Look for expression

Architect Mies van der Rohe said, "`God is in the detail", which defines the importance many architects place on details. Details are about how the building is put together. A building is like a toolkit comprising materials such as timber, blockwork and tiling - all of these things meet each other or sit on top of one another and architects have to consider how the join is expressed. Then there are applied details, such as the quality of a window and how it fits into a building; the consideration of what type of door handles to use or using a cornice that fits the proportion of the room.

Hide the joins

If you look closely at a building you can tell how much time has been spent on the detail. A new building may look fine at first but when you look closely you'll see that the window frame doesn't fit into the wall well or the junctions between the rooms are ugly. One thing I hate is exposed pipework or electrical conduits, which is pure laziness, they can be put into the walls. Instead of boxing in pipework you could box out the whole wall.

Simplify your space

If a room doesn't have architraves, cornices, coving and skirting then it will look good painted all in one colour which expresses the room as a single space rather than a series of plains divided up by coving and so on.

Float some ideas

You can use detailing to float objects in a room which creates interest. A built-in kitchen doesn't need to meet the floor but can have a recess at the base. This makes the eye read it as a piece of furniture that is part of the room but not fixed into the space.

Don't accept the obvious

Detailing is about not accepting mass-produced items. Architects are often given off-the-shelf objects such as window systems and it is up to them to decide whether they will accept it or not. Individually crafted things are so important in getting elements that fit the proportion of the building as a whole. Somebody once said that if you got all of the things that you thought beautiful in a person, such as nice eyes and so on and put them all together it wouldn't look good. Detail is about the assembly and interaction of the whole - if you took apart a beautiful Georgian cabinet you would see clever detailing in how it was put together. For me, the most detailed building in the world is the Maison de Verre by Pierre Chareau in Paris (a three-storey, steelframed glazed building). I think the contractor who did the metalwork was a clockmaker, which shows how important craftsmanship is.

Stand your ground

Detailing is about what your own eye feels is proportionately correct and if a builder offers you a standard item that you don't feel is right then don't accept it. You may be told that a stone kitchen counter top comes as an 18mm standard thickness but you can come up with solutions such as creating an edging that gives a more attractive proportion - such as a double edge in steel or wood.

Light works

Good lighting is very important but difficult to find. You can plough through 100 catalogues and only find 12 fittings that you like. You need to spend time on research and not just go to your local shop. You don't have to accept the convention of a pendant light hanging in the middle of the room. Think about having invisible light sources, which are used a lot in shops nowadays.

Visual tricks

Things that are unsightly can be down played, for instance, toilet roll holders can be recessed into the walls. If you place light switches at the same height as door handles they won't provide a visual distraction. Your eyes won't pick up on them as you enter the room.

Continuity is everything

Items such as door furniture and sanitary ware have to be chosen carefully. You should never mix and match but decide whether you are going to go for all modern or all traditional as continuity is important. Use one particular type of ironmongery throughout - we often use Elementary D Line ironmongery from Architectural Hardware Ltd and Vola taps (through Shires).

Mind the gap

Builders in Ireland have been taught in the Victorian tradition of hiding junctions, for instance with a skirting board, which in a way makes sense. If you can hide and protect certain junctions you can build in a more haphazard way because a skilled joiner will then come along and hide the junction. Modern architects are not interested in hiding junctions but expressing them. For instance, you can use a shadow gap where a plaster wall falls short of a timber floor by about 6mm to 12mm, although I have seen one with a 100mm gap.

Skirting the issue

If you're putting down a timber floor you can ask the builder to use skirting in exactly the same wood. This causes people to see the room as a tray of timber.

Break their line of vision

Prevent the eye from seeing the threshold between two different materials by making sure they are at the same level.

Reframe your space

Creating full height doors without frames or lintels prevents each room being defined as a separate box and helps one space flow into another. In the portal you can put a door or sliding screen attached with pivot hinges to negate the need for a frame. Also, treat an ordinary carpet like a rug by placing it a foot from the wall to create space.

Dermot Boyd is a principal in Boyd Cody Architects, The Studio, 15 Upper Baggot Street, Dublin 4. Tel: 01-6677277