By Elaine Gaston

HIGH POINT, N.C.Furnishing a quaint beach apartment or a hotel-room-turned-condo on the Grand Strand with their limited square footage and low ceilings can be a challenge.

Realizing the problem some apartment and condo dwellers who desire stylish furniture and accessories face, more furniture makers are rising to the challenge by producing smaller-scaled pieces that are fashionable, functional and ideal for scaled-down square footage.

That was evident at the recent International Home Furnishings Market in High Point, N.C., where several manufacturers debuted collections featuring furnishings fit for today’s lifestyles, including urban dwellings and smaller homes. Many of the pieces that hit showrooms for the first time at the market will land in retail outlets later this summer.

Edward Tashjian, vice president of marketing for Century Furniture, which offers luxurious pieces, said condo- and apartment-dwellers are fully aware of their sense of style and aren’t willing to just settle for ‘chain store’ furnishings.

‘They care very much about their surroundings,’ Tashjian said.

The company introduced its smaller-scaled North End collection at last week’s market. The 34-piece collection includes bedroom, dining and occasional pieces aimed at consumers who appreciate hip design, yet also seek high quality. The collection, which includes a scaled-down club chair and low, smaller-scaled console for flat-screened TVs, has a versatile, functional sense of minimalism with plenty of square angles and fields of unembellished wood.

Pulaski Furniture Co. expanded its Accentrics line to include hand-painted accents, mini consolettes, vanities with mirrors, wine servers and stand-alone pedestal sinks ideal for smaller living spaces.

‘They’ve been able to scale down, but put a lot of detailing in the pieces,’ said Patti Boone for Pulaski, pointing to the company’s intricately detailed half-round consolettes, which feature inlays, antique brass work and a coordinating mirror, ideal for a small foyer or hallway.

For a more casual yet stylish statement, Flexsteel Industries introduced several new pieces in its Wrangler Home collection, including Wythe, a smaller-scaled club chair and ottoman with hair-on-hide leather on the outside arms and back as well as on the base of the ottoman, giving the pair a rustic yet polished feel.

While Hooker Furniture isn’t necessarily marketing furnishings for smaller living spaces, many of its newest pieces offer versatility and functionality in homes with limited square footage. Among one of the best examples is the company’s Waverly Place refractory game table in cherry wood and cherry veneers. This stylish piece has pull-out leaves that slide up under the table. It doubles in size when the leaves are extended.

‘It’s self-storing,’ said Kim Shaver of Hooker Furniture. ‘That way you don’t have to take up any closet space storing the extra leaves. It would be good for small spaces.’