Gina Cucina is an Aladdin's cave for buyers of homewares. They have lovely stainless steel…read moresaucepans, beautiful ceramic dishes, cutlery and kitchen gadgets. The 130 square metre shop is chock-a-block with Saeco and La Pavoni coffee machines, Scanpan cookware, Chasseur cast iron pots and Zyliss utensils. They also have a range of pasta machines and cutters. They even have a range of olive oils. It's a great place to window shop while you're waiting, frittering away time deciding what you're going to buy next

Gina Cucina has a lot of good stuff, but it's all pretty expensive. This has not stopped me from…read moredreaming. Gina Cucina sells top-quality pots and pans and glassware, a wide range of Global and Scanpan Knives, themed cake tins (these are my favourite, with bee-hives, caterpillars and houses), $150 toasters, a bunch of other appliances and shelves of Italian stove-top espresso makers. They've got cook books, keep-cups and the leader of my coffee-cup wish list: piccolo sized porcelain 'crumpled plastic' cups. Gina Cucina also stocks a huge range of intriguing and inventive consumer products. You can imagine the delight on the faces of those who found the market - "Peeling garlic is annoying ... lets make something that makes it seem easier and fun!" Strawberry top snatchers, pasta measures and garlic peelers, these products are my favourite. As I'm laughing at the ridiculous nature of consumerism, I'm secretly thinking of ways to justify buying these necessary items for myself.

Made On Earth is one of the few remaining independent giftware/homewares stores in the CBD. As…read moresuch, you can find things you don't see replicated on every street corner. They stock a huge range from bric-a-brac to candles, scarves and kitchenalia, even sometimes lovely chinese painted furniture which I've never been able to work out how to get back home on the train. They used to be located in the old Midcity centre across the road, and to my mind have never replicated the lush and comfy feel of the old store. But the staff are always lovely, and they have sales where you can pick up a real bargain. When you're stuck for a last minute gift, it's the perfect place to rush in a find something slightly out of the ordinary.

I love this place!…read more Popped in yesterday because I'm doing a bit of redecorating and wanted to see what they had. Ended up with more than I expected. They have a great range of home decor and small gifts you can use as a joke or on a serious note. I always come here for a last minute gift idea and it's great for secret santa parties. Make sure you walk through the whole store and look at everything. There are hidden gems everywhere and you might walk away with some pretty unique gifts.

I love this shop! Doona covers, home decor items, towels... they have a good range. Staff are…read morefriendly & helpful. Often have items reduced. ... Sometimes I've taken the risk and waited it out. Fell in love with some hand painted bowls that complimented smaller bowls & containers that I'd bought on Japan. And I hadn't dragged them halfway across the world. Sighted a gorgeous white jug that looked like a fish... Quite oriental.... So that came home with me too.

When did I become the kind of person who loves homewares?…read more No, really, when did that happen? When did it become vital for me to know about Scanpans and silicone egg poachers? Perhaps I can trace it back to the day when I stopped walking past Culinary Delight and started wandering in. From memory I was on the hunt for polka dot napkins (no, really), and wound up spending way too long mentally swapping out out everything in my kitchen for the shiny items in this store. And this was even before the era of Masterchef. So god help me now.

I can never resist a homewares store so decided to walk on in. The front window displays are very…read moretempting and were what drew me in. They stock all things bright and beautiful from party wares to general cups and dishes. With almost everything and anything kitchen and homewares related, they will have it. Located centrally in Wahroonga, it's a one stop shop for your entertaining needs!

While Chef's Warehouse in Surry Hills is generally the more talked-about vendor of specialty and…read moreindustrial cookware, Kitchen Kapers is a well-kept secret that stocks a similar range of goods - and it's open to the public. This little corner shop houses all manner of tableware and cooking utensils at decent prices like Regas earthernware dishes and Italian Bialetti coffee macinettas, hard-wearing piping bags, conical strainers and tongs designed especially for fish fillets, through to large-scale rice cookers and cured meat slicers like those found at proper delis. For bona fide chefs, they also sell industry grade uniforms, including aprons, whites and toques, and offer trade discounts. Meanwhile, home cooks like me can simply revel in the awesome range of useful items and baking products - multicoloured cupcake patties and alphabet-shaped icing cutters, just to name a couple.

Kitchen Kapers is a place for small business café/restaurant owners or the foodie chef wannabes…read morelike my little sister... one more or... mum's who are creating their child's first birthday cake and haven't done much in the way of creative cooking before. I'm in the last category, you might have guessed. Before I came here I'd already bought my circus patterned cup cake holders (I figure it's the cutest easiest way to create a 1 shape - just place the cupcakes in a straight line right?!). But if I hadn't I might have bought the large 1 cake tin hanging in the wall. I didn't know they existed and didn't fancy cooking loads of cakes to cut and mold my own 1. What else do they have? A huge range of baking trays in all manner of shapes and sizes - square, loaf, circle, butterfly. Slate presentation plates - the kind you see in an upmarket cafe with their gourmet cakes displayed on. Uniforms Crockery, glasses, knives, teapots - all the things you'd find in a home kitchen but at restaurant quality. Large meat cutters Milkshake makers Large hot tea canisters Party gear, cake decorating icing and equipment Cook books Candles Mini colourful tongs Anything you'd want to cook anything with essentially

Pungent is how I'd describe this shop. It belts you as soon as you enter like some Mothers Day gift…read moreconvention has hit town. All things aromatic is only the start of it. It's glittery and sparkly and ARRRGGGHH. It's a real assault on the senses and the kind of shop that you'd have a heart attack in, if you went with small children. The remit for this Award winning shop appears to be 'anything to fill the home and if it smells good it's a bonus'. Kitchenware, cushions, candles, cards, corner tables...all manner of, pardon the vernacular, cr*p. If you're keen to support local business though, instead of heading to the big chains head here, for enough frippery to fill your home several times over. We bought our first coffee table from here - A squat Balinese affair that served as a diminutive dining table/study/coffee table for many years. Fond memories.

Mosman seems to specialise in this sort of business - people in the lower north shore must be…read moreforever thanking one another or recognising events and milestones, as these shops just cry out for you to buy the things to give them to someone else. It's not necessarily that you wouldn't want them for yourself - just that you probably wouldn't BUY them for yourself. Candles to thank the neighbours for emptying the letter box, photo frame for the teacher, salad servers for your dinner party host, hand cream for Secretary's Day. All price levels covered, and the usual last minute temptations on the sales counter. The Storehouse must be facing severe competition, but it's a local stalwart and regular local business award winner so it must be getting something right - not least its convenient location up above the supermarket.

Amazing staff and a beautifully curated store with high quality gourmet food and kitchenwares.read more

Foodies be warned - you will find it very difficult to leave this shop without buying anything. I'm…read morenot even a foodie and I walked out with three designer gift cards, two cute drinking cups and a packet of star shaped hundreds and thousand chocolates. The store also has an cooking school in the back room. I had a peak at a class in progress as it is open to browsing shoppers. Though you can use your card you must spend over $20 - I got stuck out and had to rummage through my purse to find the dimes. Price wise you can find some inexpensive yummy original gifts and you can pay a lot for quality pots, pans and knives. If gourmet food gifts, giant jars of strawberry jam and funky kitchen appliances are your things Accoutrement is your place.

Quite simply, this has got to be one o the most useful shops in the world. Who doesn't need compact…read morestorage solutions! Its not hard to see why Howards Storage Worlds are popping up in most big shopping centres. This particular store is a good one. The assistants are helpful, they are well stocked and I challenge you to have a browse around without realising that you actually really really do need that whatever it is... and promptly buying it!

This unique and fun shop locates in the Westfield Shopping Centre. It's small but you can find out…read moremany unique items. I dropped by this shop sometimes recently. Once, when I was looking for storage drawers and the other day when I was looking for the secret Santa gift. I saw some storage drawers but comparing to the ones from MUJI, I prefer the ones from MUJI. But I like this shop so I'd like to drop by sometimes to find out fun items for the unique gifts. Prices are not cheap but not expensive either.