dynamic duo geoff hager and stephanie moore hager

A Dynamic Duo

Geoff Hager +
Stephanie Moore Hager

Stephanie Moore Hager,
founding principal of the Dallas-
based interior design firm Moore
Design Group, specializes in
creating vibrant spaces within
multifamily living communities
all over North America. Geoff,
her husband of eight years and
an established fine artist,
creates one-of-kind, site-specific
pieces for Stephanie’s projects
that go way beyond the
predictable posters and giclées
commonly reserved for
developments with tight art
budgets. Together, they wow
demanding developers with
atypical interiors that attract
tenants aspiring to enhanced
lifestyles.

So what is their secret for
transferring the success of their
personal relationship to a
business one? Though they
wake up next to each other in
the morning, Stephanie is
careful to treat Geoff like any
other vendor. Likewise, Geoff
considers his wife just another
client with demands and
deadlines. Stephanie’s firm does
enlist other artists and
craftsmen, but she admits that
working with Geoff is often
easier – not only because they
know each other so well, but
also because of his
comprehensive understanding
of the building process, his
extensive background in
architectural illustration, and his
keen organizational skills.

Commercial interior design and art created for public venues is a
delicate balance of creativity and business. Intertwined with the
more artistic component of conceptualizing and design development
is the restrictive reality of schedules, budgets, construction and
deadlines. Both Stephanie and Geoff are fortunate to posses the
creativity to visualize and the left-brained skills to make their
imaginations reality. Just a few of the past collaborations between
this dynamic duo include: Bristol at Southside in Birmingham; The
Depot in Fort Worth; Bristol on Union in Memphis; and both Marquis at
West Village and Marquis on McKinney in Dallas.

They are most pleased with their latest collaboration: ICON in the
Gulch in Nashville. While staying within budget, Stephanie and her
design team fulfilled their goal of elevating the inhabitants’
experience by infusing the multifamily portion of this mixed-use
development with striking details like back-lit honey onyx in the main
elevator lobby. Geoff added to the project’s impact with installations
such as:

“The Beginning” (Lobby wall) – An oversized (25’h X 13’w) acrylic
painting on 16 birch panels applied with 5,800 four-inch hand-cut
fabric squares.

“Timber Sections” (Lobby hallway) – 14 section-cuts ranging from 12”-
to 35”-diameter of 5 species of trees (pecan, boisd’arc, elm, cedar,
and oak), which were aged for a year in his studio.

These self-proclaimed “vision keepers” share the philosophy of “I can’t
not do great work just because it’s a small project or a project with a
small budget.” And though her firm’s work is stunning, Stephanie is
used to people noticing Geoff’s art first and its surroundings second.
His triumph is her triumph, and compliments on the quality of his art
throws just as much of the limelight onto her. As she rightly points out:
“I deserve the credit for hiring the right vendor.”