Gifts for Home

A throw, because it works in any room, gets used rather than displayed, and needs no decisions about the recipient's taste in furniture. Cushions are the next safest. Anything wall mounted is the riskiest, since it commits to a spot in their house.

Weathered and hunting setts, which are muted and read as soft geometric colour rather than as anything overtly traditional. They sit comfortably in modern and traditional rooms alike. Bright modern colourways need a room built to carry them.

Yes, and nobody will object. If the connection is uncertain and you would rather not guess, a district or universal sett has no family claim attached and works exactly as well as a gift.

Ask for the sett name rather than working from a photograph, since many tartans look similar at a glance and colourways of the same sett differ considerably. If they cannot tell you, buy a different form in the same colour family rather than trying to match exactly.

In a weathered or muted colourway, very unlikely, since those read as soft geometric colour rather than as pattern. Bright modern setts are the risk. Choose muted unless you know the room.

A throw or table linen. Both get used immediately, neither needs a wall or a shelf allocated to it, and both work regardless of how the rest of the house is furnished. For occasion specific pieces, see Christmas tartan.