5 Home Design Shops In Melbourne To Check Out

If you dress your home correctly, the furniture and materials should reflect the best of you, rather than simply acting as superfluous big ticket items that fill the void in the room. For some, homewares are as expendable as a paper plate, but if you choose carefully and buy quality items, they can be investments into a lifestyle that will last for decades. From Scandinavian designs to modern mid-century and evocative eclectic pieces, Melbourne’s home and design shops house a variety of styles, and these five should be at the top of your list. Go out, buy well and come home to a house of which you can be proud.

1. mud

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What was once simply mud is transformed into modern Australian ceramics with a minimalistic artisan finish. Established in 1994, mud features durable and functional handmade porcelain bowls, platters, vessels and vases, all designed by Shelley Simpson. Using Limoges porcelain from France, mud’s homewares achieve great colour depth by tinting through the porcelain body. Step into the store and be greeted by a kaleidoscope of crockery with designs and shades changing seasonally.

2. fenton&fenton

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Lucy Fenton’s eclectic emporium pays homage to her travels abroad through exotic furniture, whimsical fashion and colourful linens and artwork. Her husband Josh is responsible for fenton&fenton‘s renowned rug collection featuring vibrant, geometric designs, which are sure to funk up your flooring. The diverse collection mixes ‘origins and eras’ that encompass various cultures and aesthetics to create a showroom boldly decorated with one-off curios. If you can’t make it to the store, the comprehensive website offers an extensive variety of homewares, and you may just be swayed to make the journey to Prahran.

3. Jardan

Church, Store

From humble beginnings in 1987 as a family-owned furniture business, Jardan have grown into a brotherly enterprise, run by Nick and Mike Garnham, that now employs over one hundred. Their flagship store in Richmond is hard to miss with its baby blue and gold exterior, and upon stepping inside, you’ll discover two storeys of mid-century homewares – the store even has its own barista. Inspired by the modernist designs of John and Sunday Reed, Jardan’s collection includes ‘crafted to order’ furniture as well as linen, ceramics and artwork.

4. Lightly

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As a tribute to her late grandmother Rosemary Estelle Lightly, Cindy-Lee Davies opened a design studio in 2005 that blends traditional aesthetics with cutting-edge technology. What began as a ceramics and lighting store now extends to a collection of 150 items which span across homewares and furniture. With a healthy dose of nostalgia, Lightly’s mid-century designs are created using natural materials such as wood, stone and leather for maximum quality and functionality. The collection features brass, copper and marble notes, ensuring that any purchase is effortlessly timeless.