From Fred Albert,
Your Guide to Furniture.
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Close to 100,000 people descended on High Point, North Carolina, in late April and early May for the semiannual High Point Market—the largest event of its kind in the world.

While furniture manufacturers showed off their latest wares, retailers decided what items they would be carrying in their stores and journalists scrutinized the collections to see if they could discern any trends or highlights. Here's a roundup of some of the things they saw:

Craftsman Continues

Just when you thought craftsman- and mission-style furniture was fading from the spotlight, along comes Hooker, Cresent, Copeland and Stickley with brand new collections inspired by this late-19th and early-20th-century movement. Stickley's Pasadena Bungalow Collection includes 23 new pieces inspired by the works of Greene & Greene, while Copeland Furniture recently acquired the rights to Frank Lloyd Wright's furniture designs.

Contemporary Ascending

Contemporary isn't out of the game by any means and continues to be a popular style for upholstered furniture, where transitional elements help make the look marketable to middle America. Several companies showcased "loft" collections, presumably geared toward the 99 percent of the population who can no longer afford to live in them.

Dining

Since dining rooms are shrinking or being eliminated from homes altogether, manufacturers are responding with dining room pieces scaled to take up less floor space. Look for narrower buffets and hutches, curio cabinets instead of a china cabinet, and even smaller dining tables that would be appropriate in a corner of the family room. In fact, families are so accustomed to eating at counters and breakfast bars that manufacturers are introducing counter-height dining sets. Designed in the style of traditional dining room furniture, but with stools instead of chairs and smaller, higher tables, these collections bridge the gap between formal and casual dining, allowing families and friends to enjoy a sit-down meal without the ceremony of a conventional dining room setting.

Home Office

Manufacturers of home office furniture are working to domesticate their collections, so they’re not only functional, but decorative. “We are trying to blur the line between what is a home office piece and what is an accent piece,” Stanley Furniture’s Kelly Cain told trade magazine Furniture Today. The latest home office introductions boast beach and island looks, as well as European influences and casual looks inspired by Crate and Barrel and Pottery Barn.

Despite the forays into Old World styling, furniture makers aren’t ignoring technology. The newest desks incorporate features designed to tame electronic clutter, including CPU storage, DVD and CD storage, back-entry doors for loading electronics, and pull-out writing trays.

Youth Furniture

Victorian designs and beach, island and cottage looks were all popular at this spring's market, as were pieces designed to accommodate computers and gaming consoles. Although manufacturers continue to introduce fanciful pieces designed exclusively for little ones, there seems to be an increasing number of products designed to carry kids from youth to adulthood.

Loft beds are also hot right now. These elevated beds can accommodate desks and dressers underneath, making them great for smaller spaces or when open space is desired for play.