Housewarming Gifts for a First Flat That Still Looks Empty

A new flat has too many walls and not enough of anything else. The gifts people bring tend to be plants, candles and kitchen things, and by week three there are four of each.

Walls are the thing nobody fixes, and they are the thing that makes a place stop feeling temporary.

Start with one piece, not a set

Somebody moving in has no idea yet where the light falls or which wall they will end up looking at most. One good piece at 22 to 35 euro is a better gift than a matching set that dictates a whole room.

If you want them to build from it later, my gallery wall guide shows how to grow a wall from one starting piece without it looking accidental.

For the flat that is going to be colourful

Inside the Candy Decay Apartment is literally a painting of a crowded, plant-filled, over-decorated room. Giving it to someone with an empty flat is either encouragement or a threat, depending on how well you know them.

For the kitchen wall

Pancakes and Bees and Avocado Hands are the food pieces. Kitchens are usually the last room people decorate and the room they spend the most time standing in.

For a shared flat

Something in the hallway or the kitchen belongs to everybody. Weird Pigeon is the least likely to start an argument between flatmates.

What not to buy

Anything large, anything that needs assembling, and anything that needs storage. They have no storage. That is the whole condition of a first flat.

If you are unsure of their taste, a printable download at 9,90 euro lets them choose the size and frame themselves, which also means they can print it once they know which wall.

The full range of pastel goth and sweet horror wall art is worth a look if their taste runs darker than the average housewarming plant.