Flatpack rows come free as couples navigate Ikea

You set off for the trip to Ikea to fit out your home with the best that Swedish ingenuity has to offer, but the experience can prove more testing for your relationship than putting together that flatpack wardrobe.

After you emerge utterly spent and exhausted from the store, faces as thunderous as Thor, having bickered and fought over everything –up to and including the kitchen sink — just try and remember you are not alone.

With 367 stores worldwide, Ikea’s low prices often attract young couples starting to furnish a home but, in just a few hours, most couples have gone from planning their future to thinking about breaking up.