New Paddington Showroom
In Sydney’s Paddington, DUNLIN opens a new showroom, presenting its lighting collection alongside a curated collection of pieces by Rose Uniacke, Original BTC and Disderot.
DUNLIN has opened an appointment-only showroom on Elizabeth Street in Paddington, Sydney that steps away from the language of retail. Set within a restored terrace house, the space presents lighting, furniture and object as a considered, lived interior, marking a significant step in the studio’s evolution since it was founded by Nicholas Barber in 2010. Taylor McGuire Barber has since joined the studio, becoming integral to its creative direction and growth.
DUNLIN began as a response to a specific frustration. While practising architecture with leading architectural firms in both Sydney and New York, Nicholas Barber found it difficult to source lighting and furnishings with the material honesty and restraint he was after, and the business grew from that gap. Over the past five years, the studio has extended into its own lighting collection, produced in solid brass, hand-blown glass and handwoven rattan, with finishes intended to develop character with age.
That collection is now featured in private residences and hospitality projects from Bruny Island and Groote Eylandt to Noosa and Margaret River, while DUNLIN continues to build its presence across the United States and Europe. The Paddington terrace is the first DUNLIN setting in which the full collection is presented, here alongside a group of exclusive, one-of-a-kind pieces created especially for the showroom.
“Our intention has always been to create pieces that feel as though they belong, objects that become part of the architecture of a home and grow more beautiful with time.”
The showroom itself is conceived as the physical expression of the couple’s distinct backgrounds – Barber trained in architecture at the University of Sydney, McGuire Barber in fine art and fashion after working as an equity trader in New York. The showroom’s balance of restraint and material confidence reads as the product of both. Each room is arranged as a single composition, lighting considered alongside furniture and object to build one atmosphere, with mood shifting from entry through to living areas and bedroom. “Lighting has the ability to transform the way a space is experienced,” says Nicholas Barber. “Our intention has always been to create pieces that feel as though they belong, objects that become part of the architecture of a home and grow more beautiful with time.”
That intention extends to the brands DUNLIN has brought together under the one roof. Alongside its own collection and the pieces created for the showroom, the terrace holds Rose Uniacke lighting, furniture and fabric, Original BTC lighting from Britain and Disderot pendants handmade in Paris. The selection reflects a shared commitment to material integrity over trend, and it is this curatorial instinct, more than any single object, that has made DUNLIN a destination for architects, interior designers and private clients over the past decade and a half.
In 2025, DUNLIN extended its collaborative reach with the Handelsmann + Khaw lighting collection, the first release in an ongoing partnership and part of a wider pattern of collaboration that has carried the company’s design language beyond Australia, with a second collection scheduled for 2027.
The Paddington showroom folds that growth back into a single address, an appointment-only terrace that invites visitors to experience the studio’s approach to lighting, furniture and object room by room.
