The following article appeared in the November 3, 2025, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.
The High Point furniture market revealed what’s coming soon to homes near you: mixed textures, game tables and the color green
by Cristina Bolling
The fall High Point Market wrapped up last week, bringing thousands of designers, retailers and style scouts to the Home Furnishings Capital of the World for a peek at what’s emerging in home design and the trends that will shape what you’ll soon see in stores and homes. It’s a whirlwind of color, texture and creativity — part trade show, part design wonderland.
Only those in the furniture industry can gain access to the showrooms, which makes the five-day market feel a little like an insider’s playground. (My mom is an interior designer, and I get to tag along for her annual fall trip to High Point.)
And if you keep your eyes open, there’s a good chance of spotting a design-world celebrity. One year, I chatted with HGTV’s Property Brothers and caught a glimpse of Joanna Gaines of “Fixer Upper”; this year, I tried to act nonchalant as Carson Kressley of early-2000s “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” fame breezed past me in a furniture showroom.
Each showroom has its own unique vibe, but as you move through them, patterns start to emerge. Here are a few of the standout trends that caught our eye on a one-day trip through the showrooms of High Point.
🟩 Green is king
The last few years, furniture and textile designers have leaned into warm neutrals like caramels and creams in their showings at market, casting away the cold minimalist gray aesthetics that had dominated previously.
The warm tones were back this year, but with a fresh new friend — green.
Practically every showroom we visited found a way to incorporate the color into its vignettes: rich green tufted leather chairs, long lineups of ceramic table lamps ranging from mint to hunter, and area rugs that evoked the aesthetic of fresh grass.
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🎲 Game time
I’ve been making an annual trek to High Point Market for more than a decade, and I’ve never seen game tables featured as prominently as I did this year.
Are furniture designers trying to pry us away from our mobile devices by suggesting that we sit across a table from one another and get back to old-fashioned fun? Or are they inspired by the meteoric rise of mahjong in America?
They had me convinced. I smiled every time I spotted one of the tables with its little drink slides pulled out. And we spotted lots of them, in materials ranging from whimsical painted wood to raffia-wrapped tables and ones with sophisticated curves.
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🛋️ Mixed textures
Attending High Point Market is a tactile experience. No sofa is off-limits, recliners are meant for reclining and running hands across fabrics or testing the wobbly-ness of tables is encouraged. (After all, how can buyers order a product for their store or sell it to clients without thoroughly exploring it themselves?)
This year’s market was a feast for the fingertips, as designers mixed every medium imaginable: cold terra cotta and rich leather. Lush fur and smooth wood or chunky weaves.
Even classic pieces got a touch of contrast — think Chesterfield sofas trimmed in fur or smooth wood cabinets topped with polished marble. The emphasis wasn’t on matching finishes, but on creating rooms that feel dimensional and alive.
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After a day at High Point Market, it’s clear that designers seem to agree: The best rooms this season are the ones that play, pop and show a little personality.
Cristina Bolling is the former managing editor of The Ledger. Reach her at [email protected].
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