Concrete Under a Fire Pit: The Marks It Leaves
I have scorched concrete under my patio table right now. Actual permanent black moon shaped shadow, about eighteen inches across, exactly where the base of my fire pit sat for…
Fire Pits on the Beach: Sand Is Not a Free Pass
I was standing on a beach in South County a few Octobers back, at the point in the evening where the sky goes that particular shade of purple that makes…
Lava Rock in a Fire Pit
Lava rock has a reputation problem, and it is entirely the fault of every 1970s gas grill photograph ever taken. Say the words “lava rock” to most people and they…
Outdoor String Lights in the Living Room
My mom walked into my living room in February, took one look at the ceiling, and said, “Are those the lights from the porch?” Not a question, really. More like…
City Backyard, Fire Pit: Squeezing One In
My mom stood in my backyard with a tape measure hanging out of her coat pocket, looked at the eight feet between my back door and the fence, then looked…
Indoor Fire Pits: Love the Idea, Not the Reality
I have typed “can you have a fire pit indoors” into a search bar four separate times over the past two years, always in November, always on the first night…
Artificial Grass and Fire Pits: A Meltdown Waiting?
Okay so I currently own four fire pits. FOUR. One of those little tabletop propane ones that looks like a marshmallow toaster, one cheap steel bowl thing from a big…
Patio Heaters and Canopies: Heat Rises Right Into the Fabric
The reputation here is that this is a nothing question. Ask anyone with a covered patio and they’ll wave a hand and say “of course you can put a heater…
Outdoor Floodlights Indoors
I was in the garage on a Tuesday night trying to fix the pull cord on the shop light, the cheap clamp one from the hardware store that’s been hanging…
Bringing Outdoor String Lights Indoors
I counted them last week, mostly out of curiosity and slightly out of dread, and it’s fourteen. Fourteen strands of outdoor string lights currently living in a tote in my…