Two years ago, my life was uprooted as my husband and I moved from Utah to Colorado. We had just graduated college and we were so excited to move into our new house and start a life there. I’m sure many of you can relate to how ecstatic I was to start decorating my house! Since we had lived in tiny apartments previously, we had very little furniture. So, I found myself browsing a Crate and Barrel for a coffee table. After taking about five steps into the store, I found THE ONE. I know, it’s not hard to find something gorgeous in a store like that! My husband and father-in-law looked at the table then insisted they could build a table just like it. My husband and father-in-law are both incredible wood craftsmen. It sounded like a complicated project, but I agreed since the table was much more expensive than I thought.
Not even a month later, my sweet father-in-law drove out to Colorado to surprise us with a gorgeous, 400-pound, white oak coffee table. It was truly more beautiful than anything I could have found in Crate and Barrel. We took it into our house and intentionally placed it in the center of our living room. It was truly more breathtaking because of who made it for me. I wanted to find something perfect to put on top, but I couldn’t find anything worthy of sitting atop such a work of art.
I searched high and low for a coffee table book. I wanted something simple, aesthetic, and filled with beautiful images. I couldn’t find what I was imagining ANYWHERE. It seemed all options, even under the shiny book covers, were cluttered with words, made with poor materials, and filled with meaningless content just to fill space. Since I’ve been a wedding photographer making wedding photo books for my clients for years, I thought, “I’ll just make a coffee table book myself.” That is how Gilded was born. Now I have a line of coffee table books that are filled with as much intention and love and my father in laws woodworking. I’ve created a book that is worthy to sit on that table as it is luxurious, intentional, and as beautiful on the outside as it is on the inside.
