SOLEDAD'S SECRET(2)

Soledad’s grasp of the big picture translates as kid-friendly design. “We want to live our lives as a family, not tiptoe around an apartment furnished with anything too precious. That means washable fabrics, a lot of warmth and color, and nothing overdecorated.” (Soledad is shown here with Sofia, 6, Jackson and Charlie, 3, and Cecilia, 5.)

Always pressed for time, she set her first meeting with interior designer Bradley Stephens right after a child’s birthday party. “My daughters were in their pretty party dresses, covered from head to toe in chocolate ice cream. Bradley took one look, laughed, and said, I get it. Washable fabrics!”

Stephens recalls it this way: “She said, ‘This is why I can’t have fine fabrics! I need things that will stand the test of time.’ She wanted a home that she wouldn’t have to worry about, but she also wanted it to be a grown-up New York apartment.”