The bracelet isn't there because the bed wants for visual interest; it's already enveloped in a brightly colored quilt by Lisa Corti, a Milanese designer, and topped with four pillows, five throw pillows and a bolster. The reason for the jewelry, according to Judi Roaman, a former fashion retailer who opened the store in May, is that furniture, like any carefully curated outfit, should express its owner's personality. "Accessories make the bed into who you want her to be," she explains.

The idea that furniture should wear jewelry may strike some people as, well, nuts. But the notion behind it -- that the kind of personal style associated with fashion can and should be expressed through home accessorizing, in ways that go far beyond throw pillows -- has become a guiding principle of the furnishings industry.

Decades after that industry began routinely drawing inspiration from fashion, the boundaries between the two worlds are starting to erode, as their philosophies, vocabularies and materials become increasingly hard to tell apart. Fashion and home design are "collapsing into each other," says the New York furniture and interior designer Celerie Kemble, who has described her curvy new side tables as having "the insouciant kick of a flared hemline."

Trade show gets into the act

This coalescence was on view throughout last month's High Point Market, the huge furniture trade show in North Carolina. Henredon, a company known more for classic styling than for marketing gimmicks, introduced Debonaire, a $5,775 striated beige couch with a matching silk shawl -- to be worn by the sofa -- for $390. At Julian Chichester, new coffee tables ($2,995) and living room chairs ($4,995) were wrapped in chocolate-brown faux shagreen, a material more commonly seen on clutch purses. Visual Comfort & Co., a designer lighting manufacturer, showcased lamps by Thomas O'Brien and Barbara Barry that featured beveled crystal, dainty pearls and white gold accents that could have come straight from Tiffany.

In showroom after showroom, consoles and sideboards in basic black or glossy white were adorned with gleaming objects that looked like earrings and pendants pumped up to match the scale of a room. Such accessories "make the room look warm and accessible," says Mitchell Gold, whose company, Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams, known for its understated upholstered furniture, introduced mirrored glass vases, crystal spheres and sculptural objects in polished nickel.

"When Bob and I are designing furniture, we think, 'What does Audrey Hepburn look like? How did Jackie Kennedy dress?' " Gold says. "The perfect black dress worn with nothing else looks pretty blah. But then just put white pearls on, you look elegant."

To be sure, furniture designers have often looked to fashion for inspiration. At various points, the animal prints, distressed leathers and deep ruffles that sashayed down runways have appeared, a year or two later, on upholstery, carpeting and other furnishings.

And ever since Bloomingdale's flagship store sold $35,000 worth of Ralph Lauren home furnishings the first day they went on sale in 1983, manufacturers have recognized the potential of names like Giorgio Armani and Donna Karan to imbue armoires and bedding with cachet.

But the industry's current focus on accessorizing as a form of self expression represents a marked change from most of the last 50 years, when Americans typically strived for a living room of uniform style that looked as if it had been done by a professional. "Home design used to be so much about these old-fashioned rules," Kemble says. "It was about showcasing the accumulation of things that met a certain level of finish."

Things have changed. "People want every aspect of their lives to say something about themselves," says Deborah Needleman, the editor in chief of Domino, the 3-year-old Conde Nast shelter magazine that became an instant hit with its treatment of style as a matter of personal choice. Decorating that feels personally driven, she says, "shows you have confidence and a sense of independence." It also shows creativity, much as individualistic fashion choices do, Needleman continues. "I think most people between the ages of 25 and 45 would feel like a jerk if they bought a suite of furniture."

Consumer options

The proliferation of decorating shows and magazines, not to mention Target's ubiquitous ad campaigns, has no doubt helped give rise to the idea that everyone, regardless of budget, deserves and is capable of attaining a unique and stylish space. "It's a whole different moment now where design is for everyone," says James Nauyok, the vice president for marketing and visual display of Baker, one of the country's pre-eminent furniture brands. "Today, you can find good design at any price point."

And magazines, manufacturers and retailers now relentlessly push the idea that changing your home is as easy and affordable as changing your look.

"Just like you want to change your sweater, you want to change your house," Roaman says. Expensive purchases such as sofas and dining tables, retailers say, can be transformed with accessories as effectively and cheaply as a good navy suit can.

"I carry bright dishes that go from $8 to $12 -- we've sold hundreds of them," Roaman says. "For $500 you can change your whole table." At Target, 12 Thomas O'Brien stoneware dinner plates in deep marine blue cost just under $75, and at Target.com, you can get two potentially room-altering deep red silk pillows with a gold dandelion design for $58.48.

The desire for personalized home design is just as pronounced, if not more so, at the high end of the market. Hickory Chair, a luxury American furniture brand, introduced an array of "personalization" options at High Point, including Made-to-Measure Upholstery, which allows customers to order upholstered pieces in any size between 24 and 120 inches, down to the inch.