Outdoor fires define summer living – be it in the form of a fire sphere, a fire pit or a simple campfire. Get a bunch of buddies to sit around on lawnchairs after dark, and light that fire, and tell some stories. Or if that’s not your thing, gather on patio furniture around an outdoor fireplace or even more exotic – a hanging fireplace. Yes, outdoors (think covered terrace). Or you can entertain at a dining table/fire pit combo. It’s almost limitless. And there are some clever accessories from turning that simple campfire into something a little more. Like bourbon-flavored roasted marshmallows or caramel salted S’mores. It’s all in the details.
Fire Pits: Magical Metal Fire Balls set the stage
Talk about a fire of mythic proportions. This Dragon Fireball is available from Amazon UK
If you love the lacey look – you need to think about the Autumn Sunset by The Fire Pit Gallery
Down on the farm – again from The Fire Pit Gallery – available in wood or gas models. Kind of specialized but who doesn’t love a farmer?
The fire sphere in the center is an eight-foot globe and we’re not going to tell you what it costs. You’ll have to click on the link for that shock. Available at The Fire Pit.
Fire Bowls
Some fire bowls are nothing more than fire spheres cut in half, and perfect for outdoor fires. Some are tabletop, some are floor and all of them are wonderful choices for backyard or patio campfire magic.
Maguey cactus, the origin of tequila, mezcal and pulque, adorn this iron masterpiece. This gorgeous fire bowl is from Tread Sculptures
The Empire Shallow Bowl is elegant in its simplicity. This one could be tabletop (large table) but is meant for the floor.
The Dude is from the Cowboy Cauldron company. The beauty is, you can take it anywhere with you, it’s very portable. And you’ll never have to worry about stray sparks with the deep iron bowl.
Outdoor Fire Pits
Pirate fire ship anyone? This is a custom done piece and really, you can create anything you are capable of creating as a fire pit as long as it’s made out of metal. A boat shape, a bowl shape, even a pyramid shape works, as long as enough air can circulate to maintain the fire. Let your imagination take over. Source
The Modfire, from Modfire, comes in many different color choices from avocado to cayenne (shown) and tangerine to turquoise. Be sure to check them all out. We like it because it is so contained and the chance of an accidental fire is slim.
The Royal Fire Pit is a modern, artistic crown-shaped fire pit made of metal, with the fire inside aring in the center. Fill the ring up with whatever tickles your fancy, in this case, they’ve used river rocks for the border and charcoal inside the fire ring.
The Solfire throws a unique shadow and comes in several different color choices. The design is modern, the effect is delightful. This piece would certainly warm up a dull patio.
Fire Pit Tables
The Elementi Granville Fire Pit table from Gardenlines is modern, sleek and can extend the season for you because, after all, it’s all those things and it’s a fire too.
This dining table firepit, from Marx, is over seven feet long. The glass barrier is a great idea, and once again, the season for alfresco dining just got longer with the addition of this piece.
Another fantastic choice for dining under the stars, a round table is even cozier than a rectangular one. In this case, there is plenty of room to seat six for a marvellous outdoor dining experience. Source
Outdoor Fireplaces
Lloyd Fleischer Landscape Design came up with this cool idea – a stand-alone wall to inset an outdoor fireplace. With a mantle, no less. Really clever and lovely to look at — and not too difficult to build. A real winner, this one is going in my ‘some day’ renovations binder.
This incredible rustic natural stone fireplace is one of the most spectacular outdoor fireplaces I’ve seen. Would be great at a lodge or cabin, something that also had a rustic feel to it. I can’t stop looking at it. From Designscape Colorado.
Suspended Outdoor Fireplaces
The Paxfocus outdoor hanging fireplace – a modern back deck deserves a modern fireplace treatment.
This gorgeous black hanging fireplace takes this covered outdoor terrace up a notch, doesn’t it? From European Home
From Focus Fireplaces, the gyro outdoor fireplace, this sleek piece works almost anywhere.
The Firenza Outdoor Suspended fireplace makes a fantastic waterfront hanging fireplace. How special is this place?
And if you’re thinking about an indoor suspended fireplace, you should really read this also: Ceiling Mounted Fireplaces: 9 coolest ceiling fireplace designs
Outdoor Fires: Campfires, updated
A bonfire party is probably what you need right now, no? It’s outdoors and you can maintain social distance – as long as we have to. Once this is over, you can move closer. Lots of lawn chairs, or even overturned logs, overturned driftwood if you’re going to do it on the beach. Keep it simple. Just make sure there are lots of marshmallows and other S’mores ingredients.
Have a Campfire Party
There’s no party without marshmallows. Wondermade.com has a fantastic selection. Plain marshmallows really just won’t do, now will they?
This is the S’mores Collection. But what about the adults? How about a campfire roasted bourbon marshmallow? Beer marshmallows? Gin marshmallows? You can’t go wrong.
Now, what will we roast them on?
Head over to Amazon and get some marshmallow roasting sticks. You can do all of this in any outdoor fireplace, by the way. You don’t need a campfire. But, it’s much more authentic.
If you’d rather have classic S’mores, there are many collections on Amazon that will save you time (and they deliver).
Or, you can go the other way – and throw in a couple of charcoal skulls. It all depends. That’s a good one for telling scary campfire stories.
You can even do the campfire thing around a fire sphere, a fire pit, a fire bowl – anywhere you’ve got a fire. And there are so many gourmet marshmallows available, it’s nothing like the old days. Upscale outdoor fire parties are the thing. And you’ve got all the tools to make it happen.
