Ideas for Situating an Outdoor Fireplace or Fire Pit Alongside Your Outdoor Kitchen This Year in SE Michigan
Adding an outdoor fireplace or fire pit to your SE Michigan outdoor kitchen might be the best decision you make all year. These plans for situating a fire feature adjacent to the kitchen can make this your dream space.
Related: How Masonry Contractors Can Spruce Up Fireside Living Spaces in Brighton and Grosse Pointe, MI
On Another Level
When you want to have your landscaper add an outdoor fireplace alongside your outdoor kitchen, one option is to situate the fire feature on a different level. Having your landscaper plan a fireplace on a lower but connected space can add to the ambiance of your cooking and dining spaces.
With wide stone steps to join the kitchen and fireplace, these designated spots will still feel like one outdoor area but each serves a unique purpose. Think of how delightful it will be to cook a delicious meal for your friends and family as they sit at the outdoor kitchen counter. They can wander down to enjoy the fire before the meal is served. With the same pavers in a contrasting pattern or another type paver to designate a switch of function, your fireplace area can inhabit a new level that mirrors the design of the outdoor kitchen or it can be something completely different.
A Shaded Space
Another amazing way to incorporate an outdoor fireplace into your outdoor kitchen project can be to have your landscaper cover the entire outdoor feature with a full roof or pergola. Not only can this be a great way to tie in the main features of your landscape design, but the shade structure can also keep the inclement weather from ruining your plans to dine outside by the fire.
Your landscaper can plan a full gabled roof that allows for lighting this space with hanging lanterns and recessed lights that are dimmable or a pergola with operative slats that can be closed to protect you from the weather or opened to let in the moonlight and beautiful starry sky.
Adding a shade structure can mean that you are able to stay outside for as long as you wish even when it is chilly because you can cozy up by the fire with a drink and a good book.
Enclose the Space
When your landscaper adds a low-level retaining wall to surround the outdoor kitchen and fireplace, the privacy factor will go way up but also this outdoor space will take on a different feel. A beautiful retaining wall could help you feel more secluded from the neighbors.
In addition, the flat surface of the retaining wall top can let you host larger parties with ease as you will have more space for seating your guests and extra space for serving, too.
Add Outdoor Lighting
If you don’t already have landscape lighting for your backyard and outdoor kitchen, this could be the time to add strategic illumination to your outdoor space. While the glow of the fire can bring the ambiance you crave, outdoor lighting can illuminate the entire space to keep you and your guests safe as you move around from kitchen to fire.
Spotlights that sit at the base of nearby trees can make the textured bark stand out with the contrast of the shadows and the boughs can hold down-lights to create an ethereal look. Then when dinner is over, you can retire to sit by the fire and visit for as long as you wish.