In a period of weak sales for most home furnishings, manufacturers introducing lifestyle solutions for 21st-century living were the ones that drew attention at last week’s High Point Market, the twice-yearly design powwow that attracts industry executives, retailers and journalists from around the world. Store buyers crowded around the new designs as though they were concept cars at an auto show for one reason: They’re useful.

“TVs are getting bigger, and computers are getting smaller,’’ says Alex Bernhardt, chairman and chief executive of Bernhardt Furniture. Accommodating the changes in personal electronics is a constant challenge for furniture makers, he says: “It’s a moving target.’’

A decade ago, the personal computer and big-screen TV created a huge market for home-office desks and media storage cabinets. Remember all those whitewashed-pine armouries with holes drilled in the back? Today, another revolution has filled homes with multiple cellphone chargers, video game terminals and BlackBerry power stations. Laptops outsell chunky personal computers. Slender plasma TVs don’t need to hide behind massive cabinets.

Some furniture companies are taking their cue from decorators who have been customising built-ins for clients. “I install so many docking stations, I feel like I’m on Star Trek,’’ says designer Candice Olson of the HGTV cable channel, who was showing her furniture collection at High Point. Designer Barry Dixon morphs antique boxes into cellphone charging stations. For the High Point market, he designed a textured leather cabinet for Tomlinson/Erwin-Lambeth that holds a 52-inch plasma TV, based on one he created for a client.

The Family Communication Center by Sligh Furniture, a Michigan maker of mid-price to high-end furniture, is a fully loaded multitasker. Sligh first learned of the need for such a piece from decorators, says Bob Kreter, a company spokesman. “They heard their clients saying: ‘I walk in from a busy day, and I don’t know where to put all my stuff. It used to be keys and mail. But now it’s also laptops, phones and iPods. They all need to be plugged in and charged. Help.’ ’

—Jura Koncius / LAT-WP