If you’ve ever experienced that pleasing feeling that everything in a restaurant or bar is just as it should be, it’s possible you’ve been enjoying the handiwork of Paul Papadopoulos. The interior designer heads up creative agency DS17, which is renowned for its polished hospitality projects in Australia and abroad. But Papadopoulos is responsible for much more than just a venue’s interior.

“We come up with the crockery, cutlery, uniform, design – the whole thing it entails, working closely with the chef and the owners,” he says.

Papadopoulos has conjured elegant spaces including CBD restaurant Alpha and its upstairs bar Beta, Lotus Restaurant, The Resident and, most recently, Bel & Brio in Barangaroo. He also created the design blueprint for Greek street food chain Zeus. In each case, his holistic approach is evident, with lighting, custom furniture, bespoke art and even music coming together to create harmony.

The ideas for his latest project, upscale Lebanese restaurant Nour, came to him on the first site visit. The eatery is housed in the old Tokonoma site on Crown St, Surry Hills, and it had been stripped of its fittings when he walked in.

“The whole back of the restaurant was old glass panels. The natural light was spilling through and I thought ‘I love this, let’s emphasise this’. Not many restaurants have natural light or a back element that comes into the space, and it was fantastic,” he says.

“Because it was the old Tokonoma bar, which was dark and moody, I wanted to flip it on its head and go cool and fresh, with whites, pastel pinks and terracottas.”

The result is radically different and immediately inviting – a good match for Nour’s modern take on Levantine cuisine. Papadopoulos says that extensive menu tastings are both a starting point for his design briefs and an occupational perk.

“I love food, all I do is have feasts,” he says. “I always sit down with the chefs and say, ‘What kind of dishes are you doing and how are they plated up?’ The idea is to understand that at the beginning, and then make sure it is refined.”