The Art of Bathing: Stonebaths Australia Brings Designer Stone Baths to South Yarra

On Toorak Road, among the cafés, boutiques and terrace shopfronts of South Yarra, sits one of Melbourne’s more unusual design destinations. There is no salesperson at the door. There is no hard sell. Instead, Stonebaths Australia invites you to walk in, take your time, and run a hand across the curves of a freestanding stone bath.

That quiet, unhurried approach has been the company’s signature since founder Jim Bedwell opened one of Australia’s first dedicated online bath and basin stores in 2004. More than two decades later, Stonebaths is a leading supplier of lightweight stone, solid-surface and acrylic baths across Australia and New Zealand, with a Melbourne showroom at 12 Toorak Road and a catalogue that now stretches from compact Japanese soak tubs to copper statement pieces and commercial ramp basins.

The neighbourhood around the showroom is part of the appeal. South Yarra sits between the Yarra River, Fawkner Park and Chapel Street, and Toorak Road itself is a strip of fashion, dining and design. For homeowners renovating a terrace, architects specifying a multi-residential project, or interior designers hunting a centrepiece bath, the location is convenient and the visit is pressure-free.

An unmanned showroom, by design

Stonebaths pioneered the unmanned showroom in Australia and New Zealand. The South Yarra space is open seven days a week, from 8am to 8pm. Visitors let themselves in, inspect finishes, colours and silhouettes at their own pace, and call the national number if a question arises.

The company is frank about what you will and will not find on the floor. Your exact model may not be on display. What is there is a working cross-section of textures, colours and materials — enough to judge the weight of a rim, the softness of a curve, and the difference between a matte limestone gel coat and a solid-surface finish. Samples can also be requested if you cannot get to Melbourne.

It is a model that suits the way bathrooms are specified today. Many clients arrive having already browsed the website. They want to confirm a finish in person, then order online or through the trade desk. Others are homeowners who simply want to stand beside a 1700mm oval bath and decide whether it belongs in their ensuite.

From iBath to Stonebaths

Bedwell founded the business as iBath in 2004, when buying a designer bath online was still a novelty. He built the website, the catalogue and the idea that customers should be able to see product without being hovered over. Directors John Spurway and Chris Henwood later joined the leadership group — Spurway across logistics, imports and day-to-day service, Henwood across commercial sales and project support.

The range has grown with the market. Stonebaths now lists well over 200 bath styles and hundreds of basins, sold to homeowners, architects, builders, developers and plumbing merchants throughout Australasia. In recent years the company has moved further into multi-residential towers, five-star resorts, remote lodges and commercial washrooms. Projects have included luxury apartments on the Gold Coast, terrace developments in Sydney, hospitality bathrooms, and ramp basins for schools and early-learning centres.

What the baths are made of

Stonebaths is not a quarry-cut marble house. The core indoor ranges are lightweight composites designed to look and feel like stone without the installation problems of a 400-kilogram carved tub.

The limestone (polymarble) baths that made the company’s name are typically around 50 per cent natural limestone and 50 per cent high-grade resin, finished with a coloured gel coat. They hold heat well, clean with everyday cream cleansers, and generally weigh between about 90kg and 195kg depending on size — light enough for most residential floors and far easier to manoeuvre up a Melbourne terrace staircase than natural stone.

Solid surface is the premium option: a non-porous blend of natural minerals, acrylic resins and pigment, with a seamless look and strong stain resistance. Acrylic lines sit at a more accessible price point. Hugi baths can be ordered in custom colours. Outdoor pieces are specified separately; white outdoor baths carry a five-year warranty, while indoor baths are covered for ten years against defects.

European design, modern manufacturing and Australian certification sit behind the range. Products are WaterMark and, where relevant, WELS approved. Specification sheets and CAD drawings are available for architects and plumbers.

A catalogue with more than one mood

The Justina range is the house classic — an oval freestanding limestone bath that architects have specified for more than twenty years. Customers often come back for a second or third. It is available in several lengths, including a compact 1500mm and the popular 1700mm, and now in a wider palette of matte colours, including terrazzo and arabescato-inspired finishes. Matching Justina basins keep ensuite and powder room in the same family.

Hugi is the more sculptural cousin: slim edges, organic lines, and the option of colour. Silvia and Sylvia pieces bring rounder, softer profiles that work well in smaller ensuites. Vivienne stretches to 1800mm for two. Josei deep Japanese soak tubs suit the current taste for upright, space-efficient bathing — a deep sit rather than a long lie, ideal for apartments and compact bathrooms.

Outdoor baths have been part of the offer since 2006. The Bayley and other limestone outdoor pieces are used on decks, in courtyards and beside pools from beach houses to eco-lodges. Copper and brass tubs, handmade in heavier gauges, are the statement end of the range — hammered or smooth, slipper or double-ended.

Then there is the commercial work that many retail visitors never see. The Ramp Basin Collection, launched more widely in 2022, supplies wall-hung ramp and trough basins to schools, childcare centres, sports facilities and public buildings. Junior access basins and safety details have gone into projects as varied as early-learning refurbishments and airport amenities.

Trade, samples and the long game

Stonebaths sells both retail and trade. Indent orders typically take a 50 per cent deposit, with the balance due on arrival and lead times often around 12 to 14 weeks for made-to-order pieces. Popular lines are held in stock. Freight is quoted separately, products ship fully crated, and delivery is generally to the kerb.

The company offers tiered trade pricing, complimentary specification drawings, and finish samples posted to designers who cannot visit South Yarra. Lookbooks and a designer’s guide are available as downloads. After-sales support is part of the pitch: a decade of indoor warranty, a published process for transit damage, and a team that still answers the 1800 number seven days a week during showroom hours.

Customers tend to mention the same things in reviews: the product quality, the price against comparable online baths, and the responsiveness of the desk. “Great product and service. Very happy with our purchase, highly recommended,” wrote Loc in Melbourne. Heidi in Red Hill, Queensland, called the products “beautiful” and the service professional. Alicia in Chatswood said the team was “helpful and responsive.” Glenn in Seacliff recommended Jane and John by name.

Why South Yarra homeowners look here

Inner-south renovations have a particular set of constraints. Period houses in South Yarra, Prahran, Armadale and Toorak often have narrow halls, first-floor ensuites and floors that will not thank you for a half-tonne of marble. A lightweight stone bath that still reads as a sculptural object solves a practical problem as well as an aesthetic one.

The unmanned showroom also fits the suburb. You can walk up Toorak Road after a coffee, spend twenty minutes with the pieces, photograph a finish for your builder, and leave without a sales script. If you need numbers, a quote request or a phone call to 1800 462 946 is the next step — not a commission-driven floor walk.

For architects and builders working across Victoria, the South Yarra address is a convenient physical anchor for a business that is otherwise national. Display baths also appear in selected display homes, including a Silvia in matte khaki at Nativhaus by G-LUX Builders in Dixons Creek.

Visit, call or specify

Stonebaths Australia remains what Bedwell set out to build: a specialist bath and basin house with a proper showroom, a deep catalogue, and a preference for letting the product do the talking.

If you are specifying a bathroom in Melbourne’s inner south — or anywhere that a well-made freestanding bath still matters — 12 Toorak Road is worth the detour.

Stonebaths Australia
Melbourne Showroom
12 Toorak Road, South Yarra VIC 3141

Open 7 days, 8am–8pm (unmanned showroom)
Phone: 1800 462 946
Email: info@stonebaths.com.au
Sales: sales@stonebaths.com.au
Website: https://www.stonebaths.com.au
Instagram: @stone_baths
Facebook: Stonebaths Australia

New Zealand: 0800 001 872 | info@stonebaths.co.nz

Ask for a showroom guide, finish samples or a project quote. Bring measurements, a floor plan if you have one, and time to look properly. The bath you leave thinking about is usually the one you end up specifying.