Nine Swoon-Worthy Kitchenwares for Summer Entertaining

Homu Design and Milly Dent·Photo: Images Supplied

You don’t need an excuse to upgrade your kitchen essentials, but warm-weather barbeques and outdoor soirees are pretty good ones. From playful ceramic bowls and a cello-inspired apron, to crystal glassware and sculptural cheese knives, here’s what we are eyeing from a clutch of Aussie labels.

Words by Broadsheet · Updated on 18 Feb 2025 · Published on 13 Feb 2025

Milly Dent Corallo bowl

$110

Sydney ceramicist Milly Dent has a long-held fascination with marine life. Her latest aquatic piece is the Corallo bowl, inspired by the graceful shapes of microscopic sea corals and limpets. Generously sized for hearty servings – dare we suggest linguine with clams – Dent’s elegant and playful design is the kind that feels good resting in your hands, slightly tilted to chase that last delicious spoonful. Each bowl is handcrafted in stoneware clay with earthy pigments and a clear gloss glaze.

Shop at Milly Dent

Maison Balzac Cello apron

$79

Dressing tables, lighting candles and setting the mood are dinner party essentials. Cult Sydney homewares label Maison Balzac can always be trusted to provide the goods with its playful offering of candle holders, glasses, plates, textiles and other joy-filling wares. New to the party is this elegant cello-inspired apron in 100 per cent organic flax linen, complete with delicately embroidered details. Nodding to Jean Cocteau’s designs for the Ballet Russes in early 20th-century Paris, it’s the brand’s first wearable piece and the perfect hosting accessory.

Shop at Maison Balzac

Aura Home Ava tea towels

$35

Tactile fabrics like luxe linen and Australian-grown cotton sit at the heart of Melbourne-born label Aura Home. Woven from 100 per cent Australian-grown cotton, its tea towels are designed to be highly absorbent, while remaining incredibly soft on skin too. The chic designs are sold in pairs with the option to mix two subtle, pared-back hues – natural, khaki , bronze , dove and black – for levelling up any dishwashing duties. There’s also a convenient hang tag to help them dry.

Buy at Aura Home

Alex and Trahanas Vela cheese knives

$280

Sydney-born homewares and fashion label Alex and Trahanas has an ongoing love affair with Italy. In the new Formaggio Odyssey collection, the journey and the destination are both cheese – as evidenced in this Vela knife set inspired by the sculptural forms of sailing boats. Devised by leading Italian Australian industrial designer David Caon, the three-piece set is crafted in olive wood and steel, riffing on a European aesthetic. Perfect for elevating everyday cheese snacking, or kicking off a full-blown festa del formaggio.

Shop at Alex and Trahanas

Bridget Bodenham Frankie Gold pedestal bowl

$44

Hepburn Springs ceramicist Bridget Bodenham fuses (organic) form and function in beautifully tactile wares, from plates and mugs to oil burners and egg cups. Her Petal pedestal bowls are a smart take on the current cake stand trend, hand- and wheel-formed in two parts with a serving bowl on top and a shapely stand below. Each has its own distinct character, with a mix of scalloped edges, painterly accents and gold detailing. Equally great as an everyday fruit bowl or elevated tablescape component.

Shop at Bridget Bodenham

Supper Supply The Big Board chopping board

$60

Cult squeezy olive oil label Supper Supply moves out of one kitchen cupboard and into another with its recently launched chopping board. Sydney couple (and founders) Daniella Cohen and Billy Riddle focused on crafting a sleek, minimalist style that would fit seamlessly into any kitchen – and a smooth-to-touch finish that leaves your favourite knives unscathed. Keeping sustainability in mind, it’s made from renewable sugarcane and post-consumer recycled plastic. Plus, it’s dishwasher-safe for easy cleaning.

Buy at Supper Supply

Homu Ocen

$110

Designed in Melbourne by Homu co-founder Han Chin, Ocen is a series of artful tableware pieces hand-blown to mirror water and ice. Featuring sauce, side, dinner and serving plates – plus bowls in three sizes – the range is a modern take on Japanese artisanship with more than a nod to the organic textures of mid-century bark glass. Crafted from lead-free crystal glass, it’s practically begging for an oceanic degustation (or maybe just a helping of cornflakes in the morning).

Shop at Homu Design

Fazeek x Mustard Made flute glasses

$119

Colourful locker label Mustard Made has stepped into glass cabinetry – and its collaboration with dopamine designer Fazeek has resulted in the most perfect hand-blown flutes to put on show. It’s the Newcastle brand’s signature colour profile tied in with Fazeek’s sculptural silhouettes for a limited edition chalice worth toasting to. But they also make for a chic sip while you cook.

Buy at Mustard Made

Dinosaur Designs stone butter knife

$50

Fluid shapes and splashes of colour run through the DNA of Dinosaur Designs, a Sydney-born label founded by Louise Olsen and Stephen Ormandy. Resin is the centrepiece of the brand’s identity, and its marble-like swirls have become distinctly recognisable. As the name suggests, the butter knife is crafted for the effortless glazing of the good stuff , but it’s also designed for your favourite spreads too.

Buy at Dinosaur Designs

Reporting by Gitika Garg, Jo Walker and Simone Richardson.

A version of this article appeared in Domain Review, in partnership with Broadsheet.