Daxton is a 151-room high-end hotel conceived by entrepreneur Mark Mitchell and partner Aparium Hotel Group in Birmingham, MI—a vibrant downtown outside Detroit. It’s striking interior is a fearless take on modern luxe, with over 400 original pieces of avant-garde artworks curated by Saatchi Art, from artists both local and international.

With a lobby bar encased by a sprawling metal geode and mixed-media pieces like a mechanical gold horse, the experience is one of refined escapism. The fusion of dreams and reality that defines the interior also informed our branding, which blends an edgy wit with a modern sophistication. From its global collaborations to its cultural partnerships and world-class restaurant, Daxton is Michigan’s young gun upending the status quo and taking a well-deserved place next to the international giants of luxury hospitality.

We quickly grabbed a hold of this idea: the symbiosis of dreams and reality that was driving the interior design. The formulaic geometry of the black and white floor tiles in the suites references reality more than it does fantasy or our dream-state. Similarly, the big geodesic dome structure in the lobby is rooted in technical precision. But the hotel also has moments of surprise; a mechanical gold horse in the lobby and artworks throughout the hotel that are more ethereal; pieces that evoke a sense of escapism and distort the surroundings. There was so much substance already there to work with – for us it was a matter of assigning a graphic language to this approach.