Before and After: 3 Outdoor Fireplaces That Bring Heat With Style
Landscape pros transform uninviting yards into cozy and welcoming outdoor spaces for day and night
Marianne Lipanovich
January 9, 2023
Houzz Contributor. I'm a California-based writer and editor. While most of my projects are garden-based, you might also find me writing about home projects and classical music. Away from the computer, I'm found in the garden (naturally), on my bike, or ice-skating outdoors (yes, that is possible in California). I'm also willing to taste-test anything that's chocolate.
Houzz Contributor. I'm a California-based writer and editor. While most of my projects... More
A fireplace draws people in to relax and enjoy the flickering flames. When added to a yard, it can elevate the design and become a signature feature. Read on to see the before-and-after photos of three backyard makeovers that feature distinctive fireplaces. Then tell us in the Comments which one you’d most like to cozy up to.
1. Rustic With Japanese Accents
Patio at a Glance
Who lives here: Two doctors who like to relax outside
Location: Richmond, Virginia
Size: 590 square feet (55 square meters)
Designer and builder: Outdoor Dreams
Before: The small patio and often-soggy lawn at the home of two busy Richmond, Virginia, doctors was not the relaxing outdoor space they envisioned. “This area of their yard was the bane of their existence,” says landscape designer Greg Koehler, whom the couple found by searching on Houzz.
The homeowners asked him to enlarge the patio and add a wood-burning fireplace that would ensure the yard’s use throughout the year. Also on the wish list were an outdoor kitchen, a lounge area and a beautiful view they could enjoy from the living room’s floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the space.
Patio at a Glance
Who lives here: Two doctors who like to relax outside
Location: Richmond, Virginia
Size: 590 square feet (55 square meters)
Designer and builder: Outdoor Dreams
Before: The small patio and often-soggy lawn at the home of two busy Richmond, Virginia, doctors was not the relaxing outdoor space they envisioned. “This area of their yard was the bane of their existence,” says landscape designer Greg Koehler, whom the couple found by searching on Houzz.
The homeowners asked him to enlarge the patio and add a wood-burning fireplace that would ensure the yard’s use throughout the year. Also on the wish list were an outdoor kitchen, a lounge area and a beautiful view they could enjoy from the living room’s floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the space.
After: The new fireplace is now the landscape’s focal point. Koehler based the design on a photo that the homeowners had found on Houzz.
The homeowners also had a catalog of all the materials used in the home, so the team was able to find the same stacked ledgestone product featured on the home’s facade. The matching stone creates a sense of cohesion between the fireplace’s rustic feel and the home’s more modern lines.
Koehler capped the hearth, chimney and generously sized wood boxes on either side with Pennsylvania bluestone treads with a thermal finish. He also placed two containers of ‘Degroot’s Spire’ arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis ‘Degroot’s Spire’, USDA zones 2 to 8; find your zone) on top of the wood boxes to finish the look.
Find a landscape contractor on Houzz
The homeowners also had a catalog of all the materials used in the home, so the team was able to find the same stacked ledgestone product featured on the home’s facade. The matching stone creates a sense of cohesion between the fireplace’s rustic feel and the home’s more modern lines.
Koehler capped the hearth, chimney and generously sized wood boxes on either side with Pennsylvania bluestone treads with a thermal finish. He also placed two containers of ‘Degroot’s Spire’ arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis ‘Degroot’s Spire’, USDA zones 2 to 8; find your zone) on top of the wood boxes to finish the look.
Find a landscape contractor on Houzz
A large stone was turned into an oversize coffee table, helping ground the seating area. A bonus is the built-in gas fire pit at one end. “It’s great to have both wood-burning and gas options,” Koehler says.
The designer blended the new patio’s rustic elements with the calm, Japanese-inspired sensibility of the original landscape design. This included retaining the lovely existing koi pond. It’s to the right of the Japanese maple in this photo. The black netting above it protects the water from autumn’s falling leaves. Koehler also casually placed boulders along the edges of the patio to ease the transition between areas.
Read more about this outdoor renovation
The designer blended the new patio’s rustic elements with the calm, Japanese-inspired sensibility of the original landscape design. This included retaining the lovely existing koi pond. It’s to the right of the Japanese maple in this photo. The black netting above it protects the water from autumn’s falling leaves. Koehler also casually placed boulders along the edges of the patio to ease the transition between areas.
Read more about this outdoor renovation
2. Fresh Take on a Fireplace
Patio at a Glance
Who lives here: Lily Gray and Josh Weiner; their daughter, Norah; and their golden retriever
Location: Salt Lake City
Size: 4,200-square-foot (390-square-meter) backyard and side yard
Design and construction oversight: Landform Design Group
Before: The original backyard at this Salt Lake City home didn’t have much to it. “It was really just some grass thrown down and a staircase that led out of the home,” says landscape designer Jayson King, principal at Landform Design Group.
The homeowners, who had relocated from the San Francisco Bay Area, wanted to include a fire feature as part of the renovated space. “Coming from California, they understood outdoor living and how important useful outdoor space can be,” King says.
10 Things to Consider When Choosing an Outdoor Fire Feature
Patio at a Glance
Who lives here: Lily Gray and Josh Weiner; their daughter, Norah; and their golden retriever
Location: Salt Lake City
Size: 4,200-square-foot (390-square-meter) backyard and side yard
Design and construction oversight: Landform Design Group
Before: The original backyard at this Salt Lake City home didn’t have much to it. “It was really just some grass thrown down and a staircase that led out of the home,” says landscape designer Jayson King, principal at Landform Design Group.
The homeowners, who had relocated from the San Francisco Bay Area, wanted to include a fire feature as part of the renovated space. “Coming from California, they understood outdoor living and how important useful outdoor space can be,” King says.
10 Things to Consider When Choosing an Outdoor Fire Feature
After: A freestanding wall with a built-in gas-powered fireplace insert forms one end of the new outdoor kitchen and dining area located just a few steps from the house. The fireplace creates a focal point and provides light and heat during evenings outside. The wall itself does double duty by screening the driveway from the rest of the yard.
Shop for outdoor dining sets on Houzz
Shop for outdoor dining sets on Houzz
King created the board-formed concrete wall with rough cedar boards and an aggregate-texture finish. The horizontal lines tie it in with the horizontal board fence surrounding the property.
Weathering steel panels complete the wall. Their look complements the steel raised vegetable boxes installed in the yard’s rear corner.
Read more about this outdoor renovation
Weathering steel panels complete the wall. Their look complements the steel raised vegetable boxes installed in the yard’s rear corner.
Read more about this outdoor renovation
3. Cozy Fireside Lounge
Patio at a Glance
Who lives here: Trevor Fulmer, who also designed the space, and his husband, Jim Mattus, a corporate attorney
Location: South Boston
Size: 585 square feet (54 square meters); 15 feet wide by 39 feet long
Builder: B H Brown Landscape Design
Before: This South Boston home’s original side yard was functional and sunny, but it felt boxed in by the perimeter fencing. There also was nothing to break up all the hard surfaces. Still, interior designer Trevor Fulmer and his husband immediately saw the potential. “Being in Boston proper with this square footage of outdoor livable space is very rare,” the designer says.
Fulmer quickly started dreaming up ideas for the space, including a lounge area with a fireplace. Plenty of plants also sat high on the list. “We wanted the space to feel very lush and green, like a little oasis in the concrete jungle,” he says.
Patio at a Glance
Who lives here: Trevor Fulmer, who also designed the space, and his husband, Jim Mattus, a corporate attorney
Location: South Boston
Size: 585 square feet (54 square meters); 15 feet wide by 39 feet long
Builder: B H Brown Landscape Design
Before: This South Boston home’s original side yard was functional and sunny, but it felt boxed in by the perimeter fencing. There also was nothing to break up all the hard surfaces. Still, interior designer Trevor Fulmer and his husband immediately saw the potential. “Being in Boston proper with this square footage of outdoor livable space is very rare,” the designer says.
Fulmer quickly started dreaming up ideas for the space, including a lounge area with a fireplace. Plenty of plants also sat high on the list. “We wanted the space to feel very lush and green, like a little oasis in the concrete jungle,” he says.
After: A new custom-built gas-burning fireplace anchors the lounge area. It sits in a nook created by the basement bulkhead and the new fence, which the team moved 5 feet toward the front of home to gain more space. Having the fireplace means the owners can now enjoy the lounge area from early spring until late fall.
The wide bluestone hearth wraps around the fireplace’s base, providing extra seating and a handy spot for resting a plate of appetizers and a drink.
The wide bluestone hearth wraps around the fireplace’s base, providing extra seating and a handy spot for resting a plate of appetizers and a drink.
The team moved an existing tree next to the fireplace as part of the expanded garden area. “We were told by a neighbor that this tree was planted when the previous owner’s son was born,” Fulmer says. “Since we are only custodians of this home, we thought it was important to save this memory.”
Planting beds that extend along the side of the house help create the green oasis the homeowners were looking for. An umbrella can easily be moved around on warm, sunny days.
Read more about this outdoor renovation
More on Houzz
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Planting beds that extend along the side of the house help create the green oasis the homeowners were looking for. An umbrella can easily be moved around on warm, sunny days.
Read more about this outdoor renovation
More on Houzz
Read more stories about patios
Browse thousands of patio photos
Work with a landscape designer
Shop for your outdoor spaces
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#3 love, love, love it! SMART, COZY and lovely design! Just the SIZE I dream about for our next home. I only hope they donated or repurposed the brick pavers and not throw them in a land fill.
#1 provides inspiration for my project - really well done.
Rustic with Japanese accents. My favorite.