one red speaker

“The details are not the details. They make the design”
-Charles Eames

Right now, the details are driving me crazy. I have one exposed brick wall in my apartment. A 66″ portion of is raised one brick’s width from the rest of the wall. I’ve fastened 2x4s to the sides of the brick on either side of the raised portion as part of a picture hanging situation that I’ve been dreaming up in my head since I moved in.

I learned a few things. First, the brick wall is not level. In fact, in a room with no right angles, what does level even mean? I decided to just let the bricks define level. Second, the brick wall is not flat. The wood is definitely bowed out in places and rotated out in others.

One of the holes I drilled isn’t exactly centered and the wood pulls away from the wall a few millimeters more than I would like. Even worse, the top is fine. The bottom is the issue.

Next I need to put nails into the wood. I figured I’d used the bricks as a guide and put a nail in at the midpoint of every other brick. Lo and behold, the spacing of the bricks is not at all consistent. I can choose between having equidistantly spaced nails looking a bit off center relative to the bricks next to them or nails that line up with the bricks but are not equidistant.

It’s at this point that the madness sets in. The wooden overhang taunts me. I can hear my name echoing in the bowed out gaps. The bricks themselves are screaming at me.

I know I should ignore them. I know when it’s all said and done, eyes will be drawn to the photographs, and this framing will disappear. If anything I should embrace the imperfections. I really should not give it any thought.

But seriously, how can I not?