Summer Fireplace

Because I don't have an outside fireplace yet.

That was the question, wasn't it?

I was lucky enough to have an outside fireplace when I lived out West.  It was a cheap little something I picked up at the local big box building supply, and had to put together myself.  But it was open all around and that meant it wasn't the most efficient gadget I'd ever bought.  

Frankly, the sun and the stars had to align before you could actually light it:  

Too hot, who needs it?  Too windy, can't light it.  Too cold, go inside.

Same goes for firepits.  Plus, no matter where I'm sitting, that's the direction the smoke is going.

I set out wanting to have an actual woodburning fireplace on the patio.  Not such a good idea.  Those little cinders going up the chimney?  The chimney that keeps the smoke going in one direction?  

Well, they can land on your roof, or anywhere else on your house and that's not good.  Turns out, we would have had to build a chimney two stories high and free-standing.  That was not an engineering project I wanted to tackle.  Firepits?  No different, which means it would have to be someplace out in the yard and not on the patio.  

Back to the drawing board.

I have come up with another idea for an outdoor fireplace, but have not executed yet.  Maybe next year.  In the meantime, I found a simple solution that feeds my need for fire, even in the summer.

Candles.  In the fireplace.  I've seen it done with just candles or candleobrahs in the fireplace, but it looks just like that.  No real charm.  The secret is to use Birch Logs as a background for the candles.

I've done this a couple of different ways: 

1. Rout out circles in the front bottom log so you can place votive holders in the circles.
2. Slice off a piece of the bark for the front bottom log so the votive holders can sit level on that log.
3. Luck out and find just the right candleholder that sits across the grate in front of the bottom log. 

If you are going to cut the logs to hold the votices, the trick is to get logs of two different sizes.  The bottom two should be about 6-8 inches in diameter.  Then you want one about half that size for the top log.  Place them on your fireplace grate with the two larger logs on the bottom and the smaller one sitting between the two on the top. 

When it's raining out and you can't sit on your porch, light the candles in the fireplace.  The candlelight against the birchbark is what makes the difference between the metal candleobrahs and a real fire.