Tom Dixon vs Marset vs Research.Lighting: Three Ways to Be Modern
“Modern lighting” once meant chrome and sharp edges. It was about precision and power, with a little glare for good measure. Now, modern has softened. It’s warmer, more personal, and less about showing off. Tom Dixon, Marset, and Research.Lighting each approach that idea differently. You could see all three in one home and never feel a clash. Different moods, same conversation.
Tom Dixon: The Industrial Dreamer
Tom Dixon designs objects that feel sculptural and confident. His work carries the gleam of industrial London, with brass, copper, and glass shaped into bold forms that hold attention without shouting. A Dixon pendant light can turn a restaurant ceiling or dining room into a focal point that feels deliberate, not decorative. His pieces are strongest when they lead the space: bright, sculptural, and assured.
Marset: The Mediterranean Minimalist
Marset takes a quieter path. Based in Barcelona, the brand is known for its balance of geometry and softness. The focus is on how light behaves, how it diffuses, reflects, and fills a room. Nothing feels forced. The result is illumination that shapes space gently. Marset’s designs feel at home in places meant for real life, from hallways that need a soft guide to tables where the night stretches on.
Research.Lighting: The Brooklyn Sculptor
We bring a different kind of clarity. Our fixtures are built in Brooklyn, made to order, and guided by proportion, precision, and a hint of play. A glass globe balanced on a steel arm. A pendant that floats without fuss. We design lights that hold a room with calm confidence. Each piece feels handmade but resolved, warm, modern, and never trying too hard. For us, light is a kind of sculpture, something that shapes the room quietly and lets everything else breathe.
Together in a Room
These brands do not compete; they complement. A Tom Dixon pendant above a Marset table lamp beside a Research.Lighting wall sconce would create rhythm, not noise. Dixon brings material drama, Marset adds warmth, and we find the quiet in between. Together they show how modern design has matured, more thoughtful, more human, and less about a single look.
The Modern Glow
What connects us all is not a shared shape or finish but restraint. Each of us knows when to stop and let the light lead. Whether it is Dixon’s shine, Marset’s softness, or our sculptural calm, every approach reveals a new version of modern that feels intentional, honest, and alive.
That is the modern glow. Three different paths, one shared light.
Check out our list of the Top Designer Lighting Brands Shaping Modern Interiors or see how Research.Lighting compares to Flos vs Artemide, Moooi vs Foscarini, Schoolhouse vs. Rejuvenation, or Louis Poulsen vs Artek.
