A housewarming wishlist for a new build

A new build hands you the keys to an empty box. White walls, one bare bulb per room, no curtains, and a kitchen with cupboards and nothing in them. Friends who ask what you need are getting a real answer this time, and a wishlist keeps that answer from being "a vase" six times over.

What a new build is missing on day one

Curtains, first. New builds come with windows and nothing on them, and the first night with the neighbours' lights shining in settles the question. Measure every window before you write the list and put the width and drop on each line; a curtain gift in the wrong size is a return trip. Blackout curtains for the bedroom, plain linen or cotton elsewhere, and a rail for each window, because those are not included either.

Then the kitchen. A kettle, a toaster, one good frying pan (a 28 cm de Buyer if the budget allows, a Tefal if it does not), a set of glass storage jars for the pantry and a bin that fits the cupboard. Lighting comes right after: a floor lamp and two table lamps change a room more than any cushion. Add a basic toolkit with a drill; you will be hanging things for a year.

Getting something on the walls

Once the basics are in, the list can turn to the things that make the place look lived in. A large mirror for the hallway, two or three framed prints for the living room, floating shelves for the books and objects you already own. Ask for one big piece per wall. Five small frames spread across a wall look like a waiting room; one 70 by 100 print does the job.

Textiles do a second job in a new build. Plaster, tiles and laminate make a house echo for the first months, and a wool rug, a set of heavy curtains and a couple of throws are what fix it. A rug is also a good gift for a group of colleagues to contribute to together. Three hundred split five ways is a rug nobody would have bought alone.

Write the list room by room

Walking through the house room by room keeps you from forgetting the bathroom, and it gives the people buying a clearer picture. In the kitchen, list the things you would otherwise keep putting off: a proper end-grain cutting board, a Le Creuset casserole, the stand mixer that has been on the maybe list for two years. In the bedroom, bedding that is better than the set you moved with, plus the blackout curtains from the first section.

In the living room, think about what you do there. Board games for the friends who come over, a Sonos speaker, a stack of large books for the table. For a garden or balcony, two chairs and a small table, a set of planters and a string of outdoor lights. Outdoor furniture is where a group gift makes sense; a decent set is expensive.

Leave the sofa and the dining table off. Big furniture gets picked in person, and you do not know yet where the light falls in the afternoon.

Prices, and the season you move in

Spread the list from small, cheap things to a few expensive ones. The colleague who comes for the drinks picks the tea towels; your parents take the rug. A winter move points to lamps, rugs and throws; a summer move to the balcony chairs and a barbecue. Either way, put the practical things at the top. The people who buy early are the ones who buy the kettle.

Hold the party a month after the move

A housewarming in the first week means guests stepping over boxes and gifts for a house you do not understand yet. Six weeks in, you know which cupboard is short of storage and that the hallway needs a lamp. The gifts that get used every day are the ones bought for a house someone has lived in.

Once you have a feel for the place, create a wishlist, paste the product links so the sizes and prices are right, and have the link ready for the guests who ask what to bring.