Give your guests a warm welcome with a Fire Pit!
If you love entertaining outdoors, you don’t have to call a halt if there’s a chill in the air or fall turns to winter. With an outdoor fire pit, you can seat your guests around a cosy fire, whenever and wherever you like. Or just spend a romantic evening roasting marshmallows with your other half! FirePits are inexpensive and decorative – and allow you to entertain all year round!
What is a fire pit?
It may sound like a crudely dug hole in your garden or something that Tony Robbins would ask you to walk across but not in this case! A fire pit is a freestanding, decorative basket or bowl on legs, in which you can safely burn an open fire.
The least expensive version is called a kettle. These are basins, bowls or baskets on legs that allow you to burn wood or charcoal. There are a range of attractive finishes such as iron, terracotta, stainless steel and copper. It doesn’t matter whether you love hi-tech stainless steel, granite or antiqued metal – there will be a fire pit to suit your tastes.
Many models also come complete with a screen lid to control sparks and a grill that simply sits on top of the fire – so that you can cook on them as well.
The great thing about these is that they are fairly lightweight and portable so it’s easy to put one in the car and take it to the beach or on a camping trip.
Burning different types of wood is a great way to enhance your open fire experience. Red Cedar and Pinion Pine both smell lovely and have the added advantage of keeping mosquitoes away. Apple wood also smells beautiful and burgers grilled over a hickory fire have a wonderfully strong barbecued flavor.
The only downside of these off-ground fire pits is that there is no form of chimney and so they can give off rather a lot of smoke.
Is there anything I shouldn’t burn?
- Don’t use wood which has been pressure treated as it can give off toxic gases as it burns. If it has a greenish tinge to it, it may have been pressure treated. If in doubt – don’t use it!
- ‘Young’ wood which is green, or damp wood can give off a lot of smoke which could be annoying for your guests…and your neighbors!
No good at building fires…?
Not a problem. If you have a slightly larger budget, why not indulge yourself with a gas fired model. Simply flick the switch and enjoy real flames without the hassle – or smoke! These can be run on propane tanks or natural gas hooked up to your household supply.
Many of the gas powered models are quite heavy as they are made from glass fiber reinforced concrete and although that sounds unattractive – they don’t look anything like concrete. You can choose from Grecian Urns, Pottery vases, granite tables with inset fire pits – the list goes on! Some of the more modern designs even include colored glass in place of logs.
Fire pits vary tremendously in size and design so shop around until you find the right one to suit your available space and your budget. Your outdoor entertaining will be taken to a new level!
Related posts:
- Is Your Outdoor Dining the pits? Put some fire into it!
- Enjoy The Beauty Of A Real Fire On Your Patio!
- What to Look for When Buying a Fire Pit
Filed under: Fire Pits
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