Posted by Caren – October 9, 2007 4:16 PM
Tags: furniture, high point furniture, infm

Guest Blogger: Jennifer Sergent, editor-in-chief, HGTV Ideas magazine

Go into a furniture store these days, and what you see might not be what you get — on purpose! Furniture makers have rolled out lots of pieces that pull double duty in the last five years, and this year is no different. The spring 2008 offerings at the International Home Furnishing Market in High Point, N.C., this week speak to several trends.

For those who love a certain sofa, only to be disappointed that it's either too small or too large for the intended space, Hickory Chair has a solution with its new Made to Measure upholstered furniture line. They can customize the size of more than 40 styles of their line, from a chair into a large sofa or the other way around. With this high-end retailer, of course, such a purchase will be a substantial investment in your home's decor.

The clean-lined 34 1/4-inch Macdonald Skirted Chair can expand into a 100-inch style statement with the Made to Measure version.

Hickory Chair’s compact 72-inch Eton sofa (top left) can go up or down, to a bigger 88-inch version or a lovely little 33-inch club chair.

Even ottomans can be adjusted for size. Designer Thomas O’Brien’s sizable Rolland Cocktail Ottoman, 32 inches square, can minimize into a 20-square inch version if need be.

Now that everyone's investing in mile-high bedding and loads of huge decorative pillows, sometimes the poor headboard can barely peek over it all. Hooker Furniture solves this problem with an adjustable headboard — if you're partial to Old World style, that is.

While bountiful beds are clearly a home decorating trend, loads of cords from our increasing collections of electronic gear clearly is not. Several new pieces of furniture can cleverly disguise all the mess.

Hooker’s SmartHutch charging station can charge you cell phone, iPod and other portable electronic devices in a clever drawer on variety of the company’s desks.

If you prefer to keep those devices in the family room, Hooker also offers end tables with hidden storage.

If you’re crazy enough to take work to bed with you, the urbane Chatham night stand doubles as a desk for your laptop.

Riverside Furniture, meanwhile, has the perfect coffee table for reality TV watchers who want to go online and vote someone off the island. The Laptop Cocktail Table has a glide-out ledge for your laptop with a power port station hidden below. A cabinet and drawer provide storage space for files and a printer or scanner.

Next up: The British invasion