Interiors

Father’s Day gifts for your man about the house

House Proud: From action cameras to barbecues, here are home comforts for dads

Wireless Canon TS8052 multifunction printer, €209.90

Alanna Gallagher's face
Alanna Gallagher
Thu Jun 8 2017 - 05:00

For snap-happy dads

Show your dad how much you love him by giving him a device that will capture family moments and preserve them forever. For the dad who likes to show off, a Kaiser Baas X150 action camera, €219, is a water-, dust-, shock- and snowproof device that will capture all his midlife sporting adventures and preserve them in glorious animation for you to send virally as you fancy. If he already has a camera he loves, then perhaps the wireless Canon TS8052 multifunction printer, €209.90, will deliver physical prints of family memories. Both are available from the Carrickmines branch of Harvey Norman (harveynorman.ie).

Degeneres designs

As well as being a hyper-successful TV personality, Ellen Degeneres is also a big design fan. She has bought and sold homes by America’s top architects, filling them full of beautiful items that include furniture by the giants of American mid-century, antique Persian rugs, Serge Mouille lighting and Louis XVI bergère chairs. Now she’s becoming a designer in her own right under the brand ED Ellen DeGeneres, and has launched new collections in partnership with US furniture firm Thomasville, rug manufacturer Loloi and tableware giant Royal Doulton. These mugs, €12.95 each, have just landed at Arnotts (arnotts.ie).

Grill power for barbie dads

The beauty of this Outback Omega 200 red charcoal barbecue, €210, is that it can be delivered direct to your dad's front door. All you have to do is order it from Littlewoods Ireland (littlewoodsireland.ie). Given the Which? magazine seal of approval as a best buy for three consecutive years, it has a porcelain enamel hood and plenty of space to store grill irons and forks. Just don't rock up to the house without a couple of well-hung steaks to grill on it.

Forking handy

Friedrich Dick GmbH & Co (dick.de/haendler) is a German brand that makes barbecue forks in 150cm, 180cm and 200cm lengths, perfect for skewering sausages without ever burning greedy fingers again. They cost from €6 at Dublin-based McDonnells (mcdonnells.ie).

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Dadrocker’s delight

Philips Izzy wireless multiroom speaker will stream all his favourite music from his phone, tablet or computer, no matter which music or radio app he uses. It can connect with up to five speakers without the need of a router, wifi password or smartphone mobile app to set it up. It costs €134.99 from Maplin Electronics (maplin.ie).

Beards and biccies

Is your dad a beardy bloke or fancy himself as a bit of a hipster? Then this BaByliss 8-in-1 all-over grooming kit with four interchangeable cutting heads to deal with face and body might bring a smile to his face, about €22, ex delivery from Amazon (amazon.co.uk) – especially if you hand it over complete with iced biscuits – ideally made by his adorable grandchildren. You can fake this by putting an early order into London firm Biscuiteers (biscuiteers.com) where this biscuit box will cost about €23, ex delivery. The company also sells biscuit tins  themed by dad type. Choose from lycra-clad cycling dads, classic cars or a tool box, from about €47, or a simple I Love U Dad edible card, about €12.

One for the old chopping block

If you’re lucky enough to have a dad that loves to cook, then show your appreciation with some covetable Wustof Classic chef’s knives. This 20cm chopper costs €99 while the smaller 9cm paring knife costs €45 from Sweeney O’Rourke (sweeneyorourke.com). Also on sale from Wustof’s more affordable Gourmet range is an easier to wrap gift set comprising both of the above styles of knife plus a sharpener, reduced from €85 to €72 until June 30th.

A Bud in the garden  

If your dad is a gardener or fisherman, he might appreciate this tin tuck box where he can stash a few beers along with some edibles. The tin, which comes in aubergine or slate blue, costs about €23.50 from UK-based Annabel James (annabeljames.co.uk).

Cool on the rocks

If your dad is a bit of a purist as to how he likes to drink his a ball of malt, these SparQ whiskey spheres, €18 for a set of two at Brown Thomas (brownthomas.com) offer an innovative alternative to ordinary ice cubes in that they will chill the amber nectar without diluting it.

Three of a kind: basin beauties

Anna Callis is one of a collection of bathrooms designed by the London Basin Company (londonbasincompany.com) which feature round porcelain basins. Pictured is Clarabelle, a shape that features elements of ancient Chinese design motifs, floral details and hints of gold. It costs about €880, ex delivery.

This bronze basin by Liskeard will set a luxurious tone in an ensuite bathroom or guest wc. It costs €1,180 and the matching basin mixer costs €654 at TileStyle. The total cost of the two amounts to €1,834.

The Albion Bath Company's (albionbathco.com) cast-iron washstands and toilets offer a fresh take on traditional sanitaryware. Mistley is a corner style with decorative brackets that can be finished in the colour of your choice or in one of four granite choices. It costs about €652 ex delivery.

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The shops are groaning with schmaltzy gifts for dads who have to smile and say thanks for yet another pair of socks when in fact the best gift you can give is quality time. However, if you don’t want to rock up on the day emptyhanded, then Sainsburys Home has a couple of lovely little gems including a small LED carnival-style light, about €14, lists of dad jokes and facts every dad should know, €4.10 each. Choose from a Really Love You Daddy design or the simple Legend, little reminders he can use every day. Available in the chain’s West Belfast store. There are also No 1 Grandad mugs, so grandkids can get in on the act too.