View from the top

Aric Chen -- Interior Design, 9/1/2003 12:00:00 AM

"People always ask, 'what's your style?'" says Victoria Hagan. "Well, we do have a point of view. We're open. We love the modern, we love the traditional, and we love being able to work with all of it."

Bringing together jute and damask, acrylic and marble, simple forms and ornamental flourishes, the premises of Victoria Hagan Interiors clearly point to its president's knack for making the embellished seem spare and the simple feel opulent. Take the stair hall of the Upper East Side duplex penthouse: Hagan placed an Arts and Crafts wood chair less than 10 feet from a molded-fiberglass seat first shown at the 1964 New York World's Fair.

If the mix works, that's partially due to the office's bright, white-painted walls. "The white envelope lends the space a graphic quality," says Hagan. In one conference room, however, she ebonized the pine paneling for contrast. To complement the stained wood, she chose two of her own designs, an oak table and a brass-studded folding screen covered in red velvet. She then added Arne Jacobsen's molded-wood Stacking chairs and a custom iron chandelier.

"It's important that visitors can see our appreciation for the unusual," says Hagan. And that's not all that can be seen. From her 22nd-floor windows, Hagan surveys a sizable swath of Manhattan.

Clockwise from top right: Victoria Hagan on the Upper East Side. Hagan's slipper chair and Philips guest chairs reflected in an antique gilt-framed mirror in her own office. A 19th-century crystal star in the design studio. Her office's marble-topped table and reupholstered vintage chair. The design studio, home to 17 employees. The reception desk, draped in damask. A molded-fiberglass chair from the 1964 New York World's Fair.

Opposite: Hagan's velvet-covered screen stands out against a conference room's pine-paneled walls. A custom iron chandelier hangs above an oak table, also of her own design. George Nelson designed the molded-fiberglass chair outside.

SLIPPER-CHAIR FABRIC: BRUNSCHWIG FILS. GUEST-CHAIR FABRIC, DESK-CHAIR FABRIC (PRESIDENTS OFFICE): HOLLY HUNT. GUEST CHAIRS, SLIPPER CHAIR (PRESIDENTS OFFICE), TABLE, SCREEN (CONFERENCE ROOM): VICTORIA HAGAN HOME. DESK FABRIC (RECEPTION): CLARENCE HOUSE. CHAIRS (CONFERENCE ROOM): KNOLL.