Some of the best memories are made beside the fire, sharing special times with family and friends. Adding a fire feature to your patio is one of the best investments you can make. If you’re wondering which type of fire feature to include, here are the benefits of including an outdoor fireplace in your paver patio design in Weston, MA.
A Welcoming Presence
Even when the fire isn’t lit, an outdoor fireplace has a significant presence on your patio. This focal point is an opportunity for some creative masonry techniques that can make it a show-stopper.
A Warmer Space
A fireplace will absorb the heat of the flames and radiate it outward to warm up chilly days and nights and take away the excuse of not spending time outdoors in colder weather.
A Great Investment: An All-Season Outdoor Living Space
In fact, an outdoor fireplace is a great investment that will give you a much better return on your investment: why pay for a space that doesn’t get used except for a few months during the summer? Why not use that space year-round beside the comfort of a roaring fire? With good design, your fireside area can become a delightful space to watch snow gently falling, or a spot to share steaming mugs of cocoa with friends.
An Outdoor Living Room
When the outdoor fireplace is positioned along one side of a pergola or integrated into a retaining wall, you get a sense of enclosure that contributes to the outdoor living room feeling. If your property is flat, you can still add a seat wall around your outdoor fireplace. This will add seating for larger groups while allowing for plenty of movable seating in front of the fire.
A Dramatic Focal Point
An outdoor fireplace is a majestic focal point. You may prefer to integrate it into the patio using the same materials as other vertical elements. Or, you may prefer to treat it as a stand-alone focal point by using completely different materials.
Ambient Light
The beautiful glow of dancing flames will light up the surrounding area with ambient light. On quiet nights when you don’t have a party going, it can be nice to turn off the landscape lights and just bask in the warm glow of the fire.
Making Use of a Corner
Positioning the outdoor fireplace correctly will contribute to a comfortable setting. An outdoor fireplace is a natural gathering area that needs to be in a lower-traffic area, which means that you can utilize a formerly unused corner of the patio, and keep the fireside seating area out of the main flow of traffic.
A Wind Break
Unlike a fire pit, the size of a fireplace can serve as a windbreak if your patio is buffeted by wind, especially in colder weather. The back of the fireplace should face the wind; and for best results, add a taller wall sloping down from the sides of the outdoor fireplace. This wall can be enhanced with lights, water, or built-in niches for artwork.
Added Deliciousness
Probably the most welcome addition you can make to an outdoor fireplace is a wood-fired pizza oven. Who doesn’t love the aroma of freshly baked pizza? This addition will make your fireside area the hub of outdoor living.
Artistry in Stone
An outdoor fireplace is an opportunity to show off the artistry of the masonry. Whether your outdoor fireplace is more modern or more rustic—and whether it’s fully custom or a kit—it’s a chance to customize it, for a fire feature that’s all “you.”