But then the late Peter Manning got a bit carried away and, five years later, it had turned into what can only be described as a hand-carved, beautifully detailed, nautically-themed artwork that no-one was allowed to eat off.
Mr Manning’s wife, Margie, 84, was not at all surprised.
"It was supposed to be something that we could all sit around together for dinner, but then he got a bit carried away because he loved yachts and sailing ships so much.
"He’s always been a sailor — always.
"He and Alan Coutts — Russell Coutts’ father — used to go sailing off the Ravensbourne boat sheds for years because they were friends."
The carpentry enthusiast spent much of his spare time building several yachts (including the 12.2m Sir Lancelot) and rowboats, as well as scale models of sailing ships.
The ornate table has images of eight famous sailing ships made out of thousands of pieces of wood, set into the table top — the Margaret, Parmir, Aurora, Great Republic, Charlotte Rhodes, Grace Harwar, Indian Empire and Thermopylae.
It was made using African blackwood, camellia, rosewood, redwood, honeysuckle, mahogany, sycamore and macrocarpa.
Mrs Manning said every piece of the table, including the rigging on the ships, was made from finely carved wood.
Apart from it spending a short time in the Dunedin Public Art Gallery as part of an art exhibition, it had spent most of its life in the family garage, gathering dust, she said.
"It’s just been sitting around going to waste. No-one’s seen it."
For some time now, she has had mixed emotions about what to do with it, but had come to the conclusion that it was time to sell it to someone who would actually display it and enjoy it.
"I know it’s going to be sad, but I’m getting older — what’s going to happen to it?
"None of our family can get it in their houses and how do you separate it for seven children?"
She had no idea what it was worth.
Its value was in the eye of the beholder, she said.
"It’s priceless. You can’t put a price on something like that.
"You won’t see anything like it again."
