Interior design and redecorating of any kind is a guaranteed way to test any relationship. Even couples that get on brilliantly most of the time can come to blows when choosing furniture, soft furnishings or shades of paint. This is exactly what happened when my boyfriend and I set out one Saturday morning to look for a glass topped coffee table.

We are both strong characters with distinctive views and tastes, which fortunately complement each other most of the time. We both work in high profile decision making roles, and are used to getting out own way, and somehow we clashed over the most innocent of objects, a simple coffee table.

We must have visited nearly fifteen furniture stores, each of which had a great selection of coffee tables, and yes many of them had glass tops. I like to think of myself as modern in my interior design tastes, preferring the minimalist approach, clean sleek lines and practical designs. I like bright stainless steel and stylish vinyl.

My boyfriends ideas are, let us say, more traditional. I blame his upbringing in a house full of Victorian chintz. The tables he wanted to look at seemed to me quaint and dated, and I was glad we didn?t spot any with lions feet as they would have been at the top of the wish list. He favored dark wood tables with too much detail and strange gold patterns. My choices were described by him, on the other hand, as boring, cold and characterless.

Of course, we ended up compromising on a table that neither of us particularly liked but at the same time neither found really offensive. This is how our entire house has ended up with mediocre furniture that is neither one style nor another and really does not give any clues as to the personality of the inhabitants.

The next excitement will be choosing a coffee maker to go with our coffee table. While I like those new stainless steel thermal machines that do everything for you except for brushing your teeth, my boyfriend will no doubt be eyeing up antique style coffee pots that burn the coffee but just have so much character. Perhaps in this instance we can shop separately and buy two, just to avoid the inevitable conflict.