Nicemakers - Creators of Exceptional Interiors

Life partners Dax Roll and Joyce Urbanus are at the helm of the interior design studio Nicemakers based in Amsterdam, located in an old diamond merchant’s building in the heart of the historical centre. Up and running since 2011, their personal style and modus operandi stems very much from their shared vision and philosophical approach to life and work, as evident in their latest creation, The Brecon, an adults-only hotel-chalet chameleon married to a curatorial melange of mid-century nostalgia and a dialogue of soft luxury perched in the ski resort of Adelboden.

Although both of their backgrounds differ, together their ideals fused in synergy. Joyce came from fashion and media roots before being drawn to interior design, whereas Dax worked within marketing and communications; together it proved to be a perfect fusion.

To quote the duo gives you an indication of their temperament and perspective saying, “What is magic? It is the use of energy with both sensitivity and focus, to help attain a better understanding of the people and spaces around us, and to align ourselves with it. It is our desire to create harmony and unity in the world around us. The magic is life itself."

Both avid travellers, the world is a source of constant inspiration for the pair, either to inform their work or as collectibles, which come home with them to flourish in their home or for the next project, whether that’s a design hotel, residential penthouse, upscale restaurant or retail commission.

“What is magic? It is the use of energy with both sensitivity and focus, to help attain a better understanding of the people and spaces around us, and to align ourselves with it. It is our desire to create harmony and unity in the world around us. The magic is life itself."

But more than this, their worldly travels and connection with people is what gives them a freeing confidence in their interior design where meaning and correlation become the cornerstones of their work, where people ultimately make the place.

You can feel it in the warm tactile spaces of hotel, The Brecon – a recent project in Switzerland that brings the retro glamour of the alpine 70s back to life. In the beautifully staged interiors of longitudinal house Forest Home (Dax and Joyce’s own retreat from the city), verdant nature is framed, and interiors balance the untamed outside world with glossed wooden floors and eye-catching designer objets matched against clean lines and an artful simplicity.

A country house in the Ardennes is delineated by the use of natural materials – at every turn is a tactility that turns to comfort: sheepskin, marble, wood, wicker – all sharing a colour language of earthen hues and inherent tones.

The Hoxton Hotel in Amsterdam won Nicemakers a clutch of awards including WIN (World Interiors News Awards) and a Shaw Contract Design Award for its sophisticated take on retro sophistication in the heart of Amsterdam.

This dynamic Dutch couple keep the ideas and energy flowing, sprinkling their special kind of magic on projects far and wide, providing us with feel-good interior eye candy that’s so easy to love.

Urban lounge interiors | NICEMAKERS | Interior Design Studio Amsterdam | Hotels Concepts