For cozy warmth on cold days and cool summer nights, an outdoor fireplace is a favorite in any household. While a simple architectural addition, a fireside atmosphere offers a truly fascinating experience. You can use it to create a certain mood for your outdoor space or simply just to add a stunning feature that is sure to turn heads. You can go for a functional fireplace, one that is purely stylish, or something in between.

The tantalizing dance of the flames creates the perfect dreamy escape, building upon an evening of romance.

Our stomachs growl with delight at the sight of hot, bubbling marshmallows pressed against melted bars of chocolate and gram crackers. Of course, there’s also freshly cooked steaming popcorn and fire-grilled charred steak too if you’re up for the challenge of cooking outdoors.

In reality, admiring the beauty of fire comes naturally. After all, we’ve been doing so ever since the day mankind first discovered it.

Here we’re going to look at some brilliant ideas that will inspire you to turn your drab and cold outdoor space into something very special. We’ll quickly take a look at what your options are for materials and fuel before seeing some design inspiration. Let’s get started!

Materials

One of the first steps you need to take before choosing an outdoor fireplace is whether or not it should be stone or metal. Here we take a look at the pros and cons of each option.

Stone

This is the more common type of outdoor fireplace as they are generally safer, can be built bigger and people love the aesthetics of natural stone. A stone fireplace can be very solidly built to give you that homely campsite feel.

Metal

The other main option for an outdoor fire is metal. The likes of stainless steel can look visually stunning and give a torch appearance. These are usually less functional than using a stone veneer but can be more visually striking for your outdoor area.