Why reserve a roaring fire for a camp-out? Families and friends can gather to enjoy any night of the week. Here are a few tips for building a fire in an outdoor fire pit.

Before you get your fire going here’s a few items to gather:

• tinder
• kindling
• wood
• matches

First step is to pick a location for your fire. Whether in the backyard or campsite, location is key. My local code calls for fire pits to be fifty feet from structures. Pick a spot that’s away from trees or flammable brush as well. Natural surroundings may be lush in the spring but summer drought may dry out grass or plantings around the firepit.

Tinder should be natural material that will burn easily when lit. Small twigs, dried brush or newspaper will work well. You will need a dozen or so sheets of newspaper, crumple each up like a tennis ball. Next, wood can be placed on top inside home fire pits. Make sure the kindling and tinder have enough space for air flow and are not smashed. Properly aged wood will light most effectively. Light it four sides and as the tinder ignites blow air into the fire allowing it to burn hot enough for the kindling to catch. This is a fun step to get age appropriate children involved around outdoor fire pits. Think about how much they love to blow out birthday candles. Once the wood ignites you only have to occasionally add wood to keep the fire going.

Now sit back and relax. You’ll be eating s’mores and telling stories  around the fire pit before you know it.

Hosting an outdoor party can be easier and less expensive than you think. Two neighborhood families were coming over to grill out when I realized I needed more seating and serving space. I relocated indoor furniture. I took my kitchen table outdoors and set it up as a second beverage station. Having another spot, different from the food buffet, prevented a traffic jam and allowed guests to mingle while they got a drink. Come sundown have lighting ready so you guests can see to serve themselves. I like the practicality of tabletop fire bowls. Not only does a  tabletop firebowl provide light and warmth as temps drop, they are refillable.

I also put the kitchen chairs around the patio table. You may be  surprised how many guests can be seated around a round table. That freed up the wrought iron chairs, which I placed out in the backyard, around the fire pit, for an additional seating area. To save on the expense of disposable paper products, I used my everyday dishes and glassware. It’s more eco-friendly and paper plates never support a plate overflowing with bbq balanced on your lap.

Help company stay comfortable outdoor all day and into the night. Near the seating area around the firepit, I put out a big basket filled with amenities like sunblock, bug spray, hand wipes and a stadium blanket. As the party continued after dark, lighting the outdoor fire pit added a warm glow, especially welcome because it was chilly.

S’mores  aren’t exclusive to camp outs. Why not choose these for an easy inexpensive no bake dessert? I handed everyone a  skewer and a marshmallow as they hung out around the fire pit. Neighbors, both young and old, roasted marshmallows right over the fire pit, then layered it between a bit of chocolate bar and a graham cracker. Dessert was big hit, with little effort and expense. Don’t let costs of extra outdoor furniture, serving pieces and gourmet dishes hinder you from entertaining. Parties can be done inexpensively.  Let me hear your ideas?

Have you noticed FOR SALE signs popping up all over town? Now that the school year is winding down, this is a great time to get your home listed. First impressions are crucial because studies have shown that most buyers make a decision about a house within 15 seconds of walking in the door! I wanted to share a few more thoughts on home staging in a competitive real estate market.

Experienced real estate agents will give staging tips that include cleaning until your home is spotless, next declutter, followed by depersonalizing. You may have taken the photos off the refrigerator, hidden stacks of paper from your desk and freshened up with a new coat of paint.  Look past your furniture, art and fireplace screen, it’s the bones of the house that must have a draw to the buyers.

Homes with strong architectural details add interest and anchor the home in a period or style. These features include crown molding, the stairwell and fireplace mantel. As you walk into a room the eye is drawn to the focal point, most commonly the fireplace mantel. To declutter and freshen up the mantel fireplace is one of the biggest staging tips I could give. A fireplace make-over project could include refacing the fireplace surround and installing a new mantel shelf. Fireplace mantels can be designed to overlap your existing facing material and provide a completely new custom look. Remodeling the fireplace mantel is completely adaptable keeping staging to sell and the home improvement upgrade within your budget. Think of this as an investment in your home. You may find illustrated measuring instructions or an installation guide helpful in deciding fireplace mantels that would best stage your home for buyers.

Enhancing the architectural elements of the fireplace mantel, as  your room’s primary focal point, will add to the overall home value, get it staged to sell and impact your showings. Staging is a short term marketing tool focused on the showing keeping the end goal in mind: SOLD!

Real estate staging helps a home seller make their home more attractive and appealing to potential buyers. The goal of staging is to make your home look its best while on the market. This may include repositioning furniture, adding plants or a new rug. While these elements create a warm attractive atmosphere, the buyer will look beyond these soft furnishings to the bones of the house. An investment into the home’s architectural features could have an immediate impact when that buyer walks into the door. Features like crown molding, built-in cabinetry and fireplace mantels are features that remain when your rug is rolled up and moved out.

Studies show staged homes sell for more money than un-staged homes. Where could a short term investment in your home have the greatest impact? The first step is getting buyers to actually come to see your house. Staged houses look better on the MLS pictures. Naturally these photos of your home would include a living or family room. The fireplace mantel is the focal point within a space that draws the eye and makes your home stand out. Beef up or update the mantel fireplace and surround could be what makes your home memorable during a showing.

Review competing listings and compare your fireplace mantel to others found inside homes in your market. This may help determine the extent of work the fireplace mantel needs. Out with the old shiny brass fireplace accessories. A new updated fireplace screen may be the only staging needed. A do-it-yourself update of the fireplace mantel shelf, replacing the facing on the fireplace mantel surround or complete remodel of the wood fireplace mantel with the help of a contractor may be in order. Putting a little work toward to stage your home and make-over the fireplace mantel may be what gives your home the edge over competing properties.

Construction is not needed for an Outdoor Room, just creative ideas. You can have the sense of an outdoor room by providing some structure in the form of walls. The illusion of an wall is enough to stop the eye and enclose your space. Outdoor fireplaces introduce this structure and ours can be moved if you sell and move or re-do the landscaping down the road.

Our do-it-yourself outdoor fireplace kit requires no special skill and is able to be quickly completed. I have included two great shots of the Perfect Outdoor Fireplace with custom applications. One with brick, the other stone. Embellish the ready made outdoor fireplace kit to coordinate with the hard-scape to give an outdoor room a custom look without a contractor. Got your creative juices flowing? Next, just decide if you want to set up the outdoor fireplace near a dining area on the deck or a sitting area out in the back yard. Keep in mind, the outdoor patio fireplaces recommended placement 36” distance from combustible construction.

For elevated decks, make sure you have the proper support for 1200 pounds. Over a 2 foot by 4-foot area, that would equal about 150 pounds per square foot. 2 x 10 joists every 12 inches is recommended. Outdoor fireplaces should also be set near a main support. If the outdoor fireplace is placed in the yard, a concrete pad is not required. Eight 4 inch by 12 inch blocks leveled on solid soil will be fine. Many outdoor fireplaces have been set directly in grass, soil or decorative rock, although this may cause some sagging over time.

Should the fire get a little out of hand, I had mentioned in an earlier post that these outdoor fireplaces exceed nationwide incinerator and uniform fire codes. These codes state: Containers used for burning must be constructed of concrete or masonry with a completely enclosed fire chamber and equipped with a permanently attached spark arrestor (which stops dangerous embers from escaping), made of non-combustible material with openings not larger than one-half inch. Now that you have got tips for customization, placement and safety, contact us to get started, the outdoor fireplace kit can be at your doorstep in no time. Your outdoor room can be defined by an outdoor fireplace and provide your space with a custom looking focal point.

Going green has reached the mainstream. If you want to purchase products which cause no harm or inflict the least amount of harm to the environment, you too have joined this movement. There are vented (requiring a chimney) and vent less fireplaces that create no soot, smoke or ashes and are reasonable sources of supplemental heat. Two of the most popular are gel fireplaces and electric fireplaces.

You can add a fireplace, to any room in your house, that has minimal impact to the environment. A ventless fireplace requires no expensive gas hook-up nor contractor for installation. Wall mount fireplaces, which are spotlighted first, blend the cozy romance of a traditional fireplace with a dramatic modern sensibility serving as a functional piece of art. The fireplace mantel pictured includes an electric log insert which has adjustable lighting and sound effects. The Avignon, by Classic Flame, operates with or without heat, so you can enjoy the ambiance of the fireplace mantel all year through. Gel fireplaces available in mantels and personal fireplaces utilize gel fuel made from isopropyl Alcohol which burns for one to three hours. The table top fireplace, Red Rock by Real Flame, is portable making it usable both indoors and out. Lastly, the video features another modern fireplace, similar to our Insight also by Real Flame, that incorporates glass into the clean line design.

No wood needed, no open flame, no toxic smoke or fumes released into your home nor up the flue, as these fireplaces are all vent less. Contact our team if you are ready to “go green” and need assistance in choosing a eco-friendly ventless fireplace!