When you bought your first house, what was something you WANTED (not NEEDED)?

[mwlabel]

My sister is getting married at the end of this month, and they will be buying their first house soon. Just about everything they NEED, they already have - or will be able to get easily. I would like to get them something they would WANT for their house.

Currently, the only idea I have is a customized door mat... but that seems a little... well, lame. So I'm looking to home owners for help.

Thanks guys!

[pabloj671]

patio furniture if they have one...

[thejavaman]

I bought my first house last May & the first thing I wanted to do was to change all the locks to good, high quality ones with keypads. Might be lame too, but they'll prolly thank you later...

[Clint]

How about a nice potted plant.....Indoor or outdoor.

Hope you are well, Alex!

[krulos]

Chiminea!

[mwlabel]

All good ideas that I'm going to look into, thanks guys!
Anything that can be engraved/customized/etc is a big plus too

[JLB]

Currently, the only idea I have is a customized door mat... but that seems a little... well, lame. So I'm looking to home owners for help.

Thanks guys!

Well, its not really that lame. Something customized is always cool. Something that has their name on it and displayed in the front yard, or a nameplate on the door or something. Probably be a big hit, with your sister anyway. Let us know what you choose man.


Edit: Maybe an engraved patio block or something, with their marriage date or date they bought their home as "est xxxx" Prob be pretty cool.

[D Quintero]

nothing says plush more than fur lined his and her bathroom sinks
id go with leopard myself bro.

[Monsterdg]

I think a gift card to Bed, Bath & Beyond; there are a million little things no one would gift, but are mission critical when setting up the home. Same goes for Lowes or maybe even Home Depot.

[mdwest]

They may think they have just about everything they need.. but chances are they do not..

When I first got married I thought I would have a surplus of "stuff".. I had a fully furnished apartment.. my then fiance also had a fully surnished apartment... we thought we would have tons of duplicate "things" etc..

We were wrong.. moving from a couple of little 800 square foot 1 bedroom apartments into a 2100 square foot home meant there was a whole lot more space.. more stuff was needed to cover walls, floors, etc.. more furniture was needed.. etc..

and then we dealt with just wanting to get rid of old "bachelor" grade stuff (pots, pans, knives, furniture, etc..).. and upgrade to "family" grade stuff.... the old half broken, stained bachelor pad couch and recliner wasnt good enough anymore..

It is highly unlikely you can go wrong with anything you would get them..

The biggest problem we dealt with was duplicate "stuff" (ending up with 4 toasters, 3 crock pots, 10 sets of bath towels, etc..).. we didnt have a problem with having too much or anything "wrong"...

All that said.. I agree with most of what has been posted above.. anything personalized is a great idea.. as are things that go on the patio.. porch.. etc..

At the end of the day.. even if they already have whatever you want to give them... they own it individually.. when you give them an item as a wedding present they suddenly own the item "together".. and will likely discard the old item and replace it with your gift....

[mdwest]

I agree with Monster Dog too...

Every time I have bought a new home.. I have spent THOUSANDS of dollars at Lowes and Home Depot within the first 60 days of moving in..

Even when I was already an established home owner prior to buying the new place..

[smokinbodybuilder]

How much you looking to spend? We are waiting on our closing date for the house we just purchased and I could run a list of things we want and need. I like the idea of something personalized. What we're finding now though, and this may be a HUGE dickhead thing to think, but some family is getting us housewarming gifts (of things we dont need) and we keep saying, "this is great, but we really coulda used the cash instead to buy a couch, lawn mower, etc."

As much as we want stuff, we are more concerned about the things we need first. I'd say get them something personalized or a gift card to Home Depot/BB&B/Sears or whatever. Why not do both depending on how much you were looking to spend?

[Admstf]

If you can't find that something special to get them.... Get them something they can show off...it sounds like you are family oriented so if their passion is cooking a nice knife or a set that they would not splurge on for themselves... We bought my brother a knife to start a professional set and it is so much better than the sets we bought in the past and thought we were buying quality because it was the most expensive in the department store...

[jolietilfire]

Where are they moving into? Something like a back up sump pump for a basement if they're in the Midwest..... Maybe a NICE mailbox to replace a old outdated one. http://www.mailboxes.com/products/eagle-rural-mailbox/
Maybe a years service with Truegreen or even a treatment or 2 of Scott's Turfbuilder for the yard.
If a value was assigned in sure I could come up with better suggestions.

[cvm4]

Paintings for the wall (could be subjective), yard art/sculptures, giftcards to Lowe's or HomeDepot, a nice grill, nice patio furniture or a potted plant that'll last for years (if she has can take care of it).