Nine designer homewares that won't blow your budget

Not everyone can come up with $5,185 for a Noguchi coffee table. And neither can they afford the $10,430 for an epically uncomfortable Barcelona Chair. But that doesn’t mean you have to buy a designer rip-off to afford a classic. It just means you must lower your aspirations a tad.

A good way to begin collecting classics is to purchase your bigger ticket items from a less expensive local (for example, the multi-award winning Jasper Sofa from King Living is already a classic in its own right) and opt instead to fill your home with authentic designs that won’t blow the budget.

With your overdraft in mind, here are nine certified design classics that cost less than $500.

Peugeot Paris U’Select Pepper Grinder

Widely considered the greatest grinders on the planet, these have stood the test of time since 1842 when they were created by the Peugeot brothers, Jean-Pierre and Jean-Frederick. Unlike their dodgy cars, the pepper grinders are reliable and built to last, with a case-hardened steel mechanism and a turned-wood casing.

A Peugeot pepper mill is easily adjustable by turning the base, allowing for a coarser or finer grind, impressing everyone at your next dinner party.

Price: $49.90 (18-centimetre version in natural wooden finish), Teddingtons.

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Duralex Picardie Drinking Glasses

There is no glass more classic than the Picardie by Duralex. Originating in France in 1927, this humble tumbler became popular in Parisian bistros, where it was prized for its stackability, durability and the ease with which it could be held in the hand. The Picardie’s fluted, scalloped design is quietly elegant, and has more than stood the test of time.

Being made from tempered glass, the Picardie is able to hold very hot and very cold liquids without cracking, making it suitable for everything from espresso, to water to wine.

Price: $24.95 (set of six 250 millilitres), tomkin.com.au.

Birds by Toikka

​If you’re after a lovely objet d’art that puts a smile on the face, these little glass birds by Finnish designer, Professor Oiva Toikka for Iittala fit the bill. First created in 1972, more than 400 species have been created over the past 46 years.

Each is individually mouth blown at Finland’s oldest glass factory at the Nuutajarvi Glass Village, and collected by bird-spotters around the world.

Price: from $249, Iittala.

Componibili Module

Created by Anna Castelli Ferrieri for Kartell and first exhibited at Milan’s Salone del Mobile in 1967, this modular storage unit exudes space-age plastic fabulousness, and makes an ideal bedside table.

Part of the permanent collection of New York’s MOMA, this is a versatile piece of furniture, able to be stacked to make a taller unit. Our choice? The round, two-shelf version in white. Very cool.

Price: $175, Space Furniture.

Artek Stool 60

Although shamelessly copied by IKEA, if you want the real deal you can rest assured you’re buying Scandinavian quality. One of the most recognisable products in the history of design, the Stool 60 was created by Alvar Aalto in 1933.

Crafted in Finland from solid birch, and involving more than 40 production steps, Aalto developed the technology to produce the distinctive L shaped leg and mounted it directly to the underside of the seat.

Price: $350, Anibou.

Anglepoise 1227 Desk Lamp

Table lamps may come and go, but the 1227 will always be there, lighting our desks. It was an English automotive suspension engineer, George Carwardine, who came up with a spring that would stay in position even when released.

Figuring the spring had no practical application for vehicles, he used it to create an articulated task lamp instead. Launched in 1935, it has been in production ever since. And if you think it looks familiar, it’s probably because you’ve seen it at the start of every Pixar movie.

Price: $448, Cult Design

Unikko quilt cover

Marimekko’s Unikko is the most famous print in design history and perfectly captures the colourful flower-power-zeitgeist of the period. The design was created in 1964 by Maija Isola in defiance of her boss Armi Ratia (Marimekko’s founder), who had decreed that her company would never print a floral pattern.

The rebellious design has become one of the most recognised in the world, adorning everything from umbrellas, to tea pots, to bedding. 

Price: $199, Marimekko.

Take bedside lamp

The most recent design classic in our list is the Take lamp, created for Kartell in 2002 by one of Italy’s greatest designers, Ferruccio Laviani (famous also for his FL/Y suspension lamps, and Bourgie Lamp). The Take is made from transparent or coloured injected polycarbonate. And it looks damn cool!

Price: $190, Space Furniture.

Alessi Kettle 9093

This whistling bird kettle by Michael Graves is one of the most loved design classics of the 20th century. Since its debut in 1985, more than 2 million have been sold, making it Alessi’s most popular product for the past 33 years. Made in Italy from 18/10 mirror polished stainless steel, it is suitable for all stove tops including induction.

Price: $229, Teddingtons.