Should Your Home Have Its Own Merch?

A childhood memory of customized pens given to guests later inspired a personalized gift idea. A custom postcard was created for visitors in a Queens apartment shared with a partner, and it was well received by the first recipient. “House merch” refers to small parting gifts that resemble resort or boutique hotel items, but are customized for an individual or family rather than a business. Social media praise led others to share similar experiences and requests, including customized matchbook boxes. Common items include coasters, stickers, drink koozies, sweatshirts, coffee cups, knit caps, and water bottles. People also create house merch for apartments and homes, including matchsticks.

"“He customized them with our names on them,” she says. “At the time, I found it very weird.” But in adulthood, she started to realize he might have been onto something. Shortly after the memory of her dad's pens resurfaced, Giunta got the itch to create her own keepsake to give out to her many guests in the Queens apartment that she shares with her partner, Kyle."

"“We were joking that with all of the visitors, we were practically running a bed and breakfast,” she explains. “I was thinking about the pens and hotel souvenirs and had an idea.” Giunta designed a custom postcard, and soon after, her cousin made the journey to New York City and was the first to receive the gift. Spoiler: “She loved it,” Giunta says."

"This is house merch, as Giunta and others online have started to call it. These small parting gifts resemble the types of branded items one might find at a resort or boutique hotel, only they're customized to an individual or family, not a business. Recently, comedian Bridget Everett shared with AD that she has merch for her upstate New York home-including sweatshirts, coffee cups, knit caps, and water bottles-and when Giunta posted a photo of the postcard on her Instagram, she received overwhelming praise from commenters."

"“A lot of people said they had given or received customized matchbook boxes,” Giunta adds. Other popular house-merch items as seen on social media include coasters, stickers, or drink koozies. “I saw someone on TikTok who made matchsticks for their apartment and thought it was a cool idea,” says Chelsea Clough, a TikToker and photographer, who first created house merch for the Vancouver, British Columbia dwelling she shares with her wife in October"

Read at Architectural Digest