Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/758043
have George Smith mohair chairs, a Mies daybed and stools, an old Persian rug, a zebra skin. I bought a pair of Wedgwood lamps and a marble bust of Socrates in London. It's mixed up, but it works." Fourticq might have minimalist leanings, but he does have well- considered collections, including a large selection of Wedgwood basalt from the late 1800s to the 1930s and a delightful group of unglazed Nymphenburg white porcelain animals, much of which he bought from Sloan/Hall in Houston, Ted Muehling in New York, and directly from the Nymphenburg factory in Munich years ago. His taxidermy collection includes "anything with horns," including water buffalo and bison. Fourticq resists the urge to place chairs or tables where none are needed — instead, he lets artwork hover alone in a space or on a wall for impact. A light- drenched front room showcases figural black-and-white photo- graphs by Herb Ritts, Karl La- gerfeld, and Doug and Mike Starn, while a massive figurative painting by Belgian artist Bénédicte Peyrat anchors the dining room. "I have one even larger that I bought in Berlin that wouldn't fit in the el- evator in New York, so I removed it from the stretcher and carried it up," he says. An angular all-white artwork by Houston artist Joseph Cohen makes a striking statement over the mantel. While Fourticq's home appears to be the embodiment of self-con- trol, there's one area he indulges with abandon. "I'm obsessed with books, and I'm constantly buy- ing them," he says. He's amassed hundreds of volumes on art, ar- chitecture, and photography. "I'm always pulling them down to refer- ence something I'm working on, or an artist whose work I'm following. I can look at a book a dozen times and each time see something new." S ome houses are just meant to be. Fourticq is philosophical about how this one fell in his lap when the timing was right; he tells a story about a friend who came to visit shortly after he finished decorating it. The friend had seen the house when Sue Pittman had lived in it and was amazed. It was as if Fourticq had channeled her as a muse without Top: Dining table from Côté France, Paris. Chairs covered in Edelman Leather and Etro fabric, and Burmese ruby coral centerpiece from Dennis Brackeen Design Group. Planter from Jardinières & Intérieurs, Paris. Bénédicte Peyrat's Ein Hase Mit Flügeln ist ein Anderes Tier, 2002, Morgan Lehman Gallery, NY. Mies van der Rohe for Knoll daybed. Hermès throw. Antique marble pedestal and bust from Jamb, London. Lucian Freud's Study of the Tate Arches, undated. Herb Ritts' Madonna as Marie Antoinette. A loft above the living area serves as a library. Japanese painted screen, circa 1960, from Coconut Company, NY. Custom sofa in Donghia wool/silk velvet, with pillows in Oscar de la Renta green silk, all from Dennis Brackeen Design Group. Antique tapestry pillow from Antique Textiles Collections, NY. Philip and Kelvin LaVerne coffee table, circa 1960. Buccellati vase. Mies van der Rohe for Knoll stools. Antique Persian rug from Jamal's Rug Collection, Los Angeles. 87