A Personalized Housewarming Gift: A Crest for Their New Home

Why a crest suits a new home

Housewarming gifts tend to fall into two piles: useful things (a good knife, a plant, a bottle of something) and things with a wish attached. In Germany, bread and salt are a traditional gift for a new home, meant as a wish that the household will always have enough. A crest belongs to the second pile. It says who lives here now, and it gives the house a little ceremony on the day it stops being an empty building.

It also avoids the usual housewarming problem of guessing someone's taste in decor. You are not choosing a vase. You are choosing their name, their colors and a motto, and the result is clearly made for them.

Emblems that fit a new home

• Key: the most literal housewarming emblem, and an old one in heraldry. The arms of the city of Bremen in Germany are a single silver key on a red shield, the key of Saint Peter, patron of its cathedral. For a couple, a key on a shield divided down the middle (Per pale), one half for each of you, reads as "two of us, one door."
• Tower: in heraldry a tower stands for defense and the safety of a home. The arms of the old kingdom of Castile are a gold castle on red, which is why "castle" and "Castile" sound alike. A tower on a family crest says "this is our stronghold" without any of the swagger of a lion.
• Tree or acorn: for a family putting down roots, or a first home bought after years of renting.
• Flame or heart: the hearth and the people around it. A flame suits a house known for its kitchen.
• Anchor or compass: for people who moved a long way to get here, or who have finally stopped moving.

The symbols and meanings guide explains every emblem and color in the studio, and each crest's certificate of arms spells out the meaning in plain English.

The name and the motto

Name the household, not just the surname

Households are more varied than a single family name: a couple with two surnames, roommates, a first solo apartment. The name line takes up to 40 characters, so "Sam and Alex", "The Patels of Maple Street" or "House Moreno" all fit. A street name is a nice touch for people who expect to stay.

Put the year on the ribbon

"Home Since 2026" or "Established 2026" is the simplest housewarming motto and the one that ages best. Mottos can be up to 48 characters, so there is room for something warmer, like "Our Door Is Open" or "Warm Hearth, Full Table." If they like Latin, the Latin motto generator has phrases with their standard translations.

Keep the colors readable

The rule of tincture puts a metal (gold or silver) against a color (red, blue, green, purple or black). It exists so a shield can be read from a distance, which is exactly what you want from a print hung across a room. The studio follows it for you.

Ways to give it

1. A framed print. The $9 set includes a 4000 by 5000 px image, about 13 by 16 inches at photo quality (300 pixels per inch), plus a certificate of arms sized for US Letter. Add a "presented to" and "from" line under "Giving it as a gift?" and it prints on the certificate.
2. A house banner. The $19 Heirloom set adds a tall swallowtail house banner, 2400 by 4800 px (8 by 16 inches at 300 pixels per inch), for printing on fabric or poster stock and hanging in a hallway. It also has bookplates for their shelves and line art for engraving.
3. A door sign or doormat. Many sign makers and laser engravers work from vector files. The $9 set includes an SVG; ask your maker which format they want before you order.
4. A wax seal for the thank-you notes. New homeowners write a lot of them. See the wax seal crest guide for designs that a stamp maker can cut.

Giving a crest to newlyweds who bought their first place together? The wedding crest guide shows how to join two family names on one shield, and family crest gifts covers other occasions.

Design a housewarming crest

More free heraldry tools