It seems as if “trends” have always existed so far as home improvements are concerned, inside and out. One person has a great idea, implements it, and the next thing you know his neighbor has noticed and done the same thing, and a chain reaction has begun. So it was with everything from wall treatments and curtains indoors, to garden paths and Koi ponds outside. Truly great ideas inspire and catch fire, and nowhere is this more true than with the outdoor table fire pit, which has jumped its origin and blazed a rather glorious path around the country. Everyone, it seems, has by now purchased a portable propane fire pit and enjoyed it so well that they’re now contemplating the next rung on the ladder, a Santorini fire pit perhaps, a table fire pit, or possibly one of the American made O.W. Lee fire pits that have set the standard for the rest of the industry to follow.
Nothing draws people like fire. Perhaps it is a primal response, one that harkens back to the days when gathering around the fireside was necessary in order to keep the wolves at bay, the family warm and was how one cooked his meals. Today, fires outdoors are largely recreational — campfires, bon-fires, the annual ritual of burning off raked-up leaves in the autumn, and, in more recent years, fire pits. Today families, friends and neighbors leave behind their televisions and computers to gather regularly out of doors on their decks and patios, or beside the swimming pool or fish pond, or in intimate garden recesses created just for such gatherings. And in each case, the common denominator, the lure that draws, is the functional elegance and timeless appeal of a contained fire in an outdoor fire pit.
While there are many fire pits designed specifically to burn wood, and whose crackle, sparks and smoke are enjoyed by countless thousands, perhaps the “cutting edge” of current popularity is with propane fire pits that employ the use of fire glass. Fire glass is a tempered glass product that is manufactured in small shards and/or pebble sized pieces. It comes in an array of colors and is typically used in gas or propane fire pits in place of the more common lava rocks or ceramic type “logs.” Fire glass absorbs heat and refracts the light of the flames, and its use within a table fire pit is simply stunningly. The homeowner gets the best of everything … the social draw, the beauty, the flickering flame, warmth, and pure clean fun without any of the fuss and bother that accompanies the use of wood in a fire pit … there are no logs to be split, seasoned or stored, no ashes to be hauled away, and no smoke to blow in one’s face when the wind picks up.
America has fallen in love with fire pits, and the trend is unlikely to do anything other than grow, so when planning your outdoor table fire pit project, think long-term, and think about quality. Do it right the first time, with one of the legendary O.W. Lee fire pits, and you’ll have nothing but pure, trouble free enjoyment for many years to come.
