Best Homewares Shops in Melbourne
A home’s look is never really finished. It’s a constant work in progress, as your tastes and needs evolve. Even with a concerted effort, it can take years to bring a room close to the idealised, magazine-ready version in your head. But then, isn’t that part of the fun? There’s always the next thing to research, track down and acquire. Or better yet, stumble on serendipitously. Here are our favourite spots in Melbourne for finding beautiful tableware, furniture, plants, bed linens and more.
Related pages:
Best Womenswear Shopping in Melbourne
Best Menswear Shopping in Melbourne
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Jardan Flagship
This beloved Australian furniture brand still makes all of its stylish, buy-for-life furniture right here in Melbourne. In recent years, its considered homeware ranges have won plenty of new fans. The bed linen and glassware ranges in particular are wedding registry staples. This Melbourne flagship is also just a beautiful space, which encourages lingering.
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Tait
Outdoor furniture doesn’t get as much attention as its indoor counterpart. Not at Tait. Here the focus is almost exclusively on furniture that’s designed for outside. The pieces here – from the dining tables to the drinks trolleys – combine mid-century lines with weatherproof materials. On the smaller side, the planters, which come in any colour from bottle green to crisp white, are always popular.
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Made In Japan
Some of Melbourne’s best and best-known restaurants – Chin Chin, Attica, Circa, to name a few – use plates from Made in Japan. The business has been importing ceramics and other wares from Japan for well over forty years now, and it’s one of the best there is. Here at the South Melbourne flagship store, you’ll find a wide range of Japanese pottery, from sake servers, to bowls and teapots.
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Dinosaur Designs
The stock at this Australian favourite will invigorate any home. These fun, art-inspired pieces use colourful prints and bold colours extensively. So Dinosaur Designs’ homewares are equally at home when deployed for contrast in a minimal room, as they are in a full-on maximalist space.
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Mud Australia
Minimalist sensibilities collide with high-calibre craftsmanship and design in this colourful space. Mud’s homewares may seem simple, but every product has a lot going on under the hood, especially the tablewares. These handmade, spartan pieces are the perfect addition to any minimal space, and they feel great to use.
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Cibi
It’s hard to categorise Cibi, mainly because of how many things it does well. As a cafe, it’s one of the few places in Melbourne where you can find a traditional Japanese breakfast (the coffee’s pretty great too). As a homewares shop, you’ll find everything from functional made-in-Japan chef’s knives to quaint ceramic ornaments. There’s also handful of clothes from hard-to-find Japanese labels such as Nanamica.
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Craft Victoria
This shop is like an incubator: for well over 50 years, Craft Victoria has provided a platform for Melbourne’s emerging makers, allowing them to sell their wares in this sleek, minimal space in the CBD. The focus here is on smaller items, usually made as one-offs or in small batches. Head here if you want to purchase a really unique gift.
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Nord Modern
The combined store and workshop is full of lovingly restored rare and collectible vintage pieces from Scandinavia and other European countries.
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Scout House
Here you’ll find European antiques, handcrafted Australian furniture and plenty of miscellaneous homewares. There are porcelain animals, vintage posters, cushions, old tins and other knick-knacks.
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Mr Kitly
The focus at this small shop, hidden above a Sydney Road fabric shop, is on fine detail. The carefully selected range takes in products from around the world, with a particular focus on Japan-made wares. Despite this broad remit, there’s a real unified vision here. If you gel with owner Bree Claffey’s tastes, then you’ll be sure to become one of her many repeat customers.
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Third Drawer Down
This shop’s nondescript location, in a garage just off Gertrude Street, belies its heavyweight status in the homewares world. Since opening at this location in 2003, Third Drawer Down has offered a great range featuring everything from illustrations, to tea towels to jewellery and other bric-a-brac. It also has a canny ability for stocking up-and-coming designers, right before they blow up.
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Cottage Industry
Don’t let the twee name and chintzy textiles and fabrics fool you, Cottage Industry is no shop for nannas. All of the handmade items here are decidedly vintage-inspired, but have a clear modern sensibility, making the pieces more retro than revival.
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Great Dane
A few years ago, you couldn’t swing a cat without hitting a Scandinavian-inspired furniture and homewares shop. These days, the style isn’t as ubiquitous, but the best are still going strong. And this Johnston Street shop is the place to go if you’re looking for the clean, mid-century-inspired lines of Danish furniture.
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Marimekko
This iconic Finnish homewares and fashion label is renowned for its bright, colourful patterns and hard-wearing materials. There’s a huge range of products available at the Melbourne shop, but the best place to start is with a few of the brand’s signature floral mugs.
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The Panton Store
Shelley Panton’s pottery is used in some of Melbourne’s best restaurants. The potter makes simple, practical plates, bowls and other tableware. And these days, her shop also features products from some of her favourite makers and artists.
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Plant Space
There are bigger plant shops around, with a wider variety of plants on offer, but we like the concise offering at Plant Space, as well as the personable, knowledgeable staff. There’s also a great line of designer planters to choose from, to complement whatever plant you choose.
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The Supercool and The Supercool Kid
Although the regular range at this South Melbourne Market shop is great, it’s the kids’ range at here that really sets the Supercool apart. If you’re decking out your kid’s room or just need a good gift for the niece or nephew in your life, this is the one for you.
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Vincent Design
This family-owned shop imports homewares, bedding, clothing and more. Everything stocked is simple and functional, but with bold and interesting designs.
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Post Industrial Design
At this eclectic, sustainability-focused homewares shop there’s a wide array of homewares, accessories, kids toys, soft furnishings and quirky gifts (such as a Frida Kahlo egg cup). The range is comprised of co-owner Jos Van Hulsen’s creations, combined with partner and co-owner Mary Long’s selection from local makers and artists.
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Chef’s Hat
This kitchenware retailer opposite South Melbourne market is packed with hyper-functional gear. Alongside excellent industry-quality tableware, you’ll also find products from cult brands including Le Creuset and Kitchenaid.
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The Woodsfolk
This shop’s big strength is its versatility. Virtually anyone who walks into The Woodsfolk will find something that suits their tastes.
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Huset
Real-deal European furniture, no replicas allowed.
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Grandfather’s Axe
Vintage furniture, imported directly from Europe.
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Hommey
Hommey’s products are designed to be felt as much as looked at. At its first retail space, peruse its lush collection of cushions, towels, robes, slides and pet beds – in dreamy hues and invitingly tactile fabrics.
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Dream Baby Suku Home
Melbourne-born label Suku makes bold and dreamy loungewear, homewares, bedding and ready-to-wear clothing that’ll elevate any room or outfit. At its flagship store, find bold patterns that look like an acid trip and buttery-soft fabrics that make it hard to leave empty-handed.
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Aura Home
Visit this light-filled homewares store for an Aladdin’s cave of textiles in a myriad of hues, textures and materials.
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You don’t have to travel to Europe to get your hands on authentic mid-century furniture. This store imports and restores original pieces designed by Hans Olsen, Børge Mogensen, Hans Wegner and more. The effort of travelling to Europe, sourcing the antiques and revitalising them means that the prices aren’t cheap. But if you’re looking for a statement piece that not only holds its value, but increases it, you’ve come to the right place.
Walking into the retail space of Mark Douglass – master glassmaker, artist and designer – is far from the realms of a regular retail experience. Enormous glass orbs, tubes and cones in shades of red, brown, grey, pink and blue hang from the ceiling and the walls, each one hand-blown and made locally. No one piece matches another, yet the approachability and flexibility of the range leaves anonymous franchises like Beacon Lighting for dead.
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