most any luxury loving homebody. If you want to be extra, extra, pair it with this marble soap dish from Crate and Barrel.
Comme Si socks
Giving the gift of socks gets a bad rap but is there anything worse than the feeling of cold feet? Okay, maybe wet sleeves but I digress. I’m here to de-vilify socks as gifts as long as we're talking chic crew socks that come in a rainbow of shades made in Italy from soft Australian merino wool like these ones from Comme Si.
Bows took the world by storm last year & while I did find it to be just a tad overkill, they’ll always find a place in my space or in this case, on my slippers, during the holiday season. I’m living for these in burgundy!
Matilda Goad & Co brass match box sleeve
For the girl who collects matchboxes from every restaurant she’s ever been to but refuses to use them because they’re “for the vibe,” this engravable match box sleeve will house the peasant matches you’re actually allowed to use.
Astier de Villatte incense & Anthro incense holder
Candles are basic, incense is where it’s at. I’m not talking about the hippy dippy incense that gives you a headache. Astier de Villatte incense scents are crafted by expert perfumers & each stick is made in Japan. Also, tell me this packaging isn’t absolutely stunning?! For a complete gift, pair a box of incense with an incense holder. Astier de Villatte sells a chic handmade holder that resembles a woman’s head but it’s $150 so instead, I’d check out this one from Anthropologie which looks very similar but has an added golden rim & is only $20.
Room Service by Michael McGregor
A coffee table book fit for the kind of girl who’d rather lounge around her suite in a plush hotel robe & order from room service rather than go out for dinner. She is me. I am her. Michael McGregor’s book has a collection of snapshot drawings on hotel stationary from around the world.
One of the biggest comebacks of 2024 has been Gap. They’ve totally reinvented themselves and let me tell you, the quality & design is there. I am currently writing this while lounging on my couch in one of their CashSoft sets. I’ve been really, really trying to only add pieces into my wardrobe that are made from natural materials or at least blends of them but I felt the CashSoft collection & it was game over. Whatever magic they put into this blend of who knows what is too soft, too plush, & too cozy to resist.