We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
Moving to a new apartment or house is a scary and exciting time, but it can be made less scary (and more exciting!) with the kindness of friends and strangers. Lots of times, that kindness is sent from afar, emailed, left on a doorstep, or shipped from another state. Whether you’re looking to welcome the new neighbor upstairs, send love to friend who just moved out of town, or congratulate your favorite couple on buying their first home, here are 121 creative ideas for new home gifts they’ll love.
For more content like this follow
You’ll no doubt find the perfect something (or many somethings) on this list. Mix and match to create brilliant gift baskets and combination gifts — a plant with some gardening equipment, measuring spoons with homemade bread, a cooler filled with craft beer and some fresh fruit for a garnish, you get the idea. Want some specific ideas you can buy now? Take a look at our list of products that make great housewarming gifts.
Moving Gifts — Great for Helping New Neighbors!
Gifts for First-Time Homeowners
Gifts for Anyone Living Alone for the First Time
Gifts for Partners Who Just Moved In Together
Gifts for Renters or Small-Space Dwellers
Gifts for Anyone Making a Long-Distance Move
What are your go-to housewarming gifts?
Additional reporting by Megan Baker and Alyssa Longobucco
Today’s Homeowner TV host Danny Lipford and Marc Ingram, production manager for Today’s Homeowner Media and 3 Echoes Content Studio. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
In this week’s Ask Danny, I’m talking with Marc Ingram about building a barndominum.
Marc manages production for the ’Today’s Homeowner’ TV show, radio show and podcast, plus projects for our production company, 3 Echoes Content Studio.
In his off time, he loves hanging with his wife, Mallory and his beautiful daughter Adley Kay… and fishing. He loves the outdoors, which is why he’s now in the process of building a new barndominium-style home on five acres of land he recently purchased.
A barndominium, or barndo, is simply a barn-like structure that is converted into a living space, office space, or anything suitable for residential, business use or both, according to greenbuildingelements.com. They’re built from kits made with prefab steel construction, so you can design the layout to suit your needs and style.
A barndominum-style home offers plenty of storage and can be customized. (Image source GBE)
Why Choose a Barndo-Style Home?
What made you go this route instead of a traditional new home?
Marc: My wife actually suggested it to me. We had this thought of selling our home, and we came across these style homes. It was exactly what we were looking for, the ability to customize it how it fits our family.
And not only that, we could take our time with it. We weren’t bound to a time frame so we could take it at our own pace. We saw this style fit our needs and wants. so did more research.
For centuries, people lived in housebarns to benefit from the warmth horses and livestock provided during winter. (Landscape at the Sambre by Edouard Delvaux, 1826-1828, The Everett Collection)
Barndominum History
During your research, what did you learn?
Marc: Although barndominums surged in popularity around 2016-2017, the style goes back farther than what people think.
The term “barndominum” was coined in the 1980s by a Connecticut real estate developer who was working on a new style of planned community that centered on living near horses.
However, the concept of barndominums has been around for centuries in the form of housebarns. The concept of the housebarn dates back to prehistoric times when it was discovered that the heat from the animals could help warm the living area of humans.
In a housebarn, there was a stable underneath for horses and livestock and living quarters up top.
When we started diving into the history, we thought, “Wow there’s so much more to this than just what’s now called a barndominum, or a shouse (shop-house).”
The way we were looking at it, we didn’t want to go with a traditional. We wanted to get back to the countryside and bring my daughter up that way.
Barndominum homes are popular in the country, so clearing land is the first step in the building process. (benedek, Getty Images Signature)
Getting Started
What’s it like getting your property ready for your barndominum?
Marc: I think the day after we signed for the property, I was there at 5:30 a.m. with the tractor clearing a road. We started with a small access road to the property and everything else was heavily wooded.
We had all these ideas and thoughts on how we a bring the property to life. But once you get out there to clear it, you realize the obstacles. For example, an old logging road apparently ran right through our property, so part of the land was cleared out enough to get a log truck through. So now, I have 55 stumps that need to be removed.
But that’s the beauty of it: I’m taking something from nothing and making it something for my family.
For us, doing the work ourselves helps us manage our expectations and our timeline, and in a few years, we’ll have something my family can be proud of.
A basic barndominum is a rectangular metal shell, but architectural elements can be added to look more like a traditional home. (Image source GBE)
Barndominum Home Style
What kind of style are you gravitating toward?
Marc: We’re looking for a basic steel shell exterior with some architectural design.
The outside of some barndominiums look like a warehouse building or an office, but once you go inside, you realize it’s a lavish home. You think, “Wow, you can have granite and marble inside a barn?!”
We also chose steel because of its high rating for hurricanes. thought about safety. We want to be a step ahead instead of playing catch-up down the road.
Barndominums are sold in prefabricated kits, so you can act as the general contractor when building one. (Courtesy Courtney from Mississippi)
Building Costs
How does it compare in cost to building a traditional home vs. building a barndominum?
Marc: If you go the route of hiring a contractor to take you from start to finish, you’re not bound by prices, but you have a forecast to go off of. The national average is about $80-$200 per square foot.
If you take on the role of the general contractor, based on my research, there are families that have built a 1,500- to 2,000-square-foot home from $40-$75 a square foot.
Once the exterior is built, then you need to decide if you are going to finish the interior yourself or sub a contractor to do the work for you. I plan on completing the interior myself and subbing out projects as needed.
Barndominum homes are unique, so selling them can be tricky. (CHRISsadowski, Getty Images Signature)
What About Resale?
A barndominium is not for everyone. Does it concern you that it’s narrowing the pool of buyers when you have a unique structure?
Marc: It doesn’t concern me because a lot of people who go this route look at the long haul. They’re looking for something that suits their family now and in the future.
For us, we’re in it in the long haul. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there, but we’re happy where we are at.
Marc’s Advice
What’s your advice for someone who wants to build a barndominum?
Don’t rush. Excitement is a true thing, but you’re making decisions that will affect you and your family for the rest of the time you’re at this place.
Research. Research. Research. I suggest visiting Barndominium Life for more information.
Talk to companies that build barndominums and people who live in barndominums. Their first-hand experience in building a barndominium is so valuable.
Further Reading
Ask a Question! (Podcast)
Ask a question and we could answer it on the “Today’s Homeowner Podcast!” We also may use it on our nationally syndicated radio broadcast or on todayshomeowner.com.
When Claire Zinnecker, the lead designer and owner at Claire Zinnecker Design in Austin, Texas, decided to move her entire house, it’s because she didn’t have a choice. She first saw a Facebook listing with an outlined understanding in it that the house itself would need to be moved once bought because developers had purchased the land underneath it. The 1897 single-story home was too perfect to pass up, so Zinnecker bought it for $15,000 and set out on the journey to move her house. Here’s what she wants you to know.
It helps to have land already.
When she moved her home, Zinnecker already owned a piece of land. She had planned to build a yurt on it, but once she saw the house, the yurt plan went out the window. The plot out in the country was perfect for her new building.
“It didn’t have power, septic, well or anything,” Zinnecker says of her land, so she had to get it all set up on the property before moving into the house.
Know your costs ahead of time.
For Zinnecker, the home listing had an estimate for how much it would cost to move the building: $30,000. The listing even recommended a mover, who she vetted with other people that had previously moved homes. But she neglected to figure out the extra costs beforehand.
“I probably would have had a more set idea of a floor plan and gotten bids on a new roof, new electrical, and new plumbing before I even moved it,” she says. If you plan to do this type of move, she advises you do the same “just so you know what you’re getting into before you dive in.”
Her total costs far exceeded the estimate. She paid $15,000 for the house; $34,000 for the move itself (because of an extra porch she wanted to keep); $45,000 for the foundation on the new land; and extra for a new roof and the utilities hookups. You also may need or want to pay for insurance for the structure itself during the move.
Zinnecker’s move took two weeks total. First, the mover came out and looked at the house and the land it was moving to. He mapped out a path from point A to point B, considering roads and power lines.
Then he got down to the nitty-gritty. The mover had to remove the entire roof, as it had five layers already and wouldn’t be feasible to put back on. He looked under the house to see how all the floorboards came together in order to maintain the most structural integrity within the house, and then added more structural bracing inside. He removed the existing foundation. And then, he cut the house in half.
The house halves were put up on I-beams and loaded onto a truck. He had gotten a permit to close the street, so he was able to move the home without traffic and with a police escort, but it did take two days to get to the new location — with an overnight stop along the way. When they arrived the following day, the house was put in the perfect position (directed by Zinnecker) and a foundation was built underneath it. Finally, the house was placed down onto the foundation.
Don’t be afraid of the process.
Zinnecker says that if she had planned it better, she could have saved a lot more money — but she doesn’t want her experience to scare people off.“I hope those numbers won’t deter people because those are the same numbers you’ll have if you’re building new,” she says. “It seems like such a daunting thing, but it’s not. Building a new home is daunting too.”
Jennifer Billock is an award-winning writer, bestselling author, and editor. She is currently dreaming of an around-the-world trip with her Boston terrier.
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission.
You’ve finally found your dream home, so what’s next? Equipping your property with security and smart home additions will make this transition smoother, more efficient, and comfortable. “Buying a home can be one of the most exciting, yet stressful, milestones of your life. Smart home security systems can give you peace of mind — going beyond just protecting your home from break-ins to give you a full picture of what’s happening around your new home,” advises JT Hwang, CTO of Vivint, a smart home service provider. “Smart sensors can alert you of water or carbon monoxide leaks, a smart thermostat can save you money on energy bills, and smoke detectors can not only detect smoke, but increased heat as well, which can be an early sign of a fire.”
Smart lighting features are also a good idea for new homeowners. “Smart lighting control is related to security,” says Jynarra Brinson, lighting programmer at Lumena Design & Programming. “Turning on your lights from your cellphone before you step into your apartment or home is definitely an attractive feature to my clients. No matter how familiar the space is, walking into a well-lit home is something most people prefer.” From doorbell cameras to water sensors, here are five smart home essentials for security and peace of mind.
The ability to answer your door from anywhere and speak to whoever is there is an important feature for homeowners who need to remotely control their front door. If you’re away, you can record and take pictures of people coming and going. Doorbell cameras allow you to monitor package deliveries to help deter any potential porch pirates from your packages while you’re away. They can also send you notifications and recordings to know who stopped by if you miss a visitor.
If you’re looking to get in front of any potential water issues that could occur in your home, a water sensor is essential. The Vivint Water Sensor notifies you on the Vivint panel and on your phone of any potential flooding issues, so you can avoid water damage to your home — meaning those luxurious baths can be had without fear of unknown overflowing. Also, the sensor will notify you if the temperature in the house gets too low, which could potentially cause freezing pipes.
If you’ve ever had that heart racing moment of realizing you just locked yourself out of the house, then you can find peace of mind with a smart lock, which you can open by keypad and with your phone. When there’s a repairman you would like to let in while you’re away, you can remotely unlock the door. Or, if you have a guest staying at your home, you can give them a unique code for their visit that can lock and unlock the smart lock, and then deactivate it once they’ve left. The Kwikset 888 allows you to program up to 30 codes.
Those dreaded electric bills can lessen a bit when you manage your energy usage. The Smart Plug allows you to remotely control lamps by app or Alexa or Google Home voice control, so your space has light when you need it and can be turned off when you don’t. You can also program the plugs to turn on or off based on the time or activity around the home.
Heading out of town for a trip? It’s important to be able to utilize a smart thermostat to save money and energy by remotely adjusting the temperature based on the home’s occupancy. A neat feature of some thermostats is being able to auto adjust the temperature based on time of day and usage patterns.
For many renters, it isn’t the blank walls or the basic carpets, or even the neighbors that can disrupt that feeling of home sweet home. Instead, it’s the lighting. Whether your rental sports flourescent light bars that cast a jarring light, or those much-hated flush mount lights that seem dated and unoriginal, ceiling lights in rental units aren’t exactly envious.
But there’s a rental hack for just about anything. And where there’s a basic, ugly light fixture, there’s a DIY that makes everything better. Here, we’ve collected a few DIY ceiling light covers that are totally cool for renters, since for the most part, they don’t make any permanent changes to the existing light fixture. So don’t fret; keep reading for a few easy and inexpensive landlord-friendly fixes for ugly ceiling-mounted light fixtures.
If you can’t change it, hide it. As long as your ugly lighting isn’t too obtrusive (in that case, we’re so sorry for you), you can use one of these cheap methods to cover it up until you move out into a space of your own. Once you nail this, it’s time to spruce up your rental’s bathroom and wall-to-wall carpet.
In this YouTube tutorial, you’ll learn how to use cheap Dollar Store cutting mats to create a totally glam hanging fixture that’s suspended from your ceiling light. Just a few simple steps (and the most basic craft materials!) and you’re all set with a blingy ceiling light cover.
There’s something that’s both chic and rustic about rattan; it’s a natural fiber, so it lends that rustic vibe, but it’s also very of the moment. That’s why you might want to consider this clever ceiling light cover from Heather at TheHeatheredNest. She shows you how to take a simple rattan basket to create a totally upgraded look in your entryway.
3. Lamp shade lighting cover
Not in love with your ceiling light cover? Give it an upgrade with a lamp shade, like Heather does on her site, TheFeatheredNest. The great thing about this hack is that you can create a customized look for your space given the vast number of lampshades available at home decor stores. Just look for one that’s straight up and down rather than tapered for a clean, modern look.
Using only a hanging plant basket and a spool of sisal rope, Maegan at love…Maegan created a beautiful ceiling light cover that works perfectly in her beachy bedroom. Find instructions for this simple project on her site.
How can you create a boho or Scandi aesthetic when your apartment has those ugly gold and glass flush-mount ceiling lights? Answer: By covering them with this ingenious macrame-inspired ceiling light cover from love…Maegan, of course! Using little more than a skein of yarn and wooden craft beads, she’s created the perfect ceiling light cover for a boho style. Get the how-to on her site.
We’re guessing you didn’t realize just how glam a flush-mount ceiling light could be. But when you add a ring of black feathers to it, like love…Maegan did in this room, we promise you’ll be a total believer.
Taryn is a writer, editor, content strategist, and homebody from Atlanta. I might have helped you declutter your apartment through the magic of a well-paced email newsletter. Or maybe you know me from The Pickle Factory Loft on Instagram.
