27 Questions: JJ Acuna, interior designer and founder of JJ Acuna / Bespoke Studio

Designer James JJ Acuna fuses traditional materials with a modern touch for a Korean restaurant

Home Tour: A Colourful Mid-Levels Abode Inspired by Tate Dining Room

Suzy Annetta meets designers JJ Acuna, Nelson Chow and Stanley KC in Design Anthology’s Hong Kong studio to unpack the challenges and rewards of starting and running an independent design firm in Asia

Interior designer JJ Acuna on persevering amidst a pandemic

Why Pineapple Buns Hold A Special Place in Designer JJ Acuna’s Heart

“When designing a space, I look for natural sources of daylight and whether or not the place has a sense of spirit or soul that I want to retain,” says Acuna. “I look at ways people could live, breathe and move about in this space. I want to inspire through design, so I consider how a space can add to a person’s wellbeing.”

Located at the base of a residential building in an up-and-coming Hong Kong neighborhood, Coffeelin is a coffee and cocktail bar designed by JJ Acuna / Bespoke Studio that pays homage to Milan, where the shop’s beans are sourced

JJ Acuna helps a former student and her husband create the home of their dreams

JJ Acuna / Bespoke Studio designed a Milanese-style coffee-to-cocktail destination bringing the coffee culture of Milan to Hong Kong’s trendy neighborhood Happy Valley

Since setting up his concept architecture and interior design practice in 2015 in Hong Kong and Manila, JJ Acuna has designed some of our city’s most popular hospitality outlets, including Elephant Grounds’ Caine Road flagship and chef Vicky Lau’s Tate Dining Room

JJ Acuna / Bespoke Studio turned the Coffeelin Cafe and Bar into a multi-functional space for day and night use with artistic design elements and a variety of seating set against the green backdrop

Apartment’s feng shui screens and Gen Z green, red and mustard yellow accents evoke old Hong Kong, from trams to the Jumbo floating restaurant

Designed by JJ Acuna / Bespoke Studio, the coffee-to-cocktail haven brings the best of Milanese culture to Hong Kong, through reflective design elements encompassing vintage and modern times

Perfect combination of materials and colors in this Hong Kong cafe and cocktail bar by JJ Acuna / Bespoke Studio

Итальянская кофейня в Гонконге. Венецианская штукатурка, мрамор и темно-зеленые детали воссоздают атмосферу Милана в кафе, спроектированном дизайнерами из JJ Acuna / Bespoke Studio

The simple Hong Kong brick-and-mortar shop which opened in 2013, has been described by DestinAsian 1 magazine as a "1950s American diner", where the "pink-neon logo" and the "retro-tiled floor" suggests a Hong Kong style cafe where "Wong Kar-Wai meets Grease." It is from this basis that designer,...

JJ Acuna’s 1,200 sq ft studio feels more like a lifestyle space than a traditional office, filled with places in which to work, relax and enjoy art

Elephant Grounds Coffee located in New Town Plaza, Sha Tin, Hong Kong, is the third local project of the Elephant Grounds brand, designed by JJ Acuna Bespoke Studio. The plaza which underwent a facelift between 2017-2019 is considered one of the busiest shopping malls in Hong Kong, making it a...

Juice designed by JJ Acuna Bespoke Studio is a retail clothing store located in the West District of Taichung, a city with a diverse history and vibrant cultural scene in Central Taiwan.

Hong Kong-based Sinclair Communications is a well respected Public Relations firm and a leader in the field of media communications within the Asian region. Collaborating with clients in the Creative, Lifestyle, Travel, and Non-Profit space, Sinclair's new headquarters was designed to reflect the...

Completed in July of 2018 by JJ Acuna Bespoke Studio, Essential Goodness is a restaurant located at the rooftop of the LUB’D hotel in the bustling Poblacion district of Manila.

Apartment TKO is an intimate 947 square foot residential project located in a Hong Kong High-Rise built in 2004. The project is designed to house a young newlywed and their newborn child at least for a few years. The existing flat consisted of 5 Bedrooms and 2.5 Baths. However, due to the lifestyle...

Studio-JJ is an artist and designer's live-work loft located in one Hong Kong's many Industrial Districts. With a ceiling height of almost 4-meters tall and full wall-to-wall windows facing the South-West; this light-filled industrial loft is a great place to work, meet, be creative, and design.

Pinot Duck is a 3,600 square foot 60-pax restaurant set street-side on the ground floor of a new residential tower designed by MAKE for Vanke Developers, located in the heart of Hong Kong’s once-Red Light bar and entertainment district, Wanchai. The menu, serving mostly duck cooked and...

The Central Sweets is JJ Acuna / Bespoke Studio’s first foray into multi-tenancy Food Hall design, with this particular project focused entirely on all things Dessert. Launched in the end of 2018, The Central Sweets is a yogurt shop, a Korean Ice Cream Shop, Bingsu, and a local Myanmar...

When tasked to re-envision, Tokyo Tokyo, a Filipino-Japanese fast casual restaurant chain with a strong Three-decades long history, the first questions our designers considered was how to make a Fast Casual restaurant more humanistic in its approach to making a customer feel better about themselves...

BÊP Olympian City brings Hong Kong's edgy Vietnamese cuisine brand from Central, across the harbour, to Kowloon-- catering a market looking for casual, fresh, and easy Vietnamese fare. JJA / Bespoke Architecture adopted the brand's existing interior concept for its largest site yet- set street...

Morty's is a Hong Kong-based Sports Bar and Deli approved by the New York Times. It specialises in classic "New York City-style" fares like Reuben Sandwiches, Pastrami on House Rye, Potato Salad, Bagel & House Lox, and Classic Cornbread selections. All using sustainable meat prepared for the...

Silver Award Winner of the Hong Kong Design Awards 2016 hosted by The Design 100.

The Villa D project is located in the centre of Manila's Makati District, one of the Philippine's most modernised and international hubs for business. The subdivision was created in the mid-20th century by Developers Ayala to cater to families who wanted to live in an American-style subdivision on...

Analogue, a Seattle-based game console design and fabrications company has finally moved into their own Asia headquarters in the heart of Hong Kong’s busy shopping district, Causeway Bay. The boutique office of ten employees is located on the third floor of an old streamlined-art moderne...

Nha Trang Vietnamese Canteen is a contemporary-yet-casual take on traditional Vietnamese street-food fare, served simply and honestly for a new generation of diners. The restaurant's design concept mirrors this contemporary take by giving a nod to Vietnam's street life, textures, and architectures-...

Hong Kong’s Vietnamese food offerings are getting slightly saturated with many new players in town. With BEP at K11 Musea, our job as Design Consultant was to take the BEP Brand name a step further with a new concept tailored specifically for the the site’s landlord, K11. This updated...

Miss Lee, a new dining concept by the Executive Chef and team behind the “Lee’s” brand of restaurants (Lee Lo Mei & Lee Ho Sing), is a 100% Vegetarian, Vegan, and Gluten-free restaurant focused on giving Hong Kongers an option for plant-based food in an all-day dining...

As the Elephant Grounds brand continues to gain footing on the global scene, JJ Acuna Bespoke Studio was commissioned to design the second international site in SM Podium, a major business and commercial district in Manila. This site offers busy clients much needed recess at an urban oasis with an...

Elephant Grounds Manila, located in the Fort Bonifacio District’s newest mixed-use development, One Bonifacio Tower and One Bonifacio High Street, is the the first International site for the Hong Kong-based Elephant Grounds brand. In Hong Kong, Elephant Grounds is a destination cafe and...

Hansik Goo is Hong Kong’s newest fine dining destination. At the helm is Korea’s Award-Winning, Chef Mingoo Kang, of Seoul’s famed Mingles restaurant. The name Hansik Goo is a play on words that can refer to both “a family that shares meals together” and “Korean...

The Chicken Bar is a new fast food brand, the brain child of both by Chef Max Levy of Okra and Micheal Chan of Honbo, the Chicken Bar aims to become a “beacon” in the heart of Central Hong Kong’s nightlife and F&B District, becoming a choice go-to option as a hunger buster for...

HONBO, a top-rated Hong Kong-based hamburger restaurant has finally opened its doors at The Mills, formally known as the Nan Fung Cotton Mills, a site made rich by its history in textile manufacturing era and production. The revitalised landmark, allows visitors to rediscover Hong Kong’s...

JJ Acuna / Bespoke Studio’s concept for Xiao Ting was the brand’s first collaboration with Four Seasons Hotel and Resorts and Sands Resorts. The 5-Star dining concept opened in spring 2021, replacing a café, Xiao Ting is a Guangdong-style casual dining and tea-house destination at...

Elephant Grounds Coffee Mid-Levels is the second landmark project by JJA / Bespoke Architecture for the Hong Kong-based cafe in two years. Designed in collaboration with Elephant Grounds founder, Kevin Poon, this new flagship location for the brand divides the double height space as a sequence of...

TATE Dining Room and Bar on Hong Kong's historic Hollywood Road is the newest iteration of this Michelin Rated Restaurant by founder Chef Vicky Lau. Winner of Asia's Best Female Chef Award in 2015, Chef Lau transforms her dreams, memories, and conceptual ideas into artful gastronomic iterations....

Italian café by day, a cocktail bar by night, this Milanese-style all-day establishment designed by JJ Acuna / Bespoke Studio brings the coffee culture of Milan to Hong Kong’s quaint and trendy neighbourhood, Happy Valley. The 900 sq. ft. coffee-to-cocktail destination officially opened...

Valverde Residence is a newly renovated home, completed in July 2020, designed by JJ Acuna / Bespoke Studio in Hong Kong’s posh Mid-Levels enclave, a hilly piece of nature overlooking the city’s glittery and iconic towers and Victoria harbour-front. Originally a two-bedroom home, this...

Schmatz Beer Stand at Tokyo World Gate is the second collaboration between Hong Kong-based design studio, JJ Acuna / Bespoke Studio and Kaiser Kitchen K.K. in Japan. Schmatz was founded in Tokyo by young Germans with the mission to share their country’s delicious German beers and local comfort...

Larvotto 10 Residence is a residential project designed by JJ Acuna / Bespoke Studio that completed construction in the Fall of 2021. The residence is located in Hong Kong’s scenic water-side Aberdeen Harbour residential neighbourhood, a 20-minute drive from Hong Kong’s CBD. The 1,071...

Didesain oleh JJ Acuna / Bespoke Studio cafe bertajuk Coffeelin yang terletak di Happy Valley, Hong Kong ini mengusung konsep coffee-to-cocktail dengan desain toko bergaya Milan

"By Design: The World’s Best Contemporary Interior Designers" published by Phaidon is now available worldwide

Sam Lucas enlisted interior designer JJ Acuna of Bespoke studios to design his sleek apartment in Ap Lei Chau

A charmingly refreshed space at Four Seasons Hotel Macao Cotai Strip becomes a Guangdong-style restaurant with a Lingnan-lifestyle interior