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Our New Backyard Firepit!

May 22, 2020

This post is sponsored by Walmart

Outside of the double dining room doors (those have existed from the beginning), we now have a gorgeous gas firepit area. It’s something we dreamed up and designed last year, sketched out and recently had installed by a local landscaping company, (Outback landscape for you locals).

This is on a very rarely seen side of our home and even we could barely remember what it looked like previously. Luckily, Chris had some photos from last summer on his phone. 

You can see there was a chicken coop (we moved this back to the garden area), a pile of logs and a large bush. We don’t have chickens right now so this whole side of our home felt a lot underused.  

During the construction of our dining room, this side of the house got pretty trashed so once the weather got warmer, we knew it was prime time to make our firepit dreams come true. A lot of you asked why we went with a firepit this time instead of an upright fireplace like we DIYed in our last house. And it just came down to what the land dictated. Our last house had a much smaller outdoor space so we lounged and ate and enjoyed a fire feature all in the same spot. Also, the upright fireplace backed up to the edge of our property. Here we can spread out a little more so a separate firepit area made more sense!

Our entire back patio is made of flagstone, so we carried the same (or as close as we could get!) flagstone over to this area and connected to the two spaces (which required transplanting a tree that was on the corner of our house back here to the other side). That alone made a world of difference in the flow of our exterior space. 

We had a 1” gas line run to the firepit, which is larger than is normally used, so that the flame could be nice and big and give off a lot of heat. To build the firepit we were able to use the rest of the stone we pulled off the back of the old addition on our house. We were originally going to do 3 rows of stone and a layer of flagstone to cap it off, but as soon as we saw two, we knew it would serve double duty as the perfect foot rest. It’s the perfect height! 

To finish it off, they sealed all the stone and I started ordering some furniture for the space!

We’ve never had Adirondack chairs before. But they kept popping up in all of my inspiration photos, especially around the firepit, and they look so classic. We looked, on Walmart.com, at a lot of different chairs — with scalloped edges, profiles that were straight across the top — and we chose ones that felt the most classic. 

Our firepit has a lower profile, so lower chairs made sense. And this might sound strange, but I loved that everyone has their own seat (rather than sharing an outdoor sofa).

I cannot believe how comfortable they are! The recline is so ergonomical that there’s really no need need for pillows or cushions. 

Finally, we wanted chairs that would continue looking good, from season to season, despite our tough Idaho winters. These are made from recycled high density polyethylene material, which will not rot, splinter, chip, peel or crack (whew!). But up close, they still have a lovely wood grain texture.

Adirondack chairs famously come in lots of colors, and I thought I might want a more moody tone. But the plan for the exterior of our home is dark and moody — so my vision is that these white chairs will “pop” against the backdrop of the house once we have one (ha!). On our patio, we have black furniture with white cushions, and our patio umbrella is off-white, so the clean/classic color is working right now.

When Chris and I talked out how many to get, we imagined friends and family coming over to sit around the firepit… We measured the firepit, which is 4 feet in diameter. We could fit six chairs comfortably around the fire and still leave room for moving about. But truthfully, I’m already thinking about adding another chair! (“If you build it…” right? I know I’m not the only one fantasizing about gathering again.)

Adirondack chairs have nice sturdy, level arms, wide enough to hold a drink or a small plate, but we added 3 of these incredible, fluted, concrete side tables as well. We knew we’d gather around the fire pit for charcuterie, hot dogs, picnic lunches, s’mores... There’s no room for a coffee table because the firepit is the centerpiece. So we plunked down three side tables, one for each pair of chairs. This way, no one will ever be too far from the snacks or refills. (Psst--these terrazzo melamine dishes are perfect for eating outside!)

And now, a life hack: I was looking on Walmart.com at these Turkish beach towels. The weight and size sounded like that of a throw blanket. We ordered them, and sure enough: They’re so lightweight and lovely. They definitely feel more like blankets. But! Since they’re “technically” towels, they dry super fast, can be easily washed and dried. In fact, if we happen to leave them out in the rain, they’re meant to get wet! (You’re welcome.)

I keep sneaking peeks out into the backyard, and it looks like a scene in another country. The white chairs in a cozy circle against our green lawn… it looks like a vacation. Last night, we broke them in. We brought a tray out to the firepit and sat around, making s’mores. We propped our feet up and talked and talked... The night was winding down, and we were, too. I don’t know how I feel about the word “staycation,” but I like this faraway feeling, so close to my own bed.

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  1. Love the space! It turned out beautiful! I love a good before and after! My husband and I are in the process of DIYing a flagstone patio/firepit to seat 6. Can you provide the dimension of your fire pit and the overall dimension of the patio area? It looks like you have great spacing! Also, do you know what layers are used underneath the flagstone? We're starting with crush and run and wanting to have mortar between flagstones. Curious if your flagstone sits on a concrete base or not? Thank you and sorry for all the questions!! :)

  2. This is exactly what we are trying to do in our backyard! Love it! Could you please let me know how large the area is around the fire pit, because I would like to fit 6 chairs like this? Thanks!!!

  3. Absolutely LOVE this space and greatly appreciate that you took the time to share the details of your project. I'm in the planning stages of a similar project for my home. Do you mind sharing the dimensions of your patio? Again...it's beautiful!!

  4. Amazing, an extremely helpful guide. I truly value your composing style. You clarified everything truly well. Much a debt of gratitude is in order for sharing. Anticipating your different articles.

  5. Wow, I just love the woodsy vibe! You mention that the firepit has a 4 foot diameter, would you mind sharing the dimensions of the entire area? We're working on a firepit and are trying to figure out how much space we should to allocate. P.S. just bought similar adirondack chairs from Walmart because of your suggestion!

  6. Beautiful work! It’s like living in a park. Would you be able to share the color of the flagstone? Thanks in advance

  7. I know this post is about your lovely fire pit, but the white fence in the background stopped me in my tracks. I love this simple yet beautiful design. I'm guessing the fence was there when you moved in. What material is it? Is it wood or composite? Any info would help as we are looking to put up a fence like this one. Thanks in advance!

  8. This is so gorgeous! We’re planning a similar project and I’d love to know the size of your fire pit and patio area?

  9. Love everything!! Are the chairs you linked the exact ones you have? The ones you linked have a sign in the middle and yours don’t. Did you just remove the sign?

      1. Thank you! I appreciate you getting back to me! I ordered a set this morning :)

  10. Are the faux galvanized pots/planters (ribbed) the exact ones you have or are they just similar? Followed the link and yours seem so much darker than the ones that are linked. Would love to know! Gorgeous area!

  11. This is such a beautiful space and it blends in so well with the landscape. What evergreens did you use for the planting around the fire pit.

  12. I currently have a load of backfill and a pallet of flagstone in my driveway waiting for the weather to improve enough to construct our fire pit patio! Do you know what they used between the flagstones? I was originally thinking of a looser look but I do like this. We’d also decided to get a free-standing fire pit that could be moved out of the way but now I am second guessing that, too. We already strung some patio lights and have a stack of Adirondack chairs waiting in the garage ????

  13. I absolutely love it!! It is pure "hygge" as us Danes like to say! I love to see how everything is coming together and the wonderful flow from dining room to outdoor space - heck, I can't stop thinking about how beautiful it would be for a wedding! Great job as usual!! Happy Friday!

  14. Wow! Looks fantastic. We are about to get a traditional wood fire pit because we anticipate a lot of time home with two teenage boys this summer (we live in Massachusetts where the pandemic rules are still fairly strict and are likely to be that way for a while!). Wondering if you have a way to get easily from the kitchen to the outdoors? We eat every meal outside in the nice weather and could not handle it if I had to walk far form the kitchen with food and drinks for meals etc. Wondering if you plan to add a door to you kitchen dining area when you remodel?

    1. When we eat outside, it's generally because Chris is cooking on the grill which is right next to our outdoor dining table. We thought about adding a door to the kitchen area in the future but we're still undecided.

  15. I am so jealous of your amazing yard!! This space is just stunning. What time should I be over? :)

  16. Love it! It turned out beautiful. We are about to start a big landscaping project in our yard, including a fire pit. This post makes me so excited!! Now I’ve got my eye on those chairs...

  17. I love this! And I definitely think you could fit at least 2 more chairs. We have 6 around a much smaller fire ring at our house and it never feels cramped, and you've got twice the space we do.

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