An Inside Look at High Point Furniture Market

Inside: A rookie’s guide to what it’s like to attend the largest furnishings industry trade show in the world and get an advance peek at current home decor trends! ➡

As someone who loves to look at beautiful rooms full of furniture and accessories, I was in heaven to be able to visit High Point Market for the first time.

In case you don’t know about High Point Market, it is the largest home furnishings trade show in the world. It happens twice a year in High Point, North Carolina, bringing over 70,000 designers, buyers, architects, and other design professionals to this otherwise fairly quiet southern town.

And it is massive! Shops and showrooms spread out around more than 180 buildings and 10 million square feet.

Since the market is so huge, we limited our visit mostly to the two main central buildings. There’s so much to see with offerings for all kinds of decorating styles.

I took photos of so many beautiful items and hopefully this will make you feel like you visited with me and give you some insight as to what High Point Market is all about!

Can anyone go to High Point Market?

It is only open to the trade but they also allow media in to publicize their latest collections. As a home design and lifestyle blogger, this is how I scored my entry.

If you’re in the home decor blogging world I’m also sharing a bit of my fun visit with my blogging friends Suzy from Worthing Court and Rhoda from Southern Hospitality at the bottom of the post!

Trends at High Point Market for Spring 2022.

I spotted plenty of the forecasted trends for 2022. Throughout the photos I took, you’ll see loads of rattan, caning, and bamboo. You’ll also see color, wallpaper, curved furniture, organic materials, and tons of texture!

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Curves were everywhere in furniture design. Like this curved sofa:

Worlds Away’s showroom was a good example of the trends in color and wallpaper along with wicker, rattan, and caning.

The tropical wallpaper in pink and green definitely set the color palette for their room display. Much of the furniture was accented with bamboo, rattan, and grasscloth.

Bungalow 5 was one of my favorite showrooms as well. Similar in style to World’s Away with their modern updates to classic pieces using rattan, clean lines, and bright, happy color!

More grasscloth furniture:

And animal hide. This bar is so unique!😍 The hardware on the furniture here was like jewelry.

And check out the rope texture on this tabletop:

The organic materials that are trending were everywhere at High Point…just look at this light fixture and coffee table!

Accessories, pillows, and lighting at High Point Market.

High Point Market is not just about furniture, but everything to decorate the home. Abilgails was one of my favorite accessory showrooms we visited.

I really loved every one of their garden pot collections!

They featured several tulipieres. This one allows the flowers to suck up the water right out of the tray:

And I really needed one of these artichoke pedestal pots! So much that I made my own inspired by this beauty. You can see my easy glazed ceramic look DIY here.

Some more pretty planters and botanicals in another showroom:

Lots of trendy green also showed up at High Point. I adore this green and white lattice pattern on these lamps and this ottoman!

Some more cute accessories…

I fell in love with these preppy colorful placemats from Holly Stuart Home out of Charleston. She had me at basketweave and monograms!

Etu Home’s kitchen and dining accessories really appealed to my neutral, casual side as well:

They had two styles of gorgeous glass cloches. One was made from the top of a wine glass wine jug.

And this other style from the bottom!

When I mentioned that their accessories reminded me of the Pottery Barn style and the salesperson said they do indeed sell to them.

And cute accessories for the kitchen!

We saw several high end pillow and bedding showrooms too:

This monogram pillow was really calling my name:

Lighting companies were all over High Point Market. Here were even more wicker pendants…

These vintage industrial look lights were quite unique.

And copper gets my attention every time.

These pendants are more of an accessory than a light source, but very cool.

And love the grouping of these pendants!

Artwork and wallpaper at High Point Market.

The artwork trend seemed to be all about botanicals and birds. We saw lots of prints framed in acrylic boxes like these.

I saw these two lovely large landscape pieces in the Minted showroom:

Minted also offers a service where you can custom tailor art to match your color palette…no more hunting all over town for art with just the right colors for your room!

Wallpaper was in full force in many showrooms. Isn’t this mural wallpaper simply stunning?

Some textured wall coverings…

This wallpaper was so dramatic!

And I guess this could be classified as wall art?

Furniture trends at the Spring 2022 High Point Market.

I saw a lot of velvet and boucle on furniture upholstery…

The details on this furniture collection were divine!

A French showroom sighting…

There is a little something for every taste at High Point. This looks like it won an award. Quite unique but not something I would ever buy.

I got to tour the Bernhardt showroom as well. As one of the most well-known manufacturers of quality furniture in the country, it is not surprising that their space in the main building is very large. What was surprising is how hard it was to find considering it took up most of the sixth floor…I felt like I was looking for the secret passage to the coolest speakeasy!

Bernhardt’s outdoor furniture would look right at home inside any sophisticated living room. Boy, patio furniture has come a long way! It was so luxurious…just look at the textural back on this outdoor sectional:

And would you ever guess this is an outdoor sofa either?

I believe they are calling this collection a glam transitional style. Notice the table legs are reminiscent of a certain designer label?

The metalwork pattern on the desk is exquisite…

This collection also had an interesting modern take on an upholstered bed. The soft white fabric texture is a nice contrast to the sleek metal.

I liked these sophisticated neutral furniture vignettes in their showroom…very Restoration Hardware.

I also got to meet the President and CEO, Alex Bernhardt, Jr.! It was nice of him to pose for a quick photo.

There was a delightful spring surprise near the front of the Bernhardt showroom! I believe they decorated this fun area for a featured guest designer at Market.

I also took photos of a few more furniture details that caught my eye at the Furniture Classics showroom:

More caning…

This was actually the counter in the showroom but I found it so charming I had to take a picture:

I love every piece of furniture in this vignette…the chairs, the coffee table, and the credenza.

Such a beautiful cabinet:

More trends spotted here with the fluted cabinet and table made of natural materials…

The metal detail on this collection was striking too…

And one more trend I saw a lot of this season was burlwood.

These pieces were beautiful with their acrylic hardware.

Some tips if you attend the High Point Furniture Market with a media pass.

• Wear comfortable shoes. You’ll want to dress business casual since it is a trade show for designers, but sneakers and flats are the norm.
• Take advantage of the shuttles. There is a bus shuttle system all around as well as to and from park and ride lots.
• Refresh and recharge in the media hospitality suite. They offer charging stations, food and drink, and places to sit to get off your feet for a bit.
• Most showrooms allowed us in and welcomed photos but not all. There is more than enough to see so if you are denied entry just move on to the next.
• Most showrooms only sell to retailers and designers, but if you find something you want it never hurts to ask. Several showrooms told us they would sell us a “one off” at the highest wholesale price.

What should I bring to High Point Market?

You won’t want to bring a lot to Market each day, but here’s a shortlist of what you need to know:

• Phone and charging cord. You’ll find charging stations in many of the break/lounge areas.
• Portable phone charger battery pack. As media, you’ll be taking loads of pictures so you’ll need that phone to stay alive.
• Sweater or light jacket. It may be hot outside, but it can be chilly in the showrooms.
• Water bottle. There are complimentary water bottles and water for sale around, but I like to have some available at all times.
• Portable snacks like nuts or protein bars so you won’t have to stop to go search out a pick me up.
• Crossbody bag. For your wallet, keys, etc. Or a phone case pouch on a strap. Bandolier is one of my favorites!
• Tote bag if you’d like to take catalogs with you.
• Comfortable shoes. Can’t stress this one enough. Leave the heels at home and wear a stylish pair of sneakers or flats.
• Cash and credit card. In case you’re able to purchase. And occasionally you may need cash to do so.
• Business casual attire. Remember you’re among designers so you’ll want to be comfortable, but still polished and put together.

There’s a lot of walking so this list is similar to my Guide to Attending the Round Top Antiques Show.

Where should I park at High Point Market?

There’s an easy to use free shuttle system that drops off and picks up between the main market buildings.

To park in the pay to park lots, you have to have a buyer badge.

It’s easiest to use their Park & Ride where you park at Oak Hollow Mall and take the shuttle. It’s located at 921 Eastchester Drive, High Point, NC 27262.

What are the dates for High Point Furniture Market?

The upcoming dates for the fall and spring shows as well as all of the newest information can be found at https://www.highpointmarket.org/.

What does it cost to go to High Point Furniture Market?

Entry is free with a media pass. For industry attendees, the registration fee was $55 this year.

The rest of my Greensboro NC visit.

What better reason for bloggers who love to decorate to get together than High Point Market? You may recognize these two lovely ladies who are well known in the blogging world.

Greensboro is gorgeous in the spring with the trees in full bloom! The three of us hung out and chatted, blogged together, and made a visit to Suzy’s friend Nancy’s house. It was even more opportunity to ooh and aah over pretty decor at Nancy’s impeccably decorated home located on a golf course.

Nancy’s two Yorkies kept distracting us from checking out the home with their cuteness. This one only weighs 2 1/2 pounds!

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I hope you found my trip to North Carolina and this inside look into the trends and creative styling vignettes at High Point Furniture Market as full of inspiring decorating ideas as I did!

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