One popular option is adding an outdoor fire place or fire pit to an outdoor room. According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), “fireplaces rank among the top three features desired by new home buyers.” In many parts of the country, an outdoor fireplace or fire pit allows homeowners to extend their outdoor living season. Fire pits are especially suitable for those cooler evenings, as friends tend to gather around them. Fireplaces, on the other hand, create an ambiance more akin to a family room. In both cases, the mesmerizing effect of glowing embers can quickly become the focal point of any evening.
While the benefits to having an outdoor fireplace or fire pit are more obvious during the cooler months, we also wanted to share a few suggestions for ways to use these elements during warmer weather.
Storytelling by the “campfire”: Naturally, a fireplace serves as a great focal point or gathering place for your outdoor room. During the warmer months, invite the kids or neighbors out for a night of storytelling…campfire-style.
Old-fashioned cook out: More and more people are beginning to use their outdoor fire pits and fireplaces for cooking. While roasting marshmallows is a familiar past time to most, many people do not realize you can cook virtually anything with fire. Make S’mores with the kids or entertain the adults with a rotisserie-style cook out in front of your fireplace.
Beat the Bugs: In an article entitled Using a Fire Pit as a Garden’s Focal Point, the source offers this suggestion, “place boughs of rosemary or stalks of citronella near the fire, and let the natural insect-repellent keep the evening comfortable and bug-free.”
These are just a few ways to use your outdoor fireplace or fire pit year-round. If you have additional suggestions, we’d love to hear them! Please leave a comment and we’ll share your suggestion with the rest of our outdoor enthusiasts.
Tags
4 comments
Where can I find the pre-cast bench seat ant the top fire pit ring? Please don’t say it’s custom. Thanks .
Hi Eric,
Both the fire pit and seating area were created using Belgard pavers. An Authorized Contractor can help you spec product for your outdoor space: https://www.belgard.com/find-contractor/
Thanks!
I hope you are not cooking marshmellows over that fire pit…gooey remnants falling into the lava rock would be a mess. My brother picked one of thses up http://www.thefirepitstore.com/fire-pit-art-41-nepal-positive-energy-np/ and put a grill over it (which was hard to find) but he can cook over wood and it tastes so good 🙂 The section above the fire pit area would look good with a small waterfall section. Nice layout..wish mine wasn’t so flat.
I loved how you mentioned that you could roast marshmallows for fun around an outdoor fireplace. My wife and I are wanting to renovate our backyard and we were wondering how we could have fun in the backyard again with our kids. I’ll be sure to tell her that we should consider adding an outdoor fireplace to our yard.