What goes around, comes around.

Classic furniture and home accent styles, freshly interpreted for today's mixers-and-matchers and "candidly contemporary collections" were introduced at the International Home Furnishings Market, which ended Wednesday.

The market, in High Point, N.C., is the world's largest exhibition of residential furnishings, attended by manufacturers, designers, buyers and media. It sets the stage for what consumers will see in furniture stores this fall.

According to news reports, what the market had to offer may redefine the concept of individual style.

"Consumers entering the market for new home furnishings later this year may want to resist the urge to define their tastes as purely 'traditional' or purely 'contemporary,'" said Jackie Hirschhaut, vice president of the American Home Furnishings Alliance. "The designs we're seeing this spring, which will arrive in stores late this summer and into the fall, invite you to mix and match for a classic style all your own."

Barbara Barry and Alexa Hampton are among designers employing a modern mind-set to translate formal classic designs into more livable furnishings. Borrowing from traditional forms, new collections offer mixable pieces that are pared down and simplified without losing any formality, according to the American Furniture Manufacturing Association.

Other manufacturers have reached back into the archives of best-selling designs and revived them with modern-day functionality, says AHFA. Fresh finishes, updated proportions (in most cases larger) and a greater variety of options, like hand-painted accents, are only half the story. Modern technology enhances pieces with improved finishes and high-tech options.

On the other end of the style spectrum, manufacturers are introducing more contemporary designs than retail buyers have seen in years. The trend spans price points, from sophisticated designer collections to more moderately priced groups aimed at snagging younger consumers with fresh interpretations of classic contemporary.

Exotic veneers bring a new assortment of color and pattern variations to the spring lines - though they may require retail sales associates to carry a pronunciation guide. From Santos rosewood and okoume to flor morado and Mozambique, these distinctive veneers add a touch of mystique contemporary furnishings.

Upholstery fabric trends derive straight from the fashion runways, says Hirschhaut, with haberdashery, techno pop and unabashed opulence at the forefront. Fine-gauged tweed, herringbone and houndstooth in new neutrals, like silvery taupe, creamy white and latte-inspired beige, characterize the menswear look.

Other trends predicted by AHFA:

- More made-to-order options, and dramatic reductions in delivery times. Norwalk's Variations program, for example, offers 96 possible combinations of sofa features.

- Arm styles, cushion options, wood bases, skirts and more than 1,000 fabrics. Custom sofas and chairs are delivered in 30 days. Berkline is applying the same concept to basic recliners.

- British Colonial returns with rich mahogany, turnings and pencil lattice, woven accents and steamer trunk details such as those found in Stanley's "Barbados" collection.

- Game tables. Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway helped create the furniture collection by Bassett, including the solid oak poker table with hand-tooled, leather playing surface. Hooker Furniture is tapped into the trend, too, with poker tables, coordinating bars and bar stools.