Table that: See our top guidelines for choosing the perfect coffee table

Guidelines for picking a coffee table are simple and effective so you find the right shape, size and material to suit your space and purpose, as well as satisfying your inner interiors stylist, writes Carol O’Callaghan

WHY is it we take hours, even days and sometimes weeks choosing sofas, drapery, rugs and occasional furniture, but we’ll accept a cast-off coffee table which would otherwise be heaved in the direction of the tip?