Maison Balzac Dishes Up Fine China and More Homewares on Our Editors’ September Wishlist

Spring has (finally) arrived, and according to this month’s wishlist, it shows. Our editors are embracing the season’s famed cleaning bent with new tools, from “glam” tech by Miele to a chic old-world method, care of a wabi-sabi-style paper dustpan and horsehair brush. 

Design-led collaborations have a habit of catching our eye. The latest comes courtesy of interior designer Tali Roth and Zenn Design, with a selection of exquisitely crafted side tables in the kind of deep walnut finish you’d expect to find in a Parisian boudoir.

Elsewhere, Lee Mathews has teamed up with Stephanie Alexander on a series of carrier bags for pies, quiches and other dishes. Each style is made from deadstock fabric, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Australian cook’s Kitchen Garden Foundation. But that’s just the start. Here’s everything the Broadsheet team is shopping this September.

Katya Wachtel, editorial director

Spring-cleaning calls in September; I’ve been eyeing these geometric burgundy baskets for some time. They’re virtually laundry sculptures! (And ideal for laundries in a thoroughfare, like mine.) I’m determined to do a full-scale deep clean of the house this month, no thanks to a fine-dust-particle rabbit hole I’ve been revelling in. I’m off my old stick vacuum as a result, and returning to the canister – specifically this glam new model by Miele that’s got the Sensitive Choice tick of approval and an alluring array of attachments. 

I love the romance and ceremony of Gohar World tableware, and these cotton-linen pot mitts are so smart I’d be inclined to keep them on display when not in use. Grace Coddington would surely approve, and I’m excited to get my hands on her new photobook, out in October. There’s a tide of artists making sublime, hand-blown glass works at the moment and this whimsical cocktail glass by Aleksandra Zawistowska’s Szkło Studio is at the top of my wishlist. Finally, it’s mortifying how often I discuss Solidteknics’s iron pans in social situations, but here we are. I’m keen to add to my beloved 26-centimetre pan soon with the larger, more family-friendly 30-centimetre size.

Nadia Bailey, travel editor

My life has been chaotic lately and it’s beginning to show in my living space. I’m craving a reset, so I’m decluttering one swap at a time, replacing anything merely “good enough” with something more intentional. Case in point: I’m sure I’d be more inclined to spring-clean if I had this beautifully minimal dustpan and handmade brush, made from ethically sourced horsehair and lacquer.  

Mood lighting will help bring a sense of calm, too. Most modern lamps are too sterile for my tastes, but this vintage gooseneck number – with all its dings and patina – will fit right in. Candles are another way to keep my space feeling beautiful. I gravitate towards moody scents: this one, with notes of frankincense, cloves and amber has found its way into my cart.

Elsewhere around the house, I’ll be arranging little vignettes of my favourite things as a way to bring order back to the chaos. There’s room on my bedside table for this brutalist-looking incense burner – which would pair especially nicely with the signed edition of this photobook on Susie Cave I’ve promised myself for my birthday.

Simone Richardson, shopping editor

It’s Virgo season, which means I’m deep in gift-shopping mode for my partner. He’s big on baking, and a zesty lemon tart is his specialty. It’s so good, he’s become the group’s unofficial birthday cake-maker, which means there’s often a tart in tow wherever we go. Lee Mathews’s new collab with Stephanie Alexander solves the logistics: a flan bag made from the label’s deadstock fabric. Other gift ideas come in the form of Jessica Laureano’s beeswax candles, intertwined as twin flames (much like us), and Stoff Nagel’s mid-century candle holder to give them a proper home.

Enough about him (I’m still a Taurus, after all). These plush towels from interior architecture studio Studiojos have carried me through winter, and they’re now joined by Necessaire’s new sandalwood soap at the sink. Most excitingly, though, my friends recently gifted me a voucher toward my own Tia Ansell woven artwork – her recent solo show has been fuelling the inspo, and I can’t wait to hang one of her tactile beauties on my wall.

Scott Renton, Hot List editor

Winter is all about one-pot recipes, and this winter made me realise I don’t have that one pot. Everyone should probably invest in Le Creuset at some point, and this new green finish has convinced me to take the plunge. I love having a drink while I cook – if I’m throwing everything into one pot, I should have some time to whip up a cocktail and sip it out of these chic Maison Balzac glasses.

I’m desperate for an entertainment unit to anchor my living room – there’s already a lot of colour in there, so I’ve got this neutral cabinet on my radar. But a living room isn’t complete without some knick-knacks. I’m digging this porcelain vase looks like it was carved out of a dinosaur fossil. Similarly, this amber lamp reminds me of ancient preserved insects. More importantly, they’ll both look great together on my new entertainment unit.

Gitika Garg, assistant editor – art, design and style

There’s an art to styling a shelf or sideboard. It’s about finding the right balance of texture, negative space and personality, so the arrangement feels collected rather than overly curated. What it shouldn’t become is a repository for the inevitable bits and bobs accumulated on your way in and out of the house.

This handsome travertine and stainless steel console has just found a home in our living room, and styling it has become my latest project. I’m considering these ceramic candle holders from Belgian design brand Serax, stocked locally at Perrault, alongside a stack of favourite coffee table books: Tamsin Johnson’s tome, Paul Smith’s striped cover and Collecting. An antique, silver-finished vase and Le Feu De L’Eau’s small-batch candles would round it out nicely.

Separately, Zenn Design’s latest collaboration with interior designer Tali Roth is also on my wishlist. There’s something about the silhouette of these side tables, and their deep walnut finish, that makes them look as though they’ve been unearthed in the corner of a Parisian flea market.

Grace MacKenzie, Sydney food and drink editor

The only person that I’m confident appreciates a basket as much (or more) than me is Tara Bennett, of Provider Store. She’s mid-way through one of her sourcing pilgrimages across Japan, and there are baskets aplenty on their way back to Sydney. I’ve got this one in my cart – ready to sit on my kitchen counter with the last of winter’s citrus – along with one of her endlessly refillable hand-poured candles. I’m super into the Australiana these handmade banksia salt and pepper grinders will add to my table, even better if filled with Pep. And I’m farewelling winter by adding stripes to my linen cupboard – Hommey’s new stonewashed set in blue and a couple of Citta’s beach towels – but holding onto soup/porridge weather with Our Place’s titanium Perfect Pot (I’ll be stewing rhubarb as long as I can).

Lucy Bell Bird, national assistant editor

I’m about to go on holidays, so my whole attitude has shifted towards fun and sun. Consequently, I’ve got my eyes on plenty of bright bits from a butter-yellow, glass-fronted Mustard Made cabinet, which I’m planning to use as a drinks cabinet, to a framed butter print from Gemma Leslie for Food for Everyone (along with a matching champagne mini, because I’m always in the mood for champagne). The Pomponette tea service from the constantly playful Maison Balzac breakfast collection is sitting prettily in my cart. And I’m poised to hit purchase on a properly foldable tote from July with a drawstring closure that will be perfect for holiday beach days. To make the re-entry into “everyday life” more palatable, I’m picking up a new set of stonewashed sheets from Hommey and a new frame so I can display my holiday photos.

Evie Baker, photo editor

No matter what I do, I’m always short on storage space. Mustard’s Standard unit could be the fix – cool, sturdy and built to hide away my bits and bobs, while providing bench space for styling. My room is in dire need of some ambient lighting, though, and Max Copolov’s RT3 table lamp hits the perfect balance of sleek and industrial.

A luxurious bed frame is next on the list, and Eva’s Delve design is the clear pick: it’s stylish, comes with built-in storage and needs no tools for assembly. I’ll dress it with Sleep Ins’ new coverlet – a follow-up release to the brand’s ultra-soft bamboo bedding. Once I’ve spritzed Kit’s new Good Night mist over the pillows, worked magnesium oil into my skin and downed a full glass of water, I’m good to hop in. Conveniently, the latter comes courtesy of Kyn & Folk’s ceramic filter, which is giving me all the motivation I need to hit my H2O goals.

Emmanuelle Lee, social media coordinator

This month’s picks are fuelled by items I’ve seen about town. Mark Bo Chu’s latest exhibition, The Hand That Feeds – recently on show at Florian Home – captures vignettes of Melbourne hospitality spaces. This bar scene would liven up my space.

After a memorable dinner at the newly opened Côté Basque, I found myself wanting a little keepsake. I’m thinking To My Ships’ handwash from the restaurant’s bathroom will look right at home beside my sink, and take me straight back to that night.

I’m constantly on the lookout for glassware to add to my collection, so the mouth-blown Martini glasses from Corey Ashford have joined my bar cart, alongside his olive cocktail picks. Each cocktail would perch beautifully on these glossy beaded coasters, and sit nicely alongside other coffee table favourites, too – Fourth Street’s handmade egg ornament and Jacquemus’s Mikado game among them.

Gabriella Dolfo, sales and partnerships manager

Spring has arrived, and I’m coming back to life. After a long winter, I’m ready to switch things up and get my senses going again. First up, taste. And what’s better than freshly brewed coffee from a Moccamaster? Of course, I’ll need something to listen to while I’m slurping my long black, so I’m eyeing Sonos’ Arc Ultra speaker to soundtrack those slow, sunny mornings.

Scent comes in the form of Flamingo Estate’s Heirloom Tomato room spray, while touch calls for the soft embrace of Tekla’s towels. (Baina’s luxurious body scrub is a close second, though.) Sight rounds out the list, and Gohar World’s picnic blanket will make the perfect base to watch Sydney’s parks come back to life – flowers blooming, people out, dogs everywhere. Once the sun sets, I’m looking to the Athina lamp by Romain Basile Petrot to add a warm, ambient glow to my space.