But the biggest revelation for Smith and Dinse was just how far Nettleton was able to take their ideas and deliver the syllabub: “He saw how things could be changed. We could never have achieved that level of detail.” They admit that they are both so busy that without an architect they could never have taken on the project at all.

Such happy endings are not uncommon outcomes of AITH. But that’s not to say it’s faultless. George Camiller, a television actor seen most recently in Judge John Deed, had an architect round under the scheme to figure out what to do with his north London house. “It was very puzzling and disappointing, an unsatisfactory time,” he says. “It was as though he was going through the motions and had no initiative, no ideas.”

Oh dear, not a syllabub but a soggy sponge pudding. Given that Camiller intended to remodel the entire building, he was surprised not to find more enthusiasm but admits that “the scheme isn’t bad. I was just dealt a bad card”.

But of course there’s bound to be an element of lottery to AITH. It isn’t a rigorous selection process designed to find your architect soulmate (Riba offers other more refined services for that) but an introduction agency. A sort of architectural Blind Date. Camiller was unlucky but went on to find true happiness with another architect. Smith and Dinse struck lucky and were smitten; when Nettleton was assigned to them, they immediately clicked and then started design-dating.

So if you sign up — and I recommend you do — treat it as a taster of the excitement, joy and glamour that a flirtation with architecture brings. Then go out and be utterly promiscuous and play the field.

Architecture Week runs from June 16 to 25, www.architectureweek.org.uk

Practices can register interest in AITH at http://members.riba.org/archweek

Riba is running another consultancy scheme, Meet the Architect, at Grand Designs Live this year, from June 2 to 4 and taking bookings for AITH; www.granddesignslive.com; Riba, 0844 445 7638, www.architecture.com

Habitat is running another AITH surgery at its London Regent Street store from 1pm to 5pm on June 25, plus a guided open-top bus tour of London’s best modernist buildings. Places have been filling up fast, www.habitat.net

Hire guide

• Architects aren’t just technicians for getting planning permission: a good one will magic space out of nowhere and turn your home into something extraordinary.
• Don’t employ the first architect you meet. For a substantial job, interview several — it’s important you work with someone who shares your view of the world.
• Provide a brief: a sheet of typed A4, or a photo album of your life and aspirations. The owner of one house nominated for last year’s Manser Medal wrote a three-line haiku. I say let your lyrical side rip.
• Take your architect on a tour of houses you like or that they suggest. Visit examples of their work to get a feel for their style.
• Ask for all fees to be spelled out. Read Riba’s A Client’s Guide to Engaging an Architect, available from its bookshops. You have to negotiate, but for a build cost of £300,000, fees will typically be 10%-15% for a full involvement.
• If you think you are paying too much, work it out. Your architect will spend an enormous amount of time producing reams of drawings; they could be working with you for years. At an hourly rate they will probably earn less than your plumber.
• Any building worth its salt tries something new: it is its own prototype. When you buy architecture, you’re not buying a factory-made product; you’re buying art and a slice of your own future, so don’t expect it to be perfect in every way.
• Employ your architect on a full service contract if you can afford it. They will help to insulate you from the stress of the process, and will resolve those thousands of tiny details that collectively can turn a new house into either a Riba-medal winner or a dog.

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