Custom Lighting for Hotel and Restaurant Projects: A Manufacturer's Guide from Istanbul

Custom lighting for hotel and restaurant projects works best when you deal directly with the people who make it. You send a drawing or a reference photo with the room dimensions, the manufacturer confirms materials, finish and lighting details, then produces the fittings in series and packs them for shipping. That's the whole idea. The details are where projects succeed or go wrong, and that's what this guide covers.

We've been making chandeliers, pendants and wall lights in Istanbul since 1984. Our showroom is in Şişhane, the old lighting quarter of the city, and our production facility handles the cutting, forming and plating of metal parts in-house. Most of our work isn't single retail sales. It's projects: hotels, restaurants, cafés, private villas and mosques. So everything below comes from the questions designers and buyers actually ask us.

What does a custom lighting manufacturer do on a project?

A custom lighting manufacturer turns a design intent into installable light fittings. That means reviewing your drawing or reference, choosing materials and construction, fixing dimensions to your ceiling height and room, agreeing electrical details, producing every piece to the same standard and packing it for transport. A reseller can only offer what's already in a catalogue.

The difference shows up the moment your design doesn't match a stock size. Say the lobby needs a pendant 140 cm across with a 3.2 m drop, in an antique brass that matches the reception desk. A reseller will offer you the 100 cm model and a "similar" finish. A manufacturer will ask what the ceiling is made of and whether the desk is lacquered or raw brass.

Why source decorative lighting from a manufacturer in Turkey?

Istanbul has been a metalworking city for centuries, and Şişhane in particular has housed lighting workshops and shops for generations. For a buyer in Europe, the Gulf, the Caucasus or North Africa, the practical reasons matter more than the history, though:

• Distance. Istanbul is a short flight from most of Europe and the Middle East. Visiting the showroom, approving a sample or checking a finish in person is realistic, not a two-day trip.
• Flexible quantities. We produce single bespoke pieces as well as long runs. A boutique hotel with 24 rooms and a chain with 300 rooms can both work with us.
• Metal parts made in-house. CNC laser cutting, CNC metal spinning, CNC tube cutting and plating happen inside our own facility, so a custom shade diameter or arm length doesn't mean waiting for an outside supplier.
• Factory-direct pricing. There's no agent between your design and the production floor.

(One honest caveat: if your project needs only a few hundred identical, purely functional downlights, a technical lighting factory will suit you better. Our strength is decorative lighting, the pieces guests actually look at.)

Reseller or manufacturer? Questions to ask before you order

Plenty of companies call themselves manufacturers online. These are the questions that separate the two quickly:

The reorder question gets overlooked the most. Hotels replace broken fittings, add a wing, refurbish a floor. If your supplier was reselling a discontinued model, you'll end up with two slightly different lights in the same corridor.

How a custom lighting project runs, step by step

Here's how our project work goes, with the point where each step usually goes wrong:

1. Brief. You send a drawing, sketch, photo or product link, plus room dimensions, ceiling height, quantity and delivery country. What goes wrong: missing ceiling heights. A chandelier that looks right on a render can hang 40 cm too low over a dining table.
2. Specification and quote. We confirm materials, finish, dimensions, number of lights and bulb holder type, then send the price and lead time. What goes wrong: agreeing on a "gold" finish without a physical reference. Gold means ten different things.
3. Approval or sample. For larger orders, or when a finish has to match other materials in the room, a first piece is approved before the batch starts. What goes wrong: skipping this to save a week, then discovering the shade colour clashes with the upholstery.
4. Production. Metal parts are cut, spun and plated in our facility, then assembled with glass, marble or fabric and wired.
5. Inspection and packing. Every piece is checked and packed for long-distance transport. What goes wrong: packaging made for local delivery. Glass and marble need packing designed for international shipping.
6. Delivery. We ship to your site, your warehouse or your forwarder, and prepare the export documents.

What to send for an accurate quote

The fastest quotes come from briefs that answer these points up front. Send what you have; we'll ask about the rest.

• A drawing, sketch, reference photo or link
• Approximate dimensions, or the space it has to fill
• Room size and ceiling height (and ceiling type if it's unusual: wood, concrete, suspended)
• Preferred finish and materials, ideally with a photo of nearby materials
• Quantity per model
• Delivery country and your target date

You can write to us in English on WhatsApp or by email. Starting with a single photo and a short message is completely fine.

Lighting by space: what changes from lobby to guest room

Hotel lobbies and double-height spaces

This is where custom work makes the biggest difference, and where stock fittings fail most often. Double-height lobbies need a fitting scaled to the volume of the space, not to the floor area. A common mistake is a chandelier that looks impressive in a showroom and tiny under a seven-metre ceiling. Ask for the drop length and diameter to be calculated from the real section of the space. We also recommend thinking about maintenance early: how will staff reach the lamps for replacement? A pendant fitted with a longer cable is easier to service than a fixed one if a lift will be used.

Weight matters too. Large metal and glass pieces need a proper fixing point, so share the ceiling construction with your structural engineer and with us at the same time.

Guest rooms and corridors

Here the job is consistency. Bedside wall lights, desk lamps and corridor sconces are produced in dozens or hundreds, and every one has to match. CNC cutting and in-house plating are what make that possible. Browse our wall sconces for starting points; any of them can be adapted in size and finish for a series.

Restaurants, cafés and bars

Restaurants usually want character: a signature pendant over the bar, a row of lights that carries the venue's identity. These are often smaller quantities than hotels, which is where a manufacturer that accepts short runs helps. Pay attention to hanging height over tables. Too high and the light feels cold; too low and it blocks the view across the table.

Private residences and villas

Staircases, dining rooms and double-height living rooms are typical one-off projects. See our chandeliers and floor lamps for the styles we produce most.

Mosques and large-scale projects

Mosque chandeliers are a speciality of their own. They're large, they hang in wide and very high spaces, and the design usually has to work with traditional geometry. We design and produce them for each space rather than from a fixed catalogue.

Lead times, samples and quantities

We'd rather be straight about this than promise a number that doesn't hold. Lead time depends on the design, the finish and the quantity, and it's confirmed in your quote. Standard models from our catalogue usually ship in about 10 business days. Bespoke designs and large hotel orders are scheduled individually, and a sample step adds time but saves far more if something needs to change.

There's no fixed minimum order. A single chandelier for a private client and a long run for a hotel both go through the same workshop.

Shipping custom lighting abroad

We export directly to clients outside Turkey. Shipping by air, road or sea is quoted per project, because a container of guest-room sconces and one large lobby chandelier are very different shipments. For Turkish exporters and trading companies, we can also issue export-registered invoices backed by our official capacity report.

Electrics are the other thing to settle early. Tell us your country and voltage when you send the brief. Bulb holder type (E14, E27, G9 and others) and wiring are agreed as part of the specification, so the fittings arrive ready for your electrician.

Frequently asked questions

Can you produce a light from a photo instead of a technical drawing?

Yes. Many projects start from a photo or a link. We work out the construction and dimensions with you and confirm everything before production.

Do you work with interior designers and architects?

Yes. We take your concept, sketch or technical drawing and handle the production side, adjusting details with you until the piece fits the space.

Can you make lights under our own brand?

Yes, for retailers, wholesalers and designers who sell under their own name. Designs, finishes and packaging can be discussed per collection.

Can I visit before ordering?

Our showroom is at Emekyemez Mah. Bankalar Cad. Şişhane Sok. No: 20/A, Beyoğlu, Istanbul. Get in touch before you travel so we can prepare samples for your project.

Related guides

• Chandeliers & pendants collection – made to order
• Large chandeliers for high ceilings: size, drop and style
• Custom chandelier from a photo: how it works
• Mosque chandeliers: design, size and export
• Ordering lighting from Turkey to Europe: customs, VAT and shipping

Have a project? Send us the brief

If you're specifying lighting for a hotel, restaurant, residence or mosque, send us your drawing or reference photo. We'll come back with materials, price and lead time. Read more about our production capabilities on the custom lighting manufacturing page, or contact us directly:

WhatsApp / phone: +90 542 699 12 56
Email: info@besaavize.com