Although any style of fire pit has the potential to brighten someone’s home, some contractors are bending the boundaries of traditional hardscape. Working with distributors, they are

able to build artistic masterpieces that draw family and friends together—away from the noise of life and into a quiet place of meditation and togetherness.

AESTHETICS Company: Paradise Restored Landscaping Type: Gas Fire Pit

When functionality and natural beauty meet, fireworks happen. When Micah Dennis, President of Paradise Restored Landscaping, received an invitation to blend usage and aesthetics, he was all in.

“The clients asked for a fire pit with a place to set their drinks down,” Dennis said. “Their property is very naturalistic, and I wanted to create an organic shape to complement the landscape, but maximize its usability.”

Built out of cultured stone, the pit was designed to mirror shapes found in nature.

“We wanted it to look like the boulders were there and we build the fire pit around it,” Dennis said.

The pit runs 8 feet long by 5.5 feet wide by 14 inches deep. All of the main components were purchased from Ewing Irrigation & Landscape Supply.

About half way down what would normally be the outside wall of the fire pit sits an additional ledge. Dennis designed the

ledge to be a place for guests to set their drinks. Constructing the ledge took extra thought and patience.

“That ledge on the fire pit was not the natural size of a block,” Dennis explained. “Every single block was hand cut to make the ledge fit together seamlessly.”

When standing in the living room or kitchen, the fire pit outside is the focal point.

“When I build a fire pit, I want it to pull you outside. Once you are outside, I want you to live in an outdoor area as if you were inside,” Dennis said.

The finished pit provided a place for his customers to entertain guests and better enjoy their backyard living space. The naturalistic shape and features of the pit helped to enhance the surrounding nature.

“You just can’t beat the shapes you find in nature,” Dennis said.

Pushing the Limits with Fabulous Fire PitsBy Kayli Hanley Public Relations Speicalist for Ewing Irrigation & Landscape Supply

Photo courtesy of Micah Dennis

MULTIPLE ELEMENTS Company: Paradise Restored Landscaping Type: Gas Fire Pit

There is something significant about taking things back to the basics. Dennis did just that when he created a piece that incorporated the elements of fire and water.

A customer approached him with a request for backyard features that displayed both fire and water.

“We took their idea and made it happen in one piece,” Dennis said. “This piece highlights fire, water, metal and wood and is symbolic of the elements of life.”

The fire pit features a reflection wall built from Core 10 metal

that rises up from behind the pit. The wall directs the heat of the blaze toward the people sitting on the other side. An orange glow created by the open fire creeps up the wall on one side while a blue light, symbolizing water, shines onto the wall from behind the fountain.

On the left, the fire sits nestled in a bed of fire glass to emphasize the sparkle of the flame. On the right, water gurgles out of a gazing ball onto a bed of river rock. Cultured stone is fitted neatly around the perimeter of the pit. It measures 6 feet long by 4 feet wide by 18 inches tall.

Combining the seemingly contradictory elements did not come without challenges.

“You have to be able to control the water and not make it too intense so it doesn’t splash onto the fire,” Dennis said. “Likewise, you have to control the fire so the heat doesn’t melt the elements of the water.”

Through trial and error Dennis worked out an optimum spacing between the two features and inserted a small wall in between them. The stark contrast between the wet and the dry is beautiful.

Dennis believes the piece creates a purpose in his customer’s backyard.

“It extends their indoor living to the outdoors. It pulls you outside and keeps you outside,” he said.

Dennis encourages fellow contractors to think of the outdoors as a living room.

“Always include a fire pit in an outdoor living room. I don’t think there should be an outdoor spot without one,” he said.

Photo courtesy of Micah Dennis

Photo courtesy of Micah Dennis

CUSTOM SHAPES Company: Cutting Edge Landscape Inc. Type: Gas Fire Pit Nick Williams of Cutting Edge Landscape Inc. was approached by a pair of customers who had a picture in hand and a dream in their heads.

“They sent us a picture off of Pinterest and asked, ‘Can you build this?’” Williams said.

Excited by the design challenge, Williams embarked on creating the envisioned masterpiece for his customers.

The project would measure 5 feet long by 2 feet wide and 2 feet deep at its highest point. It was specifically built at seat height in order to be a gathering spot in the backyard.

“You can never have enough outdoor seating,” Williams said.

He suggested factoring multi-use into the design if that’s what’s important to your customer.

“The shape was free formed out of concrete and built from scratch out of custom stone,” Williams said.

He used natural stone around the outside of the pit and sealed the stone to help the color pop and prevent it from turning green in Oregon’s cold winters.

A minor challenge Williams encountered due to its custom shape was finding the right size pan to sit inside the pit that could hold fire glass.

“We had to design and fabricate a custom pan for the fire glass to be installed into. This took some time, but wasn’t difficult,” Williams explained.

From the stainless steel burner acquired from Ewing, to the fire glass that sparkles underneath the pit’s open flame, every aspect of the piece was carefully crafted to contribute to the finished product’s overall ambiance.

“It’s the little touches that make it different than something you would randomly buy somewhere else,” Williams said. “It definitely creates a great gathering place.”

MOVEMENT Company: Cutting Edge Landscape Inc. Type: Gas Fire Pit

Space is precious. Many contractors realize that for some yards, space becomes the deciding factor as to whether a fire pit is installed or not. Williams took what could be considered a limitation and created a desirable, one-of-a-kind, modern-day hearth.

“The design was something I just thought up in my head. Sometimes a fire feature or structure can take up precious space. I wanted flexibility,” Williams explained.

To solve the problem of space, Williams designed a fire pit with the capability of sinking into the ground when not in use.

The pit is activated with a key fob and stops at any height of your choice. The flame ignites via a custom burner that keeps it consistent (inspired by William’s knowledge of irrigation manifold construction).

Photo courtesy of Nick Williams

Photo courtesy of Nick Williams

The sides are built out of a sturdy steel rust to achieve an industrial feel. From start to finish, the pit takes 21 seconds to fully extend and measures 4 feet long by 2 feet wide by 4 feet deep.

Williams also designed fins on top of the burner to encourage the flame to rise upward and to protect the flame from the wind.

The entire design and installation process took roughly two months. Williams tested many different methods when it came to building the piece in order to find out what would work best.

Some modifications included adding larger and faster actuators, designing guides that brought the pit out of the ground evenly and straight and drilling out holes in the metal to reduce the overall weight of the pit.

Although the initial design and build for the project took some time, the finished pit puts on a spectacular show.

The industrialize steel rises out of the ground accompanied by a stunning, lineal, 8-foot flame, wowing guests and the homeowner alike.

“The first night I completed it, I probably watched it go up and down 50 times,” Williams said. “I just love watching it.”

A WORTHWHILE INVESTMENT

Investing time into learning the art behind building extraordinary fire pits may prove worthwhile.

For contractors interested in expanding their fire pit building capabilities, both Dennis and Williams recommend using Pinterest as a resource to ignite ideas.

“I will look at a client’s Pinterest board and try to incorporate all the elements we see to create their dream piece,” Dennis explained.

“Collages of pictures can come together to help you build the perfect fire pit,” Williams said.

Contractors like Dennis and Williams have taken what was considered an age-old staple for campgrounds and created backyard works of art. Their art carves out a space where family and friends can trade the constant noise and demands of the 21st century for hearty laughter and meaningful conversation.

Their ability to build that kind of meaning into somebody’s life is inspiring, and that inspiration is made possible by building fabulous fire pits.

Photo courtesy of Nick Williamss