18 Holiday Gift Ideas for the Design-Obsessed

Every design lover shares a certain instinct. The reflex to run a hand along a smooth edge, to study how light breaks across a material, to know immediately when something has been made with care. They’re not chasing novelty; they’re curating permanence. This guide is for them. For the friend who keeps a Bauhaus monograph by the bed. For the couple who debate joinery over dinner. For anyone who believes a doorstop, if well-made, can say as much about a person as their sofa.

The design world in 2025 has turned tactile again. Makers are reasserting the handmade in an age of frictionless everything: travertine carved with imperfection intact, handblown glass with an audible breath inside, metals that oxidize instead of age. The pendulum has swung away from mass polish and toward honesty—objects that expose the craft behind them.

These thoughtful gift ideas were chosen for how they endure. They’re quieter than the market, smarter than the algorithm, and meant to be lived with, not just art pieces to be looked at. Whether the recipient lives in a cabin or a penthouse, whether their taste skews Shaker, Brutalist or just plain obsessive, these are the pieces that remind them: great design isn’t decoration. It’s how you live with things that last.

Check out all of Observer’s luxury gift guides for the best holiday present ideas for every person out there. 

Bocci 118p

Bocci’s 118p fixture is what happens when lighting stops pretending to be background. Unveiled during Paris Art Week 2025, it mounts a single blown-glass sphere flush to the wall or ceiling sans hardware (or ego), creating a soft, architectural glow. Each piece is hand-shaped in Bocci’s Vancouver studio, with subtle tint variations that make clear glass crisp and colored glass in grey, bronze and green even more intriguing.

$1,000, BUY NOW

Bang & Olufsen Beosound 2 Home Speaker

A sculptural monolith in gold-tone aluminum, the Beosound 2 spins 360-degree sound like it’s staging a live set in your living room. The interface physically orients toward you as you move—yes, really—while Google Assistant keeps hands free for drink-pouring or mood lighting. It’s the rare chic speaker that earns a spot in the foreground, not hidden on a shelf.

$4,000, buy now

The Inn Crowd: Artistic Getaways and the Modern Innkeepers Who Crafted Them

For anyone who treats boutique hotel stays like creative fieldwork, this lushly illustrated book is a hit of East Coast escapism. Written by travel editor Jackie Caradonio, it profiles over 20 independently owned inns across the Northeast, from The George in Montclair, New Jersey, to Frank Muytjens’s idyllic Inn at Kenmore Hall in the Berkshires and Glenmere Mansion in New York. The design is impeccable, the photography immersive and the narrative intimate.

$48.72, BUY NOW

Eames Molded Plywood Lounge Chair with Wood Base Ochre

First unveiled in 1946 at MoMA’s “New Furniture” show, this molded plywood design was revolutionary—and still holds its own in a gallery or guest room. The shock-mounted seat flexes gently under weight, a subtle nod to the Eameses’ obsession with human-centered design. The ochre finish, pulled from the original Eames color archive, adds a hit of mid-century optimism without veering into kitsch. 

$1,195, buy now

Jacques Marie Mage + Yellowstone Vi Artemis Lighter Case

Known for limited-edition eyewear that sells out in hours, Jacques Marie Mage brings the same obsessive craft to this sculptural lighter case. One of just 25 made, the Artemis is cast in burnished silver and hand-engraved with Yellowstone motifs, a tribute to American mythology via Italian metalwork. It’s heavy in the hand, made to age and sized to slip into a tuxedo pocket or denim back pocket. 

$1,250, buy now

Seven Ball Cutlery Set

Inspired by Josef Hoffmann’s iconic Seven Ball Chair, this flatware set is forged in stainless steel with brass and silver detailing, the geometry studied and purposeful. The silhouette walks the line between brutalist and delicate, balancing in the hand like a drawing tool. Designed for people who know their dinner plate is a home decor stage and won’t settle for flatware with sloppy edges or a flimsy hand-feel. 

$595, Buy now

Le Maé Knox Travertine Pedestal, Small

The Knox pedestal proves that a plinth is never just a plinth. Carved from raw-edged travertine, it’s compact enough to live on a console table, yet substantial enough to elevate even the humblest object—a pillar candle holder, a studio ceramic, or a chunk of coral from a trip. This is the design gift for your loved one who arranges their nightstand like a still life and sees surfaces as curatorial space.

$135, buy now

Kelly Wearstler Pacific Surfboard

If Malibu ever needed an altar piece, this would be it. Interior designer Kelly Wearstler’s Pacific surfboard is a full-size wooden board that reads more like a design object than sporting gear. The proportions are pure California—long, lean, with no unnecessary flair—and the wood finish brings the warmth of a Danish dining table. It stands over seven feet tall and leans beautifully in a corner, functioning more like a statement sculpture than wall decor. 

$13,500, buy now

Roman and Williams Guild Woodrum Desk Lamp

The Woodrum Desk Lamp is a heavy-lidded, materially rich fixture made from warm-toned wood and burnished metal, with proportions that feel quietly confident. The table lamp casts directional, low-glare light that flatters everything from paperwork to skin tone. A great gift for writers, designers or anyone whose workspace doubles as their thinking place.

$4,000, Buy Now

Lobmeyr Glass Candy Dish Collection, Gold

Austrian glassmaker Lobmeyr has been producing crystalline vessels since 1823, and their candy dishes feel like something pulled from a Wes Anderson film set. Whether you go for the bonbon-sized version or the taller lidded form, each one is hand-cut and adorned with gold detailing.

$430 to $2,035, buy now

Michael Verheyden Calleporte Doorstopper, Grey

Leave it to Belgian designer Michael Verheyden to turn a mundane household fix into a meditation on form. The Calleporte doorstopper is a dense graphite-grey cylinder with enough weight (over seven pounds) to pin open the heaviest door—and enough presence to feel like part of the room, not an afterthought. 

$615, BUY NOW

Artek Aalto Marimekko Stacking Stool 60

Two Finnish legends—Artek and Marimekko—collide in this limited-edition reissue of Alvar Aalto’s iconic 1943 Stool 60. The classic three-legged birch design is dressed in Marimekko’s archival Lokki print using marquetry, where the motif is cut into the veneer grain itself for a subtle, shimmering effect. Lightweight but rock-solid, a work of art that can serve as seating, a side table, or a sculptural accent that nods to Nordic design history.

$525, buy now

Rabitti 1969 Jota Leather Basket

This is what happens when Milanese leatherwork meets storage design. Rabitti’s Jota basket is crafted from thick, saddle-stitched vegetable-tanned leather with exposed seams and generous proportions—built to soften, scuff and darken like an old travel bag. The shape is utilitarian, but the finish is gallery-ready. Use it for throws, magazines, or a week’s worth of guest linens. It’s the kind of basket you buy once and keep for decades. 

$3,970, buy now

L’atelier Du Vin Le Plateau Wine Tool And Tray Set

A perfect gift for the design-savvy oenophile who treats decanting like a sacred ritual. Le Plateau is equal parts barware and sculpture: minimalist cherry wood base, lacquered drawers and chrome tools. Inside, everything from pourers to coasters nestles in its place, the set functioning like a sommelier’s kit disguised as furniture. 

$1,000, buy now

Smythson Panama Leather And Wood Chess Set

Smythson’s take on the classic chessboard pairs English restraint with modern geometry. Wrapped in its signature high-quality cross-grain Panama leather, the case folds open to reveal hand-turned walnut and maple pieces, each weighted to land with a satisfying finality. Closed, it’s the sort of sleek briefcase that might pass for a bespoke document holder; open, it becomes a focal point of the room.

$4,395, buy now

The Conran Shop Puglia Stoneware Jug

Thrown by a family workshop in Puglia and finished with a four-ring handle, this stoneware jug pours water at dinner and holds wildflowers the morning after. The lines are simple, the clay feels honest and the white glaze plays with any tabletop. It’s the sort of piece that migrates around the house and never looks out of place, from kitchen to bedside. 

$165, buy now

Loewe Perfumes Orange Blossom Small Scented Candle, 170 G

For the candle snob who’s over sandalwood. Bright orange blossom with honeyed, earthy undertones burns clean in a terracotta-style vessel the color of a mandarin. At roughly 30 hours, it’s a week of winter evenings or one excellent dinner party. Handmade in Spain and presented in a stylish box, it’s the fastest way to give any room a subtle yet effective backbone.

$130, buy now

Design: The Leading Hotels of the World

A 292-page passport through the world’s most design-forward hotels, this Monacelli tome edited by Spencer Bailey is pure escapism for anyone fluent in lobby lighting. The coffee table book profiles interiors where architecture, art and hospitality intersect—from Japanese ryokans to Milanese palazzi—captured in new photography and deeply annotated essays. 

$74.95, buy now