The best practical gifts for NYC apartment-dwellers
Photo: karandaev/iStock
Useful gifts aren't often charming and appealing, but not this lot. Our picks for gift-giving this year will serve a need in a New York City apartment, while eliciting a squee of delight at the same time.
Not all New Yorkers are lucky to have handy and helpful supers who will respond quickly to requests, but even for those who do, Outad's nine-piece toolkit (available for $22.88 on Amazon), which is packed in a compact, easy-to-store case, is a sturdy must-have that can help check off many small items on a to-do list.
A set of glasses is a helpful offering, especially for someone who's moving into a new apartment and needs to stock up on essentials. But a set that's infused with a dash of NYC wit, like these NYC Water Tower Glasses from local favorite Fishs Eddy ($33), is even better.
As utilitarian gifts go, these Striped Geometry Angle Bookends on West End (marked down at $39) are pretty spectacular, sculptural and striking in black-and-white marble.
French presses take up much less room than a coffeemaker, and brew a mean cup of coffee. The Smoked Glass French Press ($80) from Williamsburg household goods purveyor, Beam, is aesthetically pleasing, to boot.
If your giftee is lucky enough to have outdoor space, but not one that's massive enough to outfit with a proper grill, Kikkerland's Portable BBQ Suitcase ($85) will come to the rescue. (Just remember that NYC rules require any grill to be at least 10 feet away from walls and fences, or pretty much anything that can catch fire, and that fire escapes don't count as a terrace.) Plus, this grill stows away easily—great for storage-starved apartments—and can be hauled off to any of the city's designated barbecue spots in various parks.
Not every apartment has a kitchen big enough to accommodate a dishwasher—a true NYC real estate bummer, indeed—but a dish rack as cute and decorative as this can take the sting off. Designer Luca Nichetto's pink silicone version (available for $110 for non-members of the Whitney Museum) captures Midtown Manhattan's skyline, drying off your plates and glasses with whimsy.
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