Make Your Outdoor Fireplace or Fire Pit the Focal Point of Your Yard

Jan 21, 2019

You might think your Sioux Center, Iowa backyard is complete once you install lush landscape design to delight the senses, plenty of patio areas for lounging, and appropriate lighting elements to make pathways functional and accentuate key features after dark.  In truth, you don’t necessarily need more, but you can always add components that take it to the next level.

Consider, for example the benefits of installing an outdoor kitchen and a pergola over the patio for the purposes of entertaining, or adding a water feature to enjoy the tranquility of a gurgling font.  Even if you’re not sure about any or all of these features, you won’t be sorry when you decide to incorporate a fireplace or fire pit in your yard, especially when you use it to create a focal point and central gathering spot.

Your fire feature will not only add light to your after-dark entertainments outdoors, but it will also allow you to enjoy your yard during chill spring or fall nights, extending your annual usage of the outdoor spaces you’ve worked so hard to cultivate into a natural retreat.  The place to start is by figuring out how to make your chosen fire feature into the focal point of your yard.

Avoid Hazards

In order to make your fire feature as appealing as possible, you need it to be welcoming.  If it happens to sit in a vortex of gale force winds or there are trees overhead that litter the areas with leaves, debris, and bird droppings, you’re going to end up with a focal point that is virtually useless.  Choosing a safe area of the yard that is conducive to lounging requires some forethought, planning, and help from your landscape design specialists.

Choose a Central Location

Absentmindedly placing your fireplace along a back wall or your fire pit in the corner of the yard isn’t conducive to creating an eye-catching display.  If you want your fire feature to serve as a focal point and invite guests to congregate, you need to put it front and center, so to speak.

It doesn’t necessarily have to be at the precise geographic center of your yard, but it should definitely be visible from any entrance, including your back door, a deck, or side or back gates.  It could even be placed in or near a pavilion or other site structure, so long as the placement is prominent.

Create Pathways that Lead to the Fire

It’s not enough to choose a central location for your fire pit, you also have to find ways to add visual weight.  One of your best options is to lay pathways that lead directly to the fire feature from structures, gates, or other points of interest around the yard.  This will not only draw the eye immediately where you want it to go, but also provide a practical means of reaching the fire feature.  You might even consider putting it on a dais or creating a sunken area in the yard.

Add Comfortable Seating

The final touch when creating a welcoming fire feature to act as a focal point in your yard is adding ample seating that invites guests to your Rock Valley, Iowa home to gather, lounge, and socialize.