When this former office block in Maastricht was put on the market, one ex-local knew to act fast. They bought not simply a single apartment, but three – one on the ninth floor as well as the two penthouse flats – knocking down walls to create a vast space full of opportunities.
It was this blank canvas that greeted interior designers Dax and Joyce Roll. The two halves of Amsterdam-based studio Nicemakers were tasked with a client brief sure to fire the imagination.
Dax recalls the conversation that weaved together references from the worlds of design, film and TV: ‘Jean Prouvé meets Joseph Dirand; Bauhaus architecture meets the glamour of the Chrysler Building; the work of interior designers Roman & Williams meets the style of Mad Men.’
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Combining all of that into one coherent decor was not going to be easy, but the resulting scheme produces the feeling of stepping into a luxurious party pad from the 1960s or 1970s – all warm, burnished colours, mid-century classics and lustrous metallic finishes. These design touches stand out against the concrete structure of the building to create a refreshing juxtaposition.
When asked to sum up how he wants this home to make its owners feel, Dax’s response is evocative: ‘The sensation should be that of walking through an elevator door to hear Don Draper’s favourite jazz music playing.’ We can almost taste the whiskey and bitters now. nicemakers.com
