A MAN who was kitting out his new Bracknell flat had a cunning idea to create a unique piece of furniture.

Carl Stredder, an architectural technologist, bought a town-centre flat last summer, and like most first-time buyers was looking to furnish his home on a budget.

Wanting to make his living room unique, 29-year-old Carl designed his own coffee table and with the help of his mechanic father, Kevin, he created a one-of-a-kind piece using wood flooring he bought from Direct Wood Flooring in Trade City.

Carl said: "I wanted a table made from hard wood but when I first started looking they were all either too expensive or only had a laminated wood top, which would not have been as durable or hard wearing.

“So, I quickly drew up a table I had in mind on the computer and worked out how much it would cost. My fiancée Lauren and I looked at a few different patterns but we read something about Herringborne flooring being the trend for 2018 and when we saw it in the store, we really liked it.

“They must have thought I was mad when I only ordered a few strips to make the table top, either that or they thought I had the smallest room in history to lay flooring on.”

"All in all, it took two days to make the table top, cut and weld the frame and paint the table.

“It cost around £180, which is a lot cheaper than buying something of the same quality ready-made, plus I have the satisfaction of knowing I did it myself.

“We had enough left to make another table which we have already sold but even though I have had friends and family asking if I can make them one, I don’t think I will be giving up the day job just yet; it’s better keeping it as a hobby.”

Ian Robinson, Manager of the Bracknell Direct Wood Flooring store, said: “It’s not every day that someone buys flooring to use as a coffee table, but we are very impressed by Carl’s creativity; it looks fantastic.”