99 gift ideas for home and garden

Handmade bone boxes from India ($50) are at designer Paula Smail’s delightful little Studio City store Henry Road.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

At the 1-year-old Pasadena housewares emporium Maude Woods we found cheery French cheese knives for just $15 apiece. Add a simple white plate from nearby Crate & Barrel, some crackers and Camembert, and you’ve got a universal gift that still has some personality.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

What says “I love you” more than dog topiary? Just don’t mistake the schnauzer for a Scottie. “Sometimes customers correct me on the breed,” Pasadena shopkeeper Brad Larsen says, laughing. “Trust me, dog people know.” The moss-covered canines ($45 to $75 each) will never die, but, of course, do expect some shedding. You’ll find them at Brad Larsen Florals.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

We’re often amused by Gold Bug in Pasadena, surprising and wonderfully off-kilter. This year, it’s offering the perfect nose job: a limited-edition, life-size sterling silver ($420) or bronze ($380) olfactory figurine to mount on the wall or add some curiosity to the curio cabinet. If that’s a little rich, then give someone a backbone: a porpoise vertebra cast in pewter and finished in one of four colors ($55 each).  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

At Rolling Greens Nursery in L.A., a trove of vases, pots, lanterns and other indoor-outdoor gifts, we found these carved wooden blocks ($15 to $58) designed to cradle long-wicked candles ($5.75 and up).  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Down the street from Rolling Greens is Specific, a tiny storefront loaded with design finds. These crafty bowls and vases ($35 to $150) by the Mexico City studio Tsimáni are made from ribbons of colored paper.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

A quick peek inside the ever-changing Specific. Those felt flags on the right wall are actually Wall Pockets by Scout Regalia, an L.A. studio that describes the design as wool felt pockets that can be used as a reusable wine bag, nondenominational holiday stocking or wall-mounted organizer for office supplies or mail.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Gary Gibson’s L.A. store is the place where vintage addicts have their relapse. One-of-a-kind furniture, art and accessories make great gifts, of course, but more affordable pieces are available. Keep clicking for a couple of examples....  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Beautiful cloisonné tins ($200 to $285) from Gary Gibson.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Striped ceramic vases and bowls by French artist Fabienne Jouvin ($195 to $325) at Gary Gibson.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Our pick at the Green Life on Main Street in Santa Monica: reusable sandwich and snack bags by LunchSkins ($8.99 to $9.99 each) in vibrant designs reminiscent of the renowned Finnish textile studio Marimekko.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

The Burbank store Mindful Nest has opened a Santa Monica location, delivering more handmade contemporary crafts, pottery and artwork by locals. Bonus: Shoppers can make their own scented candles, diffusers and room sprays at the blending bar in the back.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

How about making a gift instead of buying one? The Urban Craft Center in Santa Monica is a retail space with fabrics and yarn, but crafters also can head into the loft-like studio to spread out and work on projects for an hour ($6) or a day ($15).  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Classes at the Urban Craft Center include sewing, screen printing, crocheting, knitting, soap making, candle making. You can buy fabric, then make a great tablecloth or napkins.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Open less than a year, Filigree in Studio City feels like a cozy yet elegant cottage. Among the draws: designs from the man of the moment in the textile world, John Robshaw. The store carries bedding (starting at $80 for a sham) as well as less expensive items such as luggage tags ($25 each).  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Oh, what would a gift guide be without pet presents? We’ve got plenty. Our first stop was Maxwell Dog in Studio City. That’s where Wendi Laski was giving a treat to Charlie.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Where’s the sushi? At Maxwell Dog, raised feeding platforms by Replus ($28 to $170) looked good enough for us to dine on.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

If you’re going to have an enormous dog bed in your home, shouldn’t it look good? Jax and Bones dog beds come in a variety of sophisticated fabrics ($124 to $178) at Maxwell Dog.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

For a semi-custom gift, how about semi-custom note cards? At Mimio in Pasadena, you can pick from about 20 templates, most contemporary botanical designs. Then have any name printed on the front. You get a choice of folded cards or postcard-style notes (six for $13, 12 for $25).  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

While we’re in a spirited mood, let’s talk martinis. At Colcha in Venice, martini glasses (and wine goblets and Champagne flutes) get a shot of glamour with a faceted mirror finish on glass stems ($20 each). We bought the matching candle for $14.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

If the classic platters and bowls of Heath Ceramics are too pricey for your budget, there’s much to discover at the L.A. store: Futagami brass pieces that turn bottle opener into art form ($35), as well as the steel-clamped, rubber-ringed Weck glass jars ($2.75 and up) that design-minded cooks can fill with homemade treats. We bought the ones here for $4 apiece and filled them with macaroons.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Artist Marc Tetro trains his dogs to sit, stay and never bark. It helps that they’re made of cardboard. A range of breeds is available; we picked up the Boston terrier and pug for $10.95 apiece at the South Pasadena shop Marz, (626) 799-4032.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Been spotting old yardsticks in vintage stores? We’ve noticed them selling for upward of $15 apiece in Silver Lake, sold as wall décor. We paid $3 to $9 each for these vintage yardsticks at the Pomona Antique Mart, (909) 623-6464. (You can’t tell from the photo, but they’re actually wooden cubes, as thick as walking sticks.) As in other communities, Pomona’s antique row is struggling — lots of shuttered storefronts. Our favorites, however, are still open, and though the selection is hit or miss, the prices are generally good. Point the GPS to the intersection of East 2nd Street and South Garey Avenue.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Soothe yourself or someone you love with jars of petite bath bombs ($32) from RK Apothecary in Santa Monica.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Carrie Davich, owner of Maude Woods in Pasadena, said big sellers right now are pewter salt and pepper shakers cast as garlic cloves or radishes ($60 a set).  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Metallic shell-shaped salt and pepper cellars with impossibly petite spoons ($32 a set) are also popular at Maude Woods.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Same concept, different look: hand-hewn olive-wood salt and pepper servers with matching spoons ($23 each) at Ige on Beverly Boulevard in L.A.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Architexture is an elegant Studio City showroom filled with holiday ornaments, soaps, pillows, room diffusers, ceramic ginger jars and colored glass accessories in festive holiday colors. Even if your gift recipients doesn’t love it enough to keep out all year, perhaps they will deploy it each year for the holidays?  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

For guys: bottle stoppers made from vintage billiards balls ($30 each). They’re at Henry Road in Studio City.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

If it seems like we keep coming back to the L.A. shop Ige, that’s because we are. It’s Gift Central. John Derian decoupage plates as well as some less expensive finds ...  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

These beautiful mpingo wood storage boxes ($49 and $62) at Ige are shaped like spiky oryx horns. Lift up the top and perhaps you can drop in ...  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

? one of Ige’s old-fashioned gunmetal and silver keys stamped with a one-word message such as “sweet” and “yes” ($11 to ($13).  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

At Henry Road you’ll find pillows, lighting and, for the friend or family member you know well, perhaps one of the butterfly paintings on the wall (beginning at $120).  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

John Robshaw bedding at Filigree in Studio City.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

A safe, inexpensive bet: glass tea light holders ($4.75 each) from Rolling Greens in L.A.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

For the risk-taking gift giver: the wall of birdhouses ($165 to $495 each), many adorned with trowels or shears, at Rolling Greens. (And if the recipient doesn’t like it, don’t worry. It can “accidentally” fall from the tree in January.)  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

These wire “bingo” baskets ($12.50 to $21.50) are decorated with vintage-looking wooden discs. Lined the baskets with tissue paper, fill with homemade cookies and bingo: You’ve got a winner. We also found these at Rolling Greens.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Modernica in L.A. may be best known for midcentury furniture, but it’s also one-stop shopping for colored glass: vases, pitchers, candy dishes and more (most $50 to $400).  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

At Gary Gibson down the street, you’ll see more great glass, including these vases ($45 to $95).  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Hard to resist: Zigg the tiger plush animal by Super Zero ($30). We spotted it at Weego Baby in Santa Monica.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

At Weego Baby’s sister Santa Monica store, Weego Home, pillows by Judy Ross, Hable Construction and Antonio Aguilar ($150 to $275) have graphic appeal. Those are Ross’ pillows pictured here.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Dragonfly kites ($32 apiece) work for any age. You’ll find them at Weego Baby.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Studio City-based Architexture is filled with holiday ornaments, serving pieces, chandeliers and more. Present for self? Designer Abby Rose’s upholstered queen-size bed in the background ($995). Presents for others? Try chinoiserie candles ($39 each) in reusable ceramic containers.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Vintage-themed signs -- some made of card stock, some metal -- line the walls of the new Rocket Fizz in Pasadena, where old-time sodas and retro candy provide a sweet bit of nostalgia.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

How about the gift of time? At Gold Bug in Pasadena, an hourglass runs on silver-plated sand ($42).  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Give them the world -- or at least the world on a candy dish. This Fabienne Jouvin design was selling for $32 at Maude Woods in Pasadena.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Gift tag: good. Gift flag: better. Santa cards styled like souvenir felt pennants from the 1960s ($15.95 for a set of six) are among the offerings from Urbanic in Venice.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

For the little minimalist: the Ideaco piggy bank ($32) Weego Home.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Are the little ones as tall as the average gorilla? A badminton net? Napoleon? Henry Road owner Paula Smail holds the I’m As Big As ? height chart ($18) in her Studio City store.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

It’s bustling on 3rd Street in L.A., one of dozens of shopping districts we scouted for home and garden gift ideas. Other picks from OK: glasses ($20 to $31) from the Danish company Holmegaard, a Berliner wooden chess set with sleekly carved pieces ($185) and plastic trays encased with Lithuanian linens ($18.50 to $35) would make for a sophisticated picnic.



Look for even more ideas on our L.A. at Home blog. And when you need a break from shopping and just want to peek inside some great homes, check out our Homes of the Times photo galleries.  (Christina House / For The Times)