ESTATE of the be ARTS

Designer Ellen Hamilton conjures a deeply personal sanctuary for a collector whose sizzling lineup of contemporary art shines in the abundant Florida light.

AS FIRST IMPRESSIONS GO the searing landscape and ethereal warning issued by artist Whitney Bedford is a stirring welcome. In the Vero Beach entry where her work hangs, the message is clear: The art and artists within are fellow inhabitants, or close to it. "Whitney has been quietly doing strong work for a long time and is someone I've collected for probably 20 years, but this was the first time she's gone to this scale so I got very excited," says the homeowner, who bought the trio of ink and oil panels specifically for the floating entry wall in her family's second home. "This piece is about growth and decay. It speaks to climate change-it's got incredible punch and interest. I kind of love that it's the first thing you see when you come in."

Past the entry into the living room, Bedford's potent introductory remarks shift into heady conversation, thanks to a shimmering bindis mirror in the living room by India-based artist Bharti Kher. An imposing Rashid Johnson collage speaks assuredly from a chartreuse dining room wall, and in fact, at every turn, the home's fluid living spaces pulse with radiant, unabashed expression. For this New York-based collector and her husband-she, an art school-trained former graphic designer and longtime trustee of the Brooklyn Museum, who also serves on the boards of arts nonprofits Creative Time and Pioneer Works; he, a businessman and art lover; and together, serious collectors for the last two decades-it's all about "the creative aspect...that conversation between art, design, and space," says the homeowner.

"These pieces speak to me," she says of their collection focused largely on contemporary and abstract works by women and artists of color. "We're big believers in social justice and social change, and living with this art reinforces those ideas."