Housewarming Gifts: The House Itself, Painted

A house move is a hard thing to shop for. The kitchen is already full of things they bought last week, half the boxes are still taped shut, and another candle disappears into the pile. What is missing on moving day is anything on the walls, and there is one subject they will not tire of: the place they have just taken on.

So give them the house. Upload a photo of the front of the property, shot on a phone from the pavement opposite, and pick a style. The Watercolour House Portrait keeps rooflines, windows and brickwork faithful and lets the edges fade into white paper, which flatters a narrow terrace as much as a detached house. Storybook Cottage adds golden window light and a hand-painted garden, and Evening Lights Painting sets the same building at dusk. For a framed drawing rather than a painting, the Ink And Wash Study is a fine-nib study on cream paper.

The photo matters more than the camera: stand back far enough to fit the whole frontage in, shoot in daylight with the sun behind you, and move the car off the drive. The art comes back in well under a minute as two variants, with a free re-roll if the house does not look like theirs. The watermarked preview is free and needs no card, so you see it finished before deciding anything, then unlock the HD file or have it printed and sent.

It works in reverse too. A childhood home, a house being sold after thirty years, the flat someone rented in their twenties: any clear photo of the front will do, however old. It is also why estate agents give these at closing. A 12x16 canvas is $59, 16x20 is $79 and an 18x24 poster is $29, shipping included, to the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, France and Australia.