Natural stone & stone-look tiles.

The case for real stone. Real stone has a depth that printing technology cannot fully reproduce. Veining runs through the body of the tile rather than sitting on the surface. Travertine pits are real voids. Limestone develops a soft patina with age. For heritage renovations or feature walls where authenticity is the brief, nothing else will do.

Why most Australian bathrooms now use porcelain. Real marble, travertine and limestone all need sealing, often annually, and they stain. Porcelain stone-look doesn't. It's harder, sized to the millimetre across an entire production run, and impervious to the things that ruin real stone, wine, citrus, soap scum, hair dye.

Where real stone still earns its place. Heritage renovations where the period demands it. Statement feature walls where irregularity is the point. Clients who want the real material and accept the upkeep. We supply real stone for these projects and are honest about the maintenance involved.

Cost. Real stone typically runs $180 to $450/m² supplied. Porcelain stone-look in the same visual range sits at $55 to $140/m². On a 60m² job, that's a $7,000 to $18,000 difference before installation.

The four stone looks Australians actually buy. Travertine-look, warm, honeyed, the dominant choice for outdoor pavers and Mediterranean-style ensuites. Carrara marble-look, soft grey veining on white, the default for modern bathrooms. Limestone look, pale, matte, slightly textured, popular in beachside builds. Bluestone look, dark grey, dense, used outdoors and in mudrooms.

Outdoor stone-look. Outdoor use requires 20mm format pavers with R11 or higher slip rating. Standard 10mm interior tiles will crack under thermal movement and sit too low for proper drainage. We rate every outdoor SKU clearly on the product page.

Grout. Always tone-match grout to the dominant stone colour. A travertine tile with bright white grout reads as a grid; the same tile with a beige grout reads as stone. This single choice does more for the finished look than any other detail.

Ordering. Add 10% wastage for straight lay, 15% for brick or diagonal. Order all tiles in one batch to keep the dye lot consistent. Talk to a tile expert →