The Occidental Gazebo

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THE OCCIDENTAL GAZEBO

In the Orient, it is described as the "suchness of the now." In Western culture, it is a sanctuary. And you can build one right in your own backyard.

IN THE WARM, PLEASANT DAYS OF EARLY summer; you stare wistfully at an empty space in your backyard. Obviously, it would be better if your neighbor were staring wistfully at that spot instead. It would mean less work. But you envision a classic gazebo there. It would be so easy to build, you think.

In American culture, the gazebo (corrupt Latin: "I shall gaze") is a strange Western analogue to the Japanese teahouse: Not indoors, nor quite outdoors, it attracts cool breezes and serenity of spirit. When the purple twilight falls softly and the hard news comes on TV, it's a place to withdraw and listen to chirping insects, to sit in quiet contemplation of the present, a time zone people in the Orient describe as the "suchness of the now." This moment is unique and fleeting, never to come again. Surely a calm like this will never come from gazing into a colored-image box in which telephone and cola companies besmirch the competition.

The errant television is the source, in fact, of a weird cultural concept that all things should be a snap: even such things as building a gazebo. Please reconsider. Perhaps after you've built 10 or so-no, it still won't be easy. So sorry. It isn't a project you can complete in a weekend or without the help of other strong backs and psyches.

For reasons too complicated to fully understand, the classic gazebo is octagonal. Whether your carpentry skills are nominal, moderate or accomplished, this entails making friends with a shape that looks simple but contains complex geometry. The very shape cries, STOP! But take heart; its secrets will be revealed to you through the diagrams herein.

And the pleasure of workmanship done by your own hand, combined with the gazebo's inherent beauty, makes building one all the more worthwhile, difficulties notwithstanding. Challenging, yes. Insurmountable, no.

Actually, you can build a gazebo with something approaching ease, but only if you do so with forethought worthy of a chess master. Mistakes result from too much hurry. Disasters spring from too many mistakes. A moment's inattention, and the next day you will sputter undreamt-of expletives. You must work slowly; steady progress is better than slapdash completion. Each task should be rehearsed in your mind before you pick up a tool—a useful discipline in almost any pursuit.

What follows is meant to provide inspiration and general guidelines for the construction of an 8-foot gazebo. Like life itself, your proposed gazebo is truly a festival of choices: Infinite variables abound. Your gazebo can be any size you wish, and the roof any pitch or configuration: steeper, flatter, with a curving upswept arc, double-pitched like a witch's hat, with split shakes or even a latticed roof. More detailed, step-by-step plans are commercially available for all these designs and more.