FAQ & Best Practices
Reference & Guidance
FAQ & Best Practices
Practical guidance for specifying furniture, lighting, materials, automation and acoustics on hospitality, residential and corporate projects. If your question isn’t here, our team answers specifications within one business day.
Getting started
What does Gravity FZ supply?
We are a single-source partner for the built environment: furniture and bespoke interior pieces, decorative and architectural lighting, building materials and surfaces, acoustic systems, and vendor-neutral building automation (KNX, DALI-2, GRMS, shading and AV). One specification, one delivery, one accountable supplier.
Do you work directly with designers, architects and contractors?
Yes. We regularly partner with interior designers, architects, main contractors and owners. The earlier we are involved, the tighter the coordination between furniture, lighting, controls and finishes — which is where most cost and programme risk lives.
Furniture & interior specification
How should I specify furniture for a hospitality project?
Start from the duty cycle, not the look. Specify contract-grade frames and high-abrasion fabrics (ideally 50,000+ Martindale rubs) for public areas, then lock finishes against the lighting and material palette so the room reads as one composition.
Are pieces customizable?
Most seating, tables and casegoods are made to order — dimensions, timber, stone and upholstery can be tailored. For bespoke work we issue shop drawings and a finish schedule before production.
Best practice
Standardize on a small number of bases and frames across rooms to simplify spares, and keep a 5–10% spare inventory for high-traffic pieces.
Lighting design
What is the difference between decorative and architectural lighting?
Decorative lighting (pendants, sconces, floor lamps) defines the aesthetic and focal moments. Architectural lighting (cove, recessed, track, facade, landscape) shapes how a space is experienced and is integrated into the building fabric. A well-resolved project uses both, planned together.
How do I choose a dimming protocol?
Use DALI-2 for new builds needing per-fixture addressing and central management; Casambi / Bluetooth mesh for wireless retrofits and smaller zones; 0–10V only for simple dimming. Keep one protocol per zone to avoid mixed ecosystems.
Best practices for layering light
Combine ambient, task and accent on independent controls. Aim for a dimmable ambient base of roughly 150–300 lux in guest areas, accent ratios of 3:1 to 5:1 for depth, and a warm evening scene at 2700–3000K.
Building automation & smart systems
What is KNX and why specify it?
KNX is the open, vendor-neutral standard for building automation. Devices from many manufacturers interoperate on one bus, so you avoid proprietary lock-in and can service the system for decades. It is the right backbone for hotels, offices and high-end residences.
What is GRMS?
Guest Room Management Systems control lighting, climate, curtains and Do-Not-Disturb / Make-Up-Room from the bedside and entry. Done well, GRMS cuts energy use and improves the guest experience through scenes.
How early should automation be planned?
As early as possible. Controls, cabling topology, sensor positions and panel cut-outs must coordinate with lighting, shading, HVAC and AV during design development. Retrofitting a bus-based system after the walls are closed is costly and limited.
Materials & surfaces
Which stone is right — marble, travertine or micro-cement?
Calacatta / marble reads luxe but is softer and needs sealing. Travertine is warmer and more forgiving, ideal for cladding and feature walls. Micro-cement gives a seamless skin for floors and walls but demands careful substrate prep. Match the stone to the traffic and maintenance budget.
How do I protect calacatta from staining?
Specify a penetrating sealer on delivery, avoid acidic cleaners, and use trivets and trays at bars and vanities. For hospitality, a honed rather than polished finish disguises wear.
Acoustics
When do I need acoustic treatment?
Whenever hard surfaces dominate — stone floors, glass, plaster — and the room carries speech, music or open meetings. Restaurants, lobbies and boardrooms benefit most. Target a reverberation time around 0.6–0.8s for dining and meeting spaces.
PET felt vs fabric-wrapped panels?
PET felt is recycled, lightweight and cost-effective for walls and baffles. Fabric-wrapped panels perform better per inch and look more tailored. Choose by budget, performance target and aesthetic.
Lead times, shipping & installation
What are typical lead times?
Made-to-order furniture and lighting typically run 6–12 weeks; stone and automation hardware 4–8 weeks. Lead times are confirmed at specification against an approved schedule.
Do you handle installation and commissioning?
Yes, where scoped. We coordinate delivery, placement, and — for automation — on-site commissioning and handover with as-built drawings and control schedules.
Sustainability
What are your sustainability best practices?
We prioritize durable, repairable specification over disposable product, use recycled-content materials (e.g. PET acoustic felt), specify FSC timber, and consolidate shipments to cut transport. We support LEED / BREEAM documentation with product data on request.
Still have a question? Talk to our specification team — we respond within one business day.