Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1076811
57 M oxie, one of Houston's most breathtaking antiques and design stores, has just un- veiled 15 newly designed rooms, each as moodily beautiful and exquisitely designed as the next. Co-owner Den- nis Brackeen and his team have spent more than a year on the 8,500-square-foot West Alabama Street redo that includes a massive retail space, Brackeen's interior design firm, and its upholstery workshop. During the eight years Moxie has been in business, it's never had a sign out front — but who needs one when word of mouth spreads like wildfire. Brackeen says new visitors to the store often respond something like this: "Wow — I feel like I'm in Paris or New York." Or, "Who would have ever dreamed Houston had a store like this?" His favorite reaction came from one of the city's most reserved interior designer, who stood with her mouth open and shouted, "This place is f'n amazing!" If you closely follow the design world's inner sanctum, you'll place Moxie alongside L.A.'s Black- mon Cruz and JF Chen, and NYC's De Vera and Creel and Gow. Brackeen is a seriously talented de- signer, and it shows. At Moxie, fantasy and surrealism abound. Exquisite Eu- ropean antiques mix with architectural fragments, fossils, and mid-20th-century furniture and col- lectibles. "I've tried to create rooms that evoke a mood or tell a story, yet keep the entire store cohesive, similar to how we design and decorate for clients at home," he says. "I did, however, dedicate one room in the store, the curiosities room, to be completely whimsical with an air of drama as an outlet for my inner set designer. Every time I walk through, I am recharged with creativity and inspiration." This inky-black chamber of wonders holds exotic animal taxidermy, crystals, bronze busts, and blanc de chine figures, along with other rarities that strike Brackeen's fancy. There's also a glamorous villa vibe, as if walking into a pa- latial centuries-old Italian home with ornate floors, ceilings, and walls. The reception area/gallery sets the stage with sepia-tone panoramic wallpaper by Iksel Decorative Arts from London and black-and-white marble floors. Another large and lavishly decorated room features antique French boiserie paneling on the walls, parquet wood floors, a dazzling amber Venini chan- delier, and rare Art Deco Jindrich Ha- labala chairs. "We sell the quality and rarity of shops in New York, Paris, and London, but at a lower price because we are in Houston," Brackeen says. "We've sold to clients as far away as Australia. We are on 1stdibs, and the platform has literally opened the doors of our store to the world." Moxie's kitchen, which is both util- itarian and decorative, is one of Brac- keen's favorite spaces. "The room is a folly," he says. "I'm a little obsessed with it." Marble floors are designed in a striking cube pattern reminiscent of the optical illusions of graphic artist M.C. Escher, and cabinets are lacquered in cinnabar Hollandlac Brilliant by Fine Paints of Europe, a line of paint which Moxie carries exclusively in Houston. Walls and ceiling are papered in Christian Lacroix wallpaper. "It is a strong aesthetic, to say the least," he adds. "But surprisingly enough, it's a favorite among our customers." D-Dream panoramic wallpaper by Iksel Decorative Arts. Anglo-Indian 19th-century console from Nepal. Antique snowy owl taxidermy. Jordan Brackeen's From Beyond, oil on board. French 1930s plaster bust. Plaster lamp by Liz Marsh. Italian chandelier, 1940s. Custom sofa by Moxie. Barovier Venetian glass lamp, circa 1940. Nineteenth-century chairs in Schumacher silk velvet. Antique French mirror.