In The Roundhouse: Bold Plates, Kitchenware & Reviews

Few brands have nailed the art of making dinner feel like an occasion without a corresponding price tag. In The Roundhouse, a Sydney-based homewares label founded in 2020, has built a loyal following around plates and bowls that mix bold prints with everyday durability. The founders started the brand on weekends and lunch breaks while working other jobs, and now their bone china plates have landed in major retailers and 163K Instagram followers later, the buzz hasn’t slowed.

Founded: 2020 · Location: Sydney, Australia · Instagram Followers: 163K · Founders: Alyce Tran and Brooke Bickmore · Free Delivery Threshold: Over $100 in Australia

The table below consolidates the brand’s key operational details from retailer and official sources.

What is In The Roundhouse?

In The Roundhouse is an Australian homewares brand that designs plates, bowls, and kitchenware meant to make everyday meals feel special. Founded in 2020 by school friends Alyce Tran and Brooke Bickmore, the brand grew from a personal frustration into a growing business that now reaches 163K Instagram followers.

Founders and origin

Brooke Bickmore spent years working in magazine publishing in Sydney and London before the idea for In The Roundhouse took shape. She moved back to Adelaide from Sydney during COVID, and during that transition she couldn’t find modern, individually purchasable printed plates that fit her style. Alyce Tran, her longtime school friend, had already built experience running The Daily Edited fashion accessories brand. Together, they started In The Roundhouse on weekends and lunch breaks while maintaining their other commitments. The brand was designed in Sydney and manufactured in China, with new bone china—essentially a form of porcelain—serving as the primary material for all plates.

Alyce Tran explained the vision to Kiddo Mag: “We hope that In the Roundhouse becomes the go-to brand for this generation for tabletop homewares.”

Brand mission

The brand’s core mission centers on elevating family mealtimes without demanding extra effort from busy households. Brooke Bickmore told Kiddo Mag that plates work equally well for weeknight dinners with simple foods like chicken nuggets and for special occasions. The design process drew inspiration from restaurants, hotels, and unique interiors the founders encountered during their careers. Rather than requiring handwashing or special care, the brand prioritized practical features from the start—dishwasher safety and microwave safety rank as top priorities for everyday use.

What are In the Round House plates?

In The Roundhouse plates are the brand’s flagship product category, designed in Sydney and made from new bone china with a clear glaze coating. These are not your grandmother’s formal china—they feature mix-and-match prints, bold colors, and contemporary forms built for everyday use and entertaining. The plates ship individually, meaning buyers can purchase one dinner plate in a floral print and pair it with a solid-color side plate from a different collection.

Design features

Every In The Roundhouse plate passes safety and durability tests: they are dishwasher safe, microwave safe, and food safe according to the brand’s official FAQs. Brooke Bickmore explained to Kiddo Mag the reasoning behind this priority: “No matter what stage of life you’re in, I don’t think anyone wants to be handwashing if they can avoid it!” The plates feature bold graphic patterns alongside more subtle options, with designs inspired by restaurants, hotels, and unique interiors the founders had seen during their careers in publishing and fashion.

David Jones, a major Australian retailer, describes the brand as offering plates “for the relaxed Australian lifestyle with artistic flair.”

Available styles

The product range spans multiple categories. David Jones lists dinner plates, side plates, deep bowls, and shallow bowls in stoneware construction. The Sicily Stripe collection represents one of the brand’s distinctive pattern lines. Brooke Bickmore mentioned her personal favorite: a scallop edge dining set that she describes as having a brand twist. Some popular designs have sold out entirely—the Italian side plates famously sold out before Better Homes and Gardens reported on budget alternatives. For those seeking the sold-out Italian side plates pattern, Reject Shop’s Havana Happy Hour collection offers a stoneware dupe at $3.50 each (roughly $14 for a set of 4), compared to In The Roundhouse’s Italian side plates at $80 for a set of 4.

The pattern: budget-conscious buyers can find similar aesthetics for a fraction of the price, though original designs tend to sell out quickly once noticed.

What is Round House kitchenware?

Beyond plates, In The Roundhouse has expanded into broader kitchenware territory. The brand now offers dinnerware collections that include not just plates but also bowls and specialty pieces designed for the modern Australian table. The kitchenware is meant to work together as a collection or stand alone as individual statement pieces.

Product range

Available pieces include dinner plates, side plates, deep bowls, and shallow bowls, with stoneware construction across the range. David Jones catalogs the full collection, offering pieces individually so buyers can build their own mix-and-match sets. The brand reportedly planned to expand further into cutlery and glassware by the end of the interview year, per Kiddo Mag’s reporting. Alyce Tran has also suggested unconventional uses—plating takeaway food on In The Roundhouse pieces to elevate even fast food into a more deliberate dining experience. “Plating up takeaway makes it feel like it is more of a proper meal – I highly recommend,” she told Kiddo Mag.

Usage ideas

The brand markets kitchenware for both everyday meals and entertaining occasions. Brooke Bickmore told Kiddo Mag that her own plates see use with everything from family dinners to weekend entertaining. The practical durability means buyers don’t need to reserve special pieces for special occasions—these are plates designed to be used daily and washed in a dishwasher without worry. Some customers reportedly use the plates for plating takeaway to create a restaurant-like experience at home.

In the Round House reviews

Customer reviews for In The Roundhouse are available through Junip, a review platform that aggregates verified buyer feedback. The current dataset shows limited but positive signals.

Customer feedback

Junip, a verified review platform, records 9 reviews for In The Roundhouse with a 94% recommend rate. This sample size is relatively small compared to more established brands, which means the recommendation percentage could shift significantly as more reviews accumulate. The reviews touch on product quality, shipping experience, and general satisfaction with the brand’s aesthetic and functionality.

Beyond structured reviews, the founders report strong positive engagement on their Instagram following of 163K. The brand’s social media presence serves as an informal feedback channel where customers share photos of their tables and meals.

Pros and cons

What is Round House Sicily Stripe?

The Sicily Stripe collection represents one of In The Roundhouse’s signature pattern lines, named for its Mediterranean inspiration. This pattern features the bold graphic stripes associated with Sicilian ceramics and textiles, reinterpreted through the brand’s contemporary lens.

Product details

The Sicily Stripe pattern appears across multiple product types within the collection. Like other In The Roundhouse pieces, products in this collection are made from new bone china and feature the same dishwasher-safe and microwave-safe construction. The stripe patterns come in various colorways, though specific color availability changes as collections sell out or rotate.

Where to buy

The Sicily Stripe collection is available through the official In The Roundhouse website, which offers the full current range. Major Australian retailer David Jones also stocks In The Roundhouse products including Sicily Stripe pieces. International retailers including Glassette, Holt Renfrew, and Revolve carry the brand, though specific collection availability varies by retailer and region. Contact information for the brand is available at info@intheroundhouse.com or admin@intheround.house for customer service inquiries.

What this means: shoppers outside Australia should check directly with retailers or the brand website for the most accurate international shipping options and collection availability.

The specifications below summarize material, safety ratings, and pricing data from official and retailer sources.

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Frequently asked questions

Related reading

Better Homes and Gardens Australia covered the brand’s popular Italian side plates and noted budget alternatives when designs sold out. Kiddo Mag’s extensive founder interview provides the most detailed account of the brand’s origins and vision.

“We hope that In the Roundhouse becomes the go-to brand for this generation for tabletop homewares.”

— Alyce Tran, Co-founder (via Kiddo Mag founder interview)

“No matter what stage of life you’re in, I don’t think anyone wants to be handwashing if they can avoid it!”

— Brooke Bickmore, Co-founder (via Kiddo Mag founder interview)

For Australian families looking to elevate weeknight dinners without adding chores, In The Roundhouse offers a practical answer: durable bone china in bold patterns, built to survive the dishwasher and still look good on the table. The brand’s mix-and-match model lets buyers curate their own aesthetic without committing to a full matching set. Design-conscious shoppers on tighter budgets can watch for budget dupes from retailers like Reject Shop, though the originals tend to sell out fast once the design-conscious crowd catches on.