Friends by Design

All of the major pieces of furniture throughout the house—a white Saarinen dining table and Panton chairs, Ikea's white Stockholm sofa, a woven-rope West Elm bed—are neutral. "That way," Ariel explains, "the backbone of the design will work for years, even if Jennifer decides to switch her house up a bit."

Natural light pours into the dining room by day; at night, Jennifer flips on Marc Sadler's Twiggy floor lamp. A laminate-topped Eero Saarinen table and plastic Verner Panton chairs sit on a cowhide needlepoint rug from Dransfield and Ross; the oil painting is Tree by John Brown.