On the horizon — New furniture designs due out next spring

HIGH POINT, N.C. — The star power may have been lacking at the fall High Point Market (formerly the International Home Furnishings Market) recently, with Martha Stewart conspicuously absent for the launch of her new furniture collection with Bernhardt. But there definitely wasn't a shortage of buzz-worthy introductions. Here are a few new furniture lines and pieces that caught our eye for their design, practicality and affordability. In most cases, the pieces featured will be available in retail stores in about six months.

Metropolitan Home Collection

What's new: Metropolitan Home magazine teamed up with contemporary designer Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz and manufacturer Shermag to debut its first furniture collection. The goal of the collection is to provide an "accessible modern" aesthetic that consumers can mix and match and incorporate into any type of decor — not necessarily a space devoted to modern furnishings. The look among the more than 65 items is varied and sometimes whimsical, with Noriega-Ortiz paying painstaking attention to shapes and silhouettes (there's only one piece of hardware in the entire line) and combining unexpected materials such as acrylic and zebra wood in coffee tables, and putting hammered metal onto the bottom of a bookcase.

Standout: The Parallel dining table ($1,995), a stunning example of Noriega-Ortiz's mastery of lines and form.

More info: www.methomecollection.com

Martha Stewart Signature Furniture

What's new: The Katonah Collection is inspired by Stewart's 1925 farmhouse and stables in Bedford, N.Y. The fifth furniture line from Martha Stewart Signature Furniture with Bernhardt, this collection offers 45 pieces in a spectrum of colors and styles — from a red Asian-inspired secretary to a trim, tailored English sofa.

Standout: The Kingsland chinoiserie secretary ($3,150), with its striking Chinese red finish and gold detail, is an updated take on the Asian influences of which Stewart is so fond. The gold cherry blossom pattern on the top cabinet over water swirls on the bottom makes the piece ornate without being over-the-top. And with its dimensions (44- 1/4 inches wide by 23- 5/8 inches deep by 81- 5/8 inches high) this secretary can house an entire home office. A drop-leaf keyboard drawer and hidden file storage make it as functional as it is beautiful.