A refined Australian presence
Committed to elevated bathware design and craftsmanship, New Zealand-based Plumbline is expanding its Australian offering with a new Melbourne showroom.
With a comprehensive range spanning tapware, basins, baths and accessories, Plumbline has become a touchstone of architectural bathware in New Zealand. Drawing on the raw, elemental beauty of the landscape and a design ethos grounded in clarity and refinement, the company has spent more than three decades reshaping how bathrooms are designed and experienced. Now, Plumbline marks its arrival in Australia with the launch of a dedicated showroom and specification studio on Church Street in Richmond, Melbourne.
Founded in 1990 as a retail extension of a family plumbing business, Plumbline began with a tightly curated collection of boutique bathroom pieces. From the outset, the vision was clear: to offer elevated, design-driven alternatives to the utilitarian norm. Over the decades, the company has grown to become an industry leader in New Zealand, offering one of the country’s most extensive bathware collections, blending locally designed and manufactured products with exclusive international brands.
This foundation of design integrity and craftsmanship has underpinned a number of innovations including Buddy, New Zealand’s first coloured tapware collection. Conceived in 2015, Buddy was developed as a complete range of kitchen and bathroom tapware, with matching accessories, uniting beautiful proportions, precise functionality and carefully selected materials.
Since its launch, the collection has continually evolved and now comprises six distinct styles, 12 finishes and more than 300 individual pieces. Designed in Aotearoa and crafted in Italy’s Lake Orta region – home to generations of metalworking artisans – Buddy exemplifies Plumbline’s commitment to detail and refinement.
Fast forward to 2025, and Plumbline’s move into Melbourne represents a natural progression for the brand. Long recognised as a hub of architectural excellence and design leadership, the city shares Plumbline’s focus on material quality, craftsmanship and creative collaboration. The new showroom offers Australian architects and designers a tactile, immersive experience of the brand’s evolving range, designed to support co-creation and project-specific specification.
To bring this vision to life, Plumbline partnered with Melbourne interior design studio Nickolas Gurtler Office, known for crafting refined, detail-driven spaces. The resulting interior draws on the raw material palette of Aotearoa and the polished elegance of Melbourne modernism – a deliberate blending of identities that mirrors the brand’s trans-Tasman trajectory. Set across distinct zones, the space offers a thoughtful and intuitive path through the collection, encouraging designers to interact with products in meaningful ways.
The showroom opens with an exclusive installation: a new collaboration between Plumbline and Sydney-based designer Greg Natale. Adding to a growing list of Australian partnerships, the release signals Plumbline’s ongoing investment in local design voices and a long-term Australian presence.
Conceived as more than a traditional showroom, the Church Street space operates as a creative studio – a place to explore, consult and specify. Designed with collaboration in mind, it encourages architects and interior designers to bring clients into the process, offering a setting for hands-on project consultation and tailored specification. Whether refining a commercial fit-out or shaping a private residence, the showroom invites clarity and an exchange of ideas.
With its launch into the Australian market, Plumbline brings with it a legacy of thoughtful creation and technical rigour. More than that, it introduces a design philosophy shaped by its surroundings – one that embraces simplicity, material richness and the enduring power of the natural world.
