Outdoor fire features have become one of the hottest trends in pool design. It’s no surprise why. Having elements of fire combined with elements of water makes your backyard space feel like a high end resort that can be enjoyed throughout the day and long into the night.
What’s important to keep in mind is that there are a large variety of fire features that can be incorporated into just about any design or budget. Maybe an outdoor fireplace and seating area don’t exactly fit your lifestyle. Maybe you’re more drawn to exotic and captivating fire bowls that balance out a relaxing waterfall. No matter your taste, we are confident we can find a unique fire feature to help take your space to the next level! Let’s take a look at some of the most popular features in the pool industry right now.
Fireplace
An outdoor fireplace is a traditional and stately design element that gives you the ability to create a luxurious and comfortable lounge area that functions just like a living room – only outdoors! In certain designs, you can create a two-sided outdoor fireplace that provides you with twice the space for entertaining. One of our favorite ways to do this is to have one side of the fireplace face inside the house or sunroom. The other side of the fireplace is then open to the outside. With an outdoor fireplace to heat your space, you will extend the time of day and length of season you can enjoy your backyard.
Fire Pit
A fire pit provides a place for conversation and delivers 360 degrees of warmth and ambiance. They are also ideal for making s’mores! A fire pit feels more casual than a fireplace and often requires less stonework, which reduces cost. A fire pit can be incorporated just about anywhere, whether you want to keep it near your home or make it a destination out in the far part of your yard. A fire pit’s size and shape are highly customizable, including the type of material used to build it.
Fire Wall
Similar to a fire pit, a fire wall is just what it sounds like. This backyard feature creates a low wall of fire that can be placed near a lounge area to deliver heat and design. Depending upon the placement and use, many fire walls can be designed with a glass element to ensure safety from the flames while still allowing heat to flow through. Fire walls add a very modern, sleek design element to your backyard space. If this is the look you’re trying to create, a fire wall could be a great option for you.
Fire Bowl
Our favorite way to incorporate fire blows into a pool design is to place them as anchors to a water fall feature, slide or diving board. Though fire bowls do provide warmth, they are most often used for their lighting and ambiance. There’s something about mixing water and fire that makes a backyard space feel exotic, almost tribal.
Fire Table
Similar to a fire pit, a fire table is designed to draw people together for conversation. Fire tables can be low like a coffee table, medium height like a standard dining table, or bar height. It all depends upon your lifestyle and vision! The most noteworthy feature of a fire table is that is provides added space around the perimeter of the fire to allow guests to place drinks and food while staying a safe distance from the flames.
Fire Column
A fire column is a thin, but tall fire element than can be placed in or around your backyard seating areas. They add light and a little bit of warmth. You no longer have to settle for Tiki torches; instead people are opting to incorporate fire columns for a far more sophisticated and longer lasting fire element that can be customized to complement the rest of the elements in your outdoor space.
Fire and Water
This final category is the “catch-all” for so many other outdoor fire features that would be too much to list individually. The beauty of a custom pool design is that anything is possible. If you want a fire pit inside your pool with built in bar stools surrounding it – we can make it happen. If you want a swim up bar that is backed by a two-way fireplace – we can make it happen. If you want fire bowls that are also mini waterfalls – we can make it happen.
The bottom line is, if you can dream it, we can likely find a way to bring this to life for you. We love creative problem solving as much as we love intermixing fire and water elements into our pool designs!
If you were designing your dream pool today, what fire feature would you want to include? Share your thoughts and ideas by leaving a comment below!