There is something elemental about stepping barefoot on stone – and natural about taking a bath in a solid, smooth-curved earthen tub made of this basic substance either at an open-environment, rock-surrounded hot spring or in an at-home, free-standing bathing basin. But there is more than easy luxury beneath the surface of these outwardly simple stone tubs.

From small and wide to deep and tall, these bathtubs from Vaselli may require a good deal of space … but for those who like to take long, relaxing, meditative and luxurious dips they seem at first worthy of sacrificing a bit of spare square footage for.

But what is really for sale here? Close inspection reveals that the experience of these baths and feel of their surrounding spaces is tied to more than merely the deceptively smooth and largely free-standing quarried-and-cut stone tubs themselves.

Surrounding hardwood or stone floor and wall planks and tiles, stone basins and other natural decor as well as less visible elements (such as the overall amount and type lighting) are also key parts of these designer bathrooms as shown in the ideal settings represented within these pictures.

The lesson in all of this? If you are planning to recreate the full experience of a miniature spa setting in your own home, you might need to look beyond simply buying a luxury stone bathtub and at the larger interior design picture.

All that said: a gorgeous tub is a gorgeous tub. It’s hard not to appreciate these purely for their sculptural beauty.

From Vaselli:

“Stone is alive and transforms itself slowly and continually. Kaleidoscopes of colors and textures that draw ever differing horizons and profiles. Its spirit, though, is unique and it tells the age-old history of the world. Only those who approach it with patience and passion can capture its changefulness and interpret it to the full.”

“Every one of our realizations is tailor made, created to perfectly meet the client’s wishes. Without any limits, the only standard is the absolute exclusiveness of the result. No more ‘product lines’ but ‘philosophies of style’ capable of proposing archetypes to the inspiration of the client without limiting his creativity in a context of modules and measurements.”