Much admired interior designer Paul Papadopoulos heads the team at Sydney based design firm DS17- specialising in impressive hospitality and retail projects in Australia and all over the world.
Paul graduated from the KVB Institute of Design in 1992 with a degree in Interior Design. After working as a contractor for the first two years of his career, Paul set up DS17 in 1994, with the vision of becoming a new breed of creative agency and a fresh pair of eyes on design.
“DS17 is a creative melting pot, coming up with ideas that work and new mediums to work into them. We don’t like labels or limits, we don’t restrict our work to traditional design- we enjoy meshing creativity, passion and innovation,” says Paul.
It was Paul’s Greek heritage and passion for hospitality that drew him towards working with food, and he soon embarked on his first restaurant project in Sydney’s Cockle Bay Wharf.
From then on, the company has continued to develop a strong reputation in this niche area of hospitality and retail design. Since DS17’s conception, Paul and his team have worked on over 150 projects that build on the company’s main ethos of creating unique and memorable spaces.
“DS17 is ultimately producing a brand and a concept and we believe you should be consistent- from the way the message is portrayed, through to the name, business cards, level of lighting, beautiful music, uniform designs, plate ware, crockery and cutlery. We get into all those aspects,” says Paul.
Their guiding principle is based on a process of reducing architecture down to its essential concept- using space, light and form. DS17 believes this will incite a positive response from people who walk through the door of spaces they’ve designed.
Locally Paul and the team have worked on a number of high profile hospitality ventures including Alpha Restaurant, China Republic, Lotus Dumpling Bar, The Meat and Wine Co, Candeloris and more.
His most recent project is the stunning Beta Bar, located in Sydney’s CBD and officially opening its doors to the public at the end of June.
“The whole idea for us with this project was not to undermine the existing architecture. We wanted it to be simplistic and to keep the old fabrics, the ‘old world’ feel; such as the rawness and beauty of the building. We created what we call a ‘modern glamorous installation.’ We didn’t purely concentrate on the interior fit-out and we kept in mind that everything had to compliment the bar, food, functions and a lot of other diversities. So it was important not to try and tamper with it too much.”
“We wanted to keep the beauty as it was and we used for example the stunning lighting and mood settings, which can change the dynamic for both day and night, which is very important in this kind of environment,” he adds.
When it came to décor, Paul and his team used neutral tones, mainly shades of grey and they also introduced minimal pop of colour; adding a variety of alluring opal greens and tints of turquoise. “With the colour representation we wanted to do something a little bit different in the market, it isn’t your stereotypical Aegean blue that resembles Greece. We wanted something more modern and eclectic so you feel you could be somewhere in New York, perhaps London; or it could be somewhere on the Greek islands but it was more about a modern installation,” says Paul.
International projects include the award-winning Tribes restaurant in Dubai and The Meat Co. They are also currently embarking on some very inspiring projects in Dubai, Los Angeles and New York, which will be revealed soon.
Paul and his team draw inspiration from travelling the world with simple design philosophy, “Design must seduce, shape and more importantly evoke an emotional response. The design creates culture, culture shapes values, and values determine the future.”
Each project combines DS17’s love of natural materials and a focus on bespoke design features, giving each venue a unique edge. Custom-made furnishings and detailing are a strong point and one of their most notable being the stone wall inscribed with ancient Greek script at the acclaimed Alpha Restaurant in Sydney.
With their highly regarded expertise and knowledge in hospitality and retail industries, Paul and the DS17 team have now expanded their vision for the future, hoping to take on larger projects in the hotel sphere.
Impressive! Do you design houses too?