New home bits for single dad

[Ginfilledcats]

Hi,

I know not really style as in clothes style but not sure where to pop this.

I'm looking for inspiration, my lovely brother in law has left his abusive girlfriend finally and has bought himself a lovely little terraced house for him and his son. I'm so proud and happy for them! The house needs some serious work and as a newly single dad money is tight and rightly focused on redecorating and buying necessary furniture.

So as a Christmas and new house present I thought I'd buy him a box of house "stuff" like things women would usually buy to make the house homely that (this very blokey bloke) wouldn't think of, or want to spend money on, but will make his home feel homey and cosy. The ex took all photos, candles, plants trinkets.

So far I have on my list
Pictures of him and his son/family
A print relating to his hobby
A couple of candles
A couple of fake house plants
A cosy throw for sofa

Any other ideas my (postpartum) mind has gone blank! I obviously don't want to fill it with tat or all stuff in my style, but just a few bits and bobs to put on shelves/mantelpiece to help him feel more cosy and like a home that he can add to.

Leaving the ex and their house together, and his step daughters has been so hard on him and he put up with so much pain judicial, emotional and financial abuse before leaving I just want to help make him feel at home in this new place. He's gone from a family of 5 with 4 cats in a 4 bed to just him and his son (50% of the time ) in this small run down terrace that to be fair has great potential and I know it smarts a bit!

Any advice or suggestions welcome!

I think real plants, snake plants are quite masculine looking plants and need little care.

Table lamps?.

A nice dish or bowl for fruit or sweets

Photo frame
Storage basket
Draft excluder
Door stop
Cushions
Clock
Ornaments
Side table
Rug
Table lamp
Mirror
Vase
Door mat
peperomia 'hope' house plant - dead easy to look after
Lantern

Fancy shower gels, shampoo or soaps from Aesop or Molton Brown.
Not decorative but microwave grill from Lakeland or quirky salt & pepper grinders.

nice hand towels and soap for the bathroom.
A large supply of kitchen dish cloths/sponges. Not so much decorative but very practical as just about every single male I've ever known has had the mankiest kitchen dishwashing set up.

Oh thank you guys some fab ideas I hadn't thought of at all - mainly the practical ones haha!

I think getting real but easy to look after plants is a much better idea than fake ones in hind sight!

Table lamps is great idea too - I think lamps are so much cosier than the main light

Thanks! Anything else?

A real plant, something almost impossible to kill like a spider plant. A couple of nice cushions, a sewing kit, tin for making Yorkshire puddings in, a vase with bunch of flowers in, nice hand wash and herbs growing in a pot for kitchen. Some homemade cupcakes might go down well too.

A cat, obviously. Ok, maybe let him do that one!

Most of the good stuff covered there. I often think single men don't have enough soft and comfy stuff - blankets / throws / cushions
Clock
Plants (I have been unable to kill an aloe vera or a Schefflera and owned both for over a decade)
Lamps
Fruit bowl and biscuit tin
Scented candles
Decorative mirror

Nice placemats for the table
Real pot plsnt or Cacti - often they come already in decorative or terracotta pots
Mirror
Cushions
Table lamp
A large multi-aperture photo frame with photos of his family in it
Bowl to put keys and loose change in

I don't think my DH would ever light candles. Would your bil and his son enjoy a remote control colour changing bulb /light or even a lava lamp more?

If he wouldn't buy candles or a cozy throw then I'd not bother, there's a high likelihood won't be lit (or will, he'll forget them and burn the place down) and the throw will end up either unused or worse, used and never washed...

Love the idea of lamps and mirrors, nice tea towels and hand towels and bathmats.

If his son will be there, maybe you could help him choose a special bedspread or room decoration as part of his Christmas present, to give him something to look forward to.

Could maybe put it all in a nice box that could be used as storage? We live in a v cheaply done-up terrace and there is 0 storage space

A couple of candles

I wouldn’t give candles but something to burn wax melts in www.cheshiremelts.com/shop/electric-wax-burners

I’d have a good look on your local selling pages on Facebook, many accessories are for sale and at great prices ( though sometimes sells are very optimistic)

I would just give vouchers, money or skills ie if you can deep clean or paint. It may not be to his taste but pressured to keep stuff due to guilt. If it was me i'd feel like: great, someone else is forcing their preferences on me.

Cushions
Cactus
Rug
Blanket for sofa
Footstool
Filled Photo frame
Wall Mirror
Lamp
Framed print for wall
Nice bedding set
Coat hook
Shoe rack!

All the thinks I brought with me when I moved in with dh to his house !

Pictures of him and his son/family
A print relating to his hobby
A couple of candles
A couple of fake house plants
A cosy throw for sofa

This would likely to just go in the bin if someone bought me it (unless they had somehow picked a particular photo I liked). If he wants something he’ll buy it himself, surely you’d be better giving him a £30 ikea giftcard?

Or take him there & help him pick stuff like white bedding & towels. Nothing that will frighten the horses if he ever meets another woman.

The child’s room will need things too.

Thanks all. I do get your point about giving him the money/vouchers. Perhaps I should do that instead, just thought it would be one less thing for him to think about. His ex took all the family photos/baby photos (even the portrait of the bloody dogs that she left behind for him to take on).

Thanks for your help and suggestions though

Dunelm have some really nice throws in
Depends how much you want to spend!
Definitely some Aesop hand wash
These candles are beautiful https://rojaandco.co.uk

Lovely idea, and really thoughtful.

I would agree with others about real plants. Also some suggestions based on what I've observed to be missing in the homes of single males:
A comfy throw for the sofa
Oven gloves
Bath mat
Nice tea towels

Some decent tea towels. A colander. A peeler. Oven gloves. A universal pan lid. Forget the toiletries.

Tongs. Endlessly useful for turning bacon and sausages, and anything else he will cook quickly. Smallish and with prongs so that they hold whatever he needs to turn. Honestly, they are one of the most used bits in the kitchen drawer.

I second the tongs! Best piece of kitchen kit ever.

@XingMing
Great ideas, my DP when I met him was mystified at the suggestion of tea towels and had one pot and no kitchen bits 🙄
Nice towels, as men tend to think two is sufficient, maybe a nice dinner set?

I get the idea of vouchers, but the thought behind this is so sweet and thoughtful and that is such a big part of a gift. How could any picture of him and his son not be wonderful. I think you should follow your instincts here and you have gotten such wonderful advice.