Chimineas on Wood Decks: Tall, Top Heavy and Spark Prone
Everyone talks about chimineas like they’re the polite, contained cousin of a fire pit. Something you can tuck into a corner of a deck, light with one match, and forget…
A Fire Pit Inside a Gazebo: Cozy Idea, Careful Answer
Marcus texted me a photo at eight o’clock on a Friday night. New gazebo, cedar posts, asphalt shingle roof he’d put on himself over a long weekend, and sitting dead…
Fire Pit on a Concrete Slab
I bought my first fire pit off a clearance rack in early October, the kind of purchase that made complete sense at 9pm on a Tuesday and almost none the…
A Topper on a Sofa Bed: The Cheap Comfort Fix
I bought my first sofa bed in 1979, the year my husband and I moved into the house I still live in now, and for a solid decade I operated…
A Futon on a Bed Frame: Will It Sit Right?
My mom walked into my apartment in October, took one look at the bed in the corner, and said, “Chloe. What is that.” Not even a question. Flat statement, the…
Patio Heaters Inside: The Reason They Live Outdoors
I nearly gassed myself on my own porch two Novembers ago, and I want to be upfront about that before I tell anyone else what to do with a patio…
Not All Bricks Survive a Fire Pit
Corinne stood in my backyard last Tuesday, hands on hips, looking at the pile of brick I’d hauled home over about six weekends, and said, “Isla. Some of those look…
Bathroom Lights and the Ratings Nobody Reads
I own eleven light fixtures that have, at some point, lived in a bathroom. Eleven. I counted them for this and then sat on my bathroom floor for a genuinely…
Concrete Fire Pits: Great Look, Hidden Trap
I think about my fire pit more than is probably normal for a grown woman with a real job. Four nights a week, minimum, March through November, I am out…
Fire Pit on the Lawn: The Brown Circle Problem
I own three fire pits. Three. For one Boston backyard that is, and I am not exaggerating for effect here, twenty two feet by fourteen feet. That is not a…