In 1646 he married Catharina Claes of Haarlem. Nicolaes and his wife had at least four children, two sons and two daughters.
The talent of the young Berchem did not go long unrecognised. In 1647 Jacob van Campen (1596–1657) was already including his name on a list of painters whom he had in mind for the decoration of the Oranjezaal in the Paleis Huis ten Bosch. Berchem was an office-holder in the Haarlem Guild from 1656 to 1659.
His move to Amsterdam in 1660 may have been prompted by the commissions
he was to carry out for the Amsterdam cartographer Nicolaes Visscher:
the production of a large-scale map of the world which came out in 1658
with decorations executed by Jan de Visscher after a design by Nicolaes
Berchem. This map is the first to list not only the name of the publisher
and the engraver, but also that of the designer. On 1 January 1661 Nicolaes’
father Pieter Claesz was buried in the Nieuwe Kerk in Haarlem.
In spring 1670 Berchem returned to Haarlem and on 16 September of the
same year was once again named ‘Finder’ of the Haarlem Guild.
It is impossible to say now what drew Berchem back to Amsterdam. He died
there on 18 February 1683 in his home in the Lauriergracht. On 23 February
he was buried in the Westerkerk. On 4 May 1683, in his widow’s home,
there was a sale of his paintings; his drawings and engravings were sold
on 7 December of the same year.