Two tips for buying a housewarming gift for a friend who has just purchased their first home

If your friend has just purchased their first home and you need to buy a gift for their upcoming housewarming party, read this article for advice.

Consider buying them a few designer homewares

Whilst your friend will undoubtedly be grateful for any gift you give them, it might be better to steer clear of the stereotypical housewarming gifts (such as a houseplant or a nice bottle of wine) and to instead pick up a few designer homeware items for them.

The reason for this is that most people have to scrape and save to buy their first home and any money they have after making this purchase usually has to be put toward renovating their property. Because of this, they often have to buy secondhand or cheap homewares, which may give their lovely new home a jumbled, scruffy appearance.

By buying your friend a few designer homeware pieces that are thoughtfully designed and beautiful to look at, you can help them to start making their first home as gorgeous as possible, at a time when they may not be able to afford to do this themselves. If you don't know what style of designer homeware your friend would prefer and are worried about splurging on an item that might not be compatible with this person's personal tastes, you can always buy a voucher for a high-end designer homeware store and let them pick out the specific items they want.

Pop around before the housewarming party to find out what your friend already owns

If your friend is free in the days leading up to their housewarming party, you might want to pop round to their home, under the guise of having a quick coffee and a catch-up, and do a little bit of friendly sleuthing to find out which homeware items they already own, love and do not want to replace. Doing this will ensure that you do not end up buying them homewares (or giving them a voucher for a particular homeware shop that sells) goods that they already have.

Asking them for a brief tour of their home and listening to them talk about the decorative changes they plan to make to it will also help you to pick out items that are an appropriate size for their property and which would look good in their home after they have decorated it.

Look for designer homewares in a shop near you.