Published in Welcome Home Magazine
Summer 2015 Issue
It’s the trend that has caught fire in 2015—everyone wants one. Fire pits are in high demand, whether set into backyards on their own or as part of larger and more elaborate outdoor spaces.
“We’re doing a ton of fire pits this year,” says Ken Murray, owner of Murray Landscaping. “And then we’re doing patios around them, building outdoor rooms around the pits. It’s a growing trend.”
Murray is hearing many of his customers mention ideas they have seen on the popular television channel, HGTV, with shows like “Yard Crashers,” in which people’s weedy backyards are transformed within days into elaborate outdoor entertainment areas.
In reality, Murray says, those “magic” transformations can take two to four weeks to build for an outdoor room surrounding the fire pit. Price tags can range from $15,000 to $60,000, he says.
“It all depends on what you want. We can do it all,” Murray says. “Although when a customer requests low maintenance, you have to remember all landscaping requires some maintenance.”
When choosing outdoor room options, Murray recommends that customers work with, rather than against, the terrain of the yard. Decide on the area you want created and consider what kind of entertaining you want to do there and for how many.
“We can build walls, we can change the grade of the land, we can work with just about anything,” Murray says.
When choosing a fire pit for the yard, a wide variety of options are available. Beginning with the least expensive and easiest to install are portable fire pits or bowls. Chimineas are a type of fire pit that use a smoke stack and operate much like a wood stove. While chimineas are typically made out of clay, pricier versions may be made out of ...
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