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"Jewelry designer Rosa de la Cruz Bonfiglio has been steeped in art since her childhood. Her parents, Rosa and Carlos M. de la Cruz, are major collectors in Florida who have opened their contemporary-art-packed mansion in Key Biscayne to the public and are planning a private museum for Miami&amp;#039;s design district. &amp;quot;My mother particularly loves installations and performances,&amp;quot; Bonfiglio explains, adding that Salvador Dal\u00ED painted one of her grandmothers. &amp;quot;The crazier the art, the more she likes it.&amp;quot; Like mother, like daughter, right? Not exactly. &amp;quot;Nothing is too loud or obnoxious,&amp;quot; Bonfiglio says of the paintings, drawings, sculptures, and other works that enrich her London apartment\u2014maybe so, but they are still on the cutting edge. Watercolors by Chris Ofili, the Turner Prize winner who ignited Rudolph Giuliani&amp;#039;s ire with a portrait of the Virgin Mary dappled with elephant dung, are displayed in the entrance hall. A trippy floral painting by Beatriz Milhazes hangs in the master bedroom; highly covetable canvases by Christopher Wool and Markus L\u00FCpertz star in the living-and-dining room; and the family room is brightened by a graphic painting by Sarah Morris. There is a towering ceramic totem by Ettore Sottsass in the latter space too, one of a limited edition of 20\u2014but surprisingly, it is not the only example in the neighborhood. As the plainly amused Bonfiglio points out, a matching Sottsass can be seen through a window of a nearby house.  Another outstanding piece in Bonfiglio&amp;#039;s stunning haul is a neon sign by the edgy British artist Tracey Emin entitled I Dream of Sleep. The name is ironic, considering the clamorous household that basks in its aquamarine glow. Bonfiglio, who is Spanish by birth but Cuban by heritage, and her Italian investor husband have four young sons\u2014Giovanni, Massimo, Pietro, and Lorenzo\u2014who converse in no fewer than four languages. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s like the Tower of Babel around here,&amp;quot; she quips. Parent-child chatter may cross international borders on a daily basis, but the family has always lived on the same tree-shaded square in stately Knightsbridge. The boys attend school a few doors away, and Bonfiglio&amp;#039;s husband&amp;#039;s office is basically around the corner. &amp;quot;We&amp;#039;re kind of tied to this place,&amp;quot; the designer says with a laugh. But the family&amp;#039;s former apartment on the square began to feel uncomfortably cramped after the youngest child, Giovanni, was born four years ago, so Bonfiglio went hunting for a larger home with something extra: light, and lots of it. It was easier dreamed than done. &amp;quot;London real estate is all about turning your back on bad weather and cozying up,&amp;quot; she says of the city&amp;#039;s housing stock. Bonfiglio also craved a one-level floor plan\u2014which is something of a luxury in a neighborhood of redbrick Victorian townhouses. Fortunately, the designer chanced upon a second-floor apartment that stretched across the full width of two adjoining properties. The sunny rooms featured opulent moldings and fireplaces, but even better, the ceilings were 15 feet high, perfect for hanging major art. Almost everything else about the property, however, was dismal\u2014including red toilets and pink sinks. Bonfiglio swiftly disposed of the execrable bits and proceeded to reconfigure. The kitchen became a fourth bedroom, and a new kitchen was installed in the original entrance hall. The family room was enlarged by taking over an adjacent corridor and small music room. Once the dust settled, Bonfiglio turned her attention to giving the architecture visual continuity. The walls are now white, the floors walnut, and the baths Carrara marble. The furnishings are equally low-key. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s all about the art,&amp;quot; explains Bonfiglio, a former lawyer who is actively involved with Art Basel Miami Beach.  Creature comforts were not ignored, however. The Christian Liaigre sofas that span the living-and-dining room were custom made to seat as many as 35 people during cocktail parties. That kind of practicality is a personal obsession, says Bonfiglio, whose ingenuity is much admired. She was recently commissioned to design a line of Christmas cards, and her one-off jewels\u2014worn by stylish Londoners such as fashion designer Melissa Odabash and organic-lifestyle guru Carole Bamford\u2014possess as much eye-catching bravado as the art she and her husband collect. Among the handmade accessories, for example, are bracelets and necklaces incorporating brightly colored Buddha heads. Given Bonfiglio&amp;#039;s aesthetic instincts, it is no surprise to learn that she serves as a sounding board for art-seeking friends. Talents she loves these days include Jonathan Meese (Mephistophelian self-portraits) and Tal R (faux-na\u00EFf imagery). Works by both have made their way into her rooms with ease. However, the arrival of two recent additions sent Bonfiglio into panic mode. One acquisition was packed in a crate, and the other was a Manfred Pernice sculpture\u2014which looks precisely like a packing crate. &amp;quot;I was in the country, and the houseman called to say that he had opened a crate,&amp;quot; Bonfiglio recalls. &amp;quot;I was afraid he&amp;#039;d destroyed the Pernice!&amp;quot; Art lovers will be relieved to know that the crowbar had been taken to the correct package. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elledecor.com/design-decorate/interior-designers/a3798/ahead-of-the-curve-a-46740/>