Interior Designer Meghan Friedman finds comfort in Gat Creek bedrooms

Interior Design, Meghan Friedman / Photography, Whitney Wasson

For most, personal style and functionality determine furniture choices for every room in the house. Except the bedroom, which typically falls under the same rules, but with a twist.

When choosing furniture for living and dining areas, we often think about accommodating others: friends, family, gatherings. With the bedroom it’s all about “me.”

And “me” can cover a lot of possibilities — the work-from-homer in search of a work table to fit a specific cubby. The down-sizer who needs storage pieces that complement beloved heirlooms. The beach-houser who wants to play with colors and finishes.

“Bedrooms are similar to the kitchen in that regard,” said Meghan Friedman of Redhead Design Interiors in Baltimore. “Clients want their bedrooms to feel beautiful and welcoming and, most important, to function well for their personal needs.”

For Friedman, nailing the functionality aspect means asking a lot of questions about a client’s “stuff.” Clothes, books, keepsakes … what do they have and how much of it needs a place to live? It’s not unusual for her to go so far as to put a tape measure to clients’ clothing.

“Everything needs to fit the space,” she said. “Sometimes that requires a unique piece only a designer can dream up.”

Interior Design, Meghan Friedman / Photography, Whitney Wasson Bed: Sunbury Bed Cherry Natura, Nightstand: Tomlin Two Drawer Nightstand in Cherry Natural

Customization to the rescue.

Every piece from Gat Creek is made to order as customers select hardwood species, finish, and hardware finish. If it’s about dining tables, customers rely on Gat Creek’s Custom Shop where they can specify length, width and edge treatments with few constraints. The wide range of size options in dressers and nightstands meet virtually every need. And for other pieces, the workshop will consider modest adjustments, which can be a game-changer, Friedman said.

“This week, I contacted the Gat Creek custom team to customize a hutch and TV console,” she said. “The client needs as much storage as possible in a very limited space in a Brooklyn apartment. We have to be exact. In fact, I currently have several clients that are downsizing so we need furniture that exactly fits their space.”

In tandem with fitting to space, fitting to taste is a Gat Creek superpower. Friedman cites the clean lines, harmonious proportions and the attention to detail as hallmarks across the Gat Creek offering.

“You don’t want everything in the room to look like it matches. But they must work together,” she said. “In so many cases, pieces from one collection work beautifully with pieces from another because you have this amazing selection of finish options.

"Gat Creek is one of the few brands where I can just send a client to their site to browse and know they’ll end up with something great. Their entire collection is so solid that it’s almost impossible to make a bad call. That kind of consistency is such a huge win for me."

Interior Design, Meghan Friedman / Photography, Whitney Wasson LEFT: Tomlin Two Drawer Nightstand in Hand Glazed Parchment, RIGHT: Tomlin Three Drawer Nightstand in Hand Glazed Lambs Wool

Praise for the strong silent type.

Craftsmanship is one furniture trait designers should never sleep on. For Friedman, build quality in beds and storage pieces is non-negotiable. “You know, when the little kids pile into the king bed with the parents for movie night, you don’t want joints that squeak and wiggle. The quality and integrity of all Gat Creek products is just so impressive.”

And even more impressive?

“Getting this level of quality along with the many customization options is amazing at their price-point.” Friedman said. “Honestly, even if a client came to me with a five-million-dollar budget, I would still use Gat Creek.”