There's a big difference between "designed in Australia" and "made in Australia". Plenty of brands with Aussie names and Aussie photoshoots make their products overseas. Nothing wrong with that, but if you want your money to support local makers, it pays to look a little closer.
Our Australian-made furniture is crafted from Aussie-grown timber, so we care a lot about this. Here are some of our favourite Australian brands making things here for the rest of your home.
How we chose: every brand on this list makes its products, or the specific range we mention, in Australia. Where a brand makes some things here and some overseas, we've said so.
For the table: ceramics and tableware
Mud Australia
Shelley Simpson started Mud in 1994, and each piece is still handmade in Sydney from porcelain. Mud is known for its soft, chalky colours and simple shapes, and it's one of those brands you'll spot in a lot of design lovers' kitchens. It looks beautiful against warm timber.
Robert Gordon (Australian-made range)
Robert Gordon is a family pottery that began in 1945, with three generations of potters behind it. Not everything they sell is made here, as some ranges are made overseas, so check the product details for their Australian-made pieces.
Kim Wallace Ceramics
Made by hand by a small team in Noosa, Kim Wallace Ceramics creates functional tableware in earthy, natural colours, designed to be used every day.
For the kitchen and linen cupboard
A quick note first: linen fabric itself is almost always woven from flax grown overseas. The brands below print and sew their pieces here, which is where much of the work and the design happens.
Yarn
Yarn's homewares range is printed and sewn locally in Meanjin (Brisbane), featuring artwork by Aboriginal artists. Their linen-blend tea towels are a lovely way to bring colour and story into a kitchen.
Femke Textiles
Femke hand screenprints 100% linen tea towels in Melbourne using water-based inks, with designs inspired by Australian native plants like gumnut blossom and wattle.
Bespoke Letterpress
Bespoke Letterpress makes 100% linen tea towels in Australia, including a beautiful native wildflowers design.
For the walls: paint
Porter's Paints
Porter's started in 1982 when Peter Lewis began making traditional lime washes in a garage in Randwick, using old recipes from his grandfather Fred Porter, a builder. Their paints are still made by hand, and they're known for beautiful textured finishes like lime wash and mineral paint. Some of their paints are rated Very Low VOC, and they were founding participants in PaintBack, a national scheme for recycling leftover paint.
If you're pairing paint with timber, warm whites and soft earthy tones tend to bring out the grain, while deep greens and blues make a lighter timber pop.
For scent and light: candles
Red Hill Candle Co
Red Hill Candle Co has been hand-pouring soy candles in small batches on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula since 2016. They're an Australian Made licensee, and their range includes an Australiana collection.
Uaine Candles
Uaine hand-pours 100% soy wax candles in Morpeth in the Hunter Valley, using Australian native fragrance oils. The candles are certified Australian Made.
Beloved Scents
Beloved Scents hand-pours soy candles on the NSW South Coast and holds Australian Made certification.
What about cutlery?
We went looking, and here's the honest truth: Australian-made cutlery is very hard to find. Many well-known Australian cutlery brands design their ranges here and make them overseas. That's not a bad thing, but it's worth knowing if local making is important to you.
That gap says a lot about how much manufacturing has moved offshore, and why it matters to support the makers who are still here.
How to check if something is really Australian made
- Look for the green and gold Australian Made logo. Brands have to apply and meet set rules to use it.
- Read the fine print. "Designed in Australia" and "Australian owned" are not the same as "made in Australia".
- Ask where it's made, and where the materials come from. A good brand will happily tell you.
- Check the product page, not just the brand page. Some brands make certain ranges here and others overseas.
Where we fit in
At The Acacia Tree, our Australian-made furniture is crafted from Aussie-grown timber and built in Melbourne. We also stock some imported pieces, and we label everything clearly so you always know which is which. Our bedroom and dining ranges sit alongside pieces from brands like these in homes all over the country. Each Australian-made piece is handcrafted to order by skilled local makers and comes with a 5-year manufacturer's warranty. We plant a tree with every purchase, too.
Common questions
How do I know if a product is Australian made?
Look for the Australian Made logo, check the product listing for where it was made, and ask the brand. "Designed in Australia" usually means it was made somewhere else.
Is Australian-made homewares more expensive?
Often a little, because of local wages and smaller production runs. But you're usually getting higher quality, and you're supporting local jobs.
What's the difference between Australian made and Australian owned?
Australian owned means the business is owned here. Australian made means the product was made here. A brand can be one without being the other.
