Gifts from the Heart for the Home

As we get closer and closer to December 25th there are likely a few people lingering on your list that are proving to be difficult to shop for. Sometimes it is because they have a unique style, particular interests, or perhaps they already seem to have everything. Whatever the reason, don’t stress, there are many gifts for the home for each personality on your shopping list. Perhaps they've even purchased a new home and need some items to spruce it up! We’ve compiled a few unique gifts for those unique people in your life:

The green thumb

Sputnik-5 via ignant.de

In the midst of the winter months, it can be difficult to shop for those horticulturally inclined. Fortunately, there are a number of plant-related products that are perfect for any green thumb’s home. Get inspired by design studio Plan-S23’s coffee table, the Sputnik-5, modeled after the Soviet satellite that first took living objects into space. This little coffee table features a marble top and a small space for plants or herbs to grow in the centre. In a similar vein, Terrain also offers a beautiful glass-topped side table that doubles as a spacious terrarium for indoor plants.

Terrarium via crownflorastudio.com

If these terrarium-table hybrids are out of your price range, consider giving a smaller terrarium from Toronto’s own Crown Flora Studio. This Queen Street West studio has a variety of beautiful “terrarium worlds” for sale in several unique containers including glass orbs and dinosaurs, and are ideal for adding life to any side table, bookshelf, or countertop. Those looking to unleash their creative side while spending time with friends or family can also purchase a spot in one of Crown Flora’s Terrarium Workshops. Crown Flora will provide all the materials as well as the basic knowledge necessary to build one of these miniature ecosystems for your home.

The chef

Crowned Leaf Bakeware via anthropologie.com

There are a ton of great places to find beautiful dishware in Toronto, including Anthropologie which is currently offering some truly whimsical cookware to complement any avid cook’s kitchen. Both the Crowned Leaf Bakeware or Bibelot Bakeware sets would make great gifts for any aspiring baker. For more minimalist kitchens, be sure to pay a visit to Muji, a retail store from Tokyo that recently opened its first Canadian location in Toronto. Muji is great for environmentally conscious cooks as the company places emphasis on recycling, avoiding the creation of waste during production, and embraces a no-logo philosophy. The Toronto location offers a selection of Muji’s classic minimalist home essentials for the everyday kitchen.

Crock Pot WeMo Enabled Smart Slow via crock-pot.ca

This year also saw a number of new kitchen appliances that integrate the latest smart technology. The Crock Pot WeMo Enabled Smart Slow Cooker is perfect for rushed chefs looking to create great meals on a tight schedule. The Crock Pot WeMo works with your smart device so you can adjust cooking settings from any location.

iDevices Kitchen Thermometer via idevicesinc.com

The iDevices Kitchen Thermometer is also a great time-saving smart tech device. This thermometer contains a probe which monitors the temperature of your food while its cooking and sends information back to you via an iOs app. Careful cooks can entertain and enjoy company without the hassle of constantly running back to the kitchen to read the thermometer. The device even comes with a second probe so you can monitor two locations in the same item or two different items at once!

The avid traveler

Rifle Paper Map via indigoimages.ca

Help footloose friends decorate with reminders of past trips or future travels with Rifle Paper Co.’s map collection. The travel collection includes beautiful maps of Tokyo, Paris, London, Istanbul, Amsterdam, or Rome, and prints are now available at Indigo. Those interested in home design and architecture will also appreciate this San Francisco Architecture Letterpress Print, featuring twelve of San Francisco’s classic architecture home styles.

San Francisco Architecture Letterpress Print via thebolditalic.com

Quirky has a few great smart tech items for the home including Tripper, a set of smart sensors that lets you keep track of doors and windows in your home from any wifi enabled device. Install it on doors and windows before traveling so that you’re the first to know if someone is entering the house. Friends traveling on a budget may also appreciate Quirky’s Prokfolio, a smart piggy bank that wirelessly connects to an app on your smartphone so you can keep track of your savings. The app helps set savings goals so your globetrotting friend can begin planning the next adventure.

For the bookworm

Growing Cabinet via yiconglu.com

It can be daunting to find a book for the bookworm on your list who seems to have read everything. However, there are a number of gifts to complement the avid reader’s home and  accommodate their prized book collection. The Growing Cabinet is a bookcase that can shift to grow along with any reader’s book collection. By pulling out the shelves, the “living” bookcase evolves, creating more storage space for books and other miscellaneous items. For those who already have a wall of bookshelves, consider a set of bookends, such as Pottery Barn’s Arrow Bookends, to adorn an established book collection.

Moon Lamp via ignant.de

Nosinger’s LED Moon Lamp is ideal for the person on your shopping list who likes to sneak in a few more pages under the covers. Inspired by the ‘Supermoon’ that appeared over Japan in 2011, Nosinger used data collected by the Japanese lunar orbiter Kaguya to make the Moon lamp 100% topographically correct. This little lamp is the perfect gift for the bookworm who might still be reading late into the early hours of the morning.

Regardless of who you’re shopping for this season, a gift from the heart for the home is a great way to show someone you’re thinking of them this holiday season.