Tripping the light fantastic

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With high-end properties popping up all over the Middle East, hotels face an ongoing challenge to shine that bit brighter than their competitors - but clever lighting solutions can help properties stand out.

Middle East Hotels are not averse to a bit of sparkle and splendour, and when it comes to ensuring your hotel is glitzier than the rest lighting should be a number one priority.

Italian lighting designer Andromeda International's President Gianluca Vecchi is familiar with the Middle East market, having recently fitted out the Westin Mina Seyahi with custom pieces, and he is positive about the attitude of the region's hotels towards lighting.

"The [clients] we have worked with in the Middle East have done deep research and are clear about the look they want for their properties," he explains.

"The region is so competitive that each hotel realises the need to upgrade the quality of the interiors as much as they can."

Vecchi explains that the firm has made the decision not to attend large shows like The Hotel Show in Dubai, preferring to organise "private events for our best and key clients".

Fine Art and Lamps has a different strategy, having been an exhibitor at The Hotel Show since its inception.

"This year our range gathered a lot of interest - it keeps on getting better each year," says sales manager of the firm's Dubai-based agent Four Seasons Ramesh Gallery's Neel Shukla.

The Four Seasons Ramesh Gallery, the exclusive agent for Fine Art Lamps in the Gulf region, has supplied lights to the region for the past 25 years.

"Fine Art Lamps is very popular in this region and our clients can identify its lamps right away. They have very distinctive designs and finishes," says Shukla.

During its 25 years supplying lights to the region's hotels, Fine Art Lamps has accrued an impressive list of clients, including the Burj Al Arab, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Al Qasr Palace, Shangri-La Hotel and Kempinski Hotel, Mall of the Emirates.

These prestigious properties all required something unique, but rather than copying their counterparts in Europe and the US, Middle East lighting trends stem from the personal tastes of its citizens.

"The homes in the Middle East are very big and large scale lights are needed to furnish these homes. Therefore size is a big factor where Middle East and Europe differ," Shukla says.

"More projects are going towards the traditional architecture. So the emphasis is on traditional lights."

Experience is one thing, but passion and creativity are also important factors.

Cedri Martini is a firm looking to provide those ingredients to hotels looking for that special something to make them stand out from the crowd.

Whilst admitting that his firm hasn't worked directly with hotels in the region as yet, Cedri Martini's owner Cedri Elvio Rienzo - who also designs and produces his firm's lighting products - says that he first entered the Middle East market in 2007 and has had "a lot of interest in this region".

Rienzo explains that he has supplied lighting to an Arabian princess during that time, and already has a partnership with Dubai-based lighting retailer Debbas, with the firm acting as Cedri Martini's exclusive supplier for the GCC.

"Obviously the number of extreme projects in the Arabian market plus the introduction of many different styles has led to changing tastes," says Rienzo.

"The construction of so many modern buildings in the region has led to architects and private consumers becoming interested in very contemporary products.

"At Cedri Martini, we create lighting sculptures; they can be suspension or floor lamps but they are always oversize creations designed for big spaces and special private residences," he adds.

This kind of big, showy design would be ideal for the hotels in the Middle East, but Rienzo says that despite having made many contacts in the region, hotels may not be ready for his designs just yet.

"We have had a lot of interest and respect for what we do, but experimental products like ours need more time in order to enter a new market like the Middle East," he explains.

"But we are sure that this is only the begining of an age of incredible opportunity for creative and experimental design in the Middle East."

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