Custom Fire Pit Ideas With Seating for Your Outdoor Living Space

Seating + Landscaping Around Fire Pit Ideas

If you’re in need of custom fire pit ideas with seating and landscaping, look no further!

When it comes to designing the perfect backyard oasis, the sky is the limit. You can keep it super simple, or you can get ultra creative (budget permitting, of course!).

The first house we owned had a simple living space on a concrete patio with a cheap, portable bonfire, a patio table and chairs, which was made private with some tall hedges and a trellis.

Our second home had a nice little backyard fire pit area on pavers, defined by a decorative half-circle mini wall (don’t laugh, pros! — if you know what I’m talking about, leave a comment and let me know what it’s actually called).

We no longer live there, so this is the best photo I could find:

 

 

The property we recently purchased has nothing but a rusty fire ring plopped onto the grass, so that will obviously have to go. Our new bonfire area will likely be designed around our portable Solo Stove bonfire (I will update with photos whenever it’s finished!).

Anyway, we’re in the same boat you’re in right now — looking for fire pit ideas for our backyard. So I’ve put together this list of outdoor living area ideas to get started.

We’ll cover:

 

• Ideas for creating a cozy outdoor living area
• Landscaping around your backyard fire pit
• Choosing a simple fire pit for your backyard

 

Let’s get started!

 

 

Ideas for Creating a Cozy Outdoor Living Area

Of course, you’ll need a fire pit, but that’s not the only thing to consider. Other elements of a cozy outdoor living area include seating and lighting. Here are a few fun fire pit ideas for your outdoor living space.

 

1. Add comfort and style with fabric.

Custom cushions made with outdoor fabric bring both comfort and style to your outdoor living area. You can have them made for a built-in bench, or even for lounge chairs placed around the bonfire, and you can choose your fabric according to your personal taste.

 

Custom cushions made with outdoor fabric bring both comfort and style to your outdoor living area.Click To Tweet

 

2. Blend into nature with raw materials and neutral hues.

Want your outdoor bonfire living area to blend in with nature? When choosing your bonfire and furniture materials, choose raw materials such as wood and stone in natural, neutral tones.

 

3. Create a magical ambiance with your lighting.

It’s easy to forget about lighting when designing your bonfire area, but the lighting you choose can dramatically impact the ambiance of this outdoor living space. Consider string lights, tiki torches, and lanterns, or whatever type of lighting complements the look you’re going for.

 

 

Landscaping Around Your Backyard Fire Pit

Landscaping is another element of a custom backyard bonfire space. Need some help coming up with landscaping ideas for your backyard fire pit living space? Here are a few tips to help you get started.

 

1. Create privacy with hedges.

Rather than fencing off your backyard fire pit for privacy, keep it natural with tall hedges (at an appropriate distance from the fire, of course).

 

2. Customize it with pavers.

With pavers, you can create a bonfire area of virtually any size or shape: round, square, or a completely organic design. As a bonus, this area will always look great without any mowing or maintenance!

 

3. Build it into the ground.

And I don’t mean the actual fire pit — I mean the seating area around the bonfire. Sunken fire pit seating areas are so cozy!

 

 

Choosing a Simple Fire Pit for Your Backyard

Annnd…last, but not least, a fire pit is obviously the most important element when you’re designing an outdoor living space around a bonfire. When the sky’s the limit, how do you go about selecting the perfect fire pit for your backyard?

 

Your Backyard Fire Pit Considerations

First of all, there are tons of different types of fire pits to choose from:

 

• portable fire pit
• fire ring
• table top fire
• fire urn
• DIY fire pit
• and so on….

 

You also need to decide whether you want a wood burning, gel fuel, propane, or natural gas fire pit. You can even narrow it down by material type: steel, stainless steel, tile or stone, copper, cast iron, etc.

Of course, budget is going to be a factor, too.

If you don’t have a budget, and you have plenty of space, you can get as crazy as you want! Go for the custom, sunken seating area if that’s what you like.

But if you’re looking for simple, budget-friendly backyard fire pit ideas, then you’re probably trying not to get too crazy — a big DIY or custom project is likely out of the question. A portable fire pit, or perhaps a table top or urn, is probably what you’re looking for.

Portable fire pits are great low-budget options, but one thing you need to consider is how often you want to buy a new fire pit. Sure, you can buy a cheap, portable pit from some of the big box stores, but you’ll likely end up having to replace it within a couple years.

 

A Simple, Portable Backyard Fire Pit

 

 

When we were shopping for a bonfire pit, we wanted something simple that would last a long time. We chose the Solo Stove bonfire fire pit because of its unique design that makes it nearly smoke-free (so no lingering smoke smell on your clothes after having a bonfire!). Plus, you can clean out the ashes and store it in the carrying case that comes with it.

We have moved a couple times since purchasing it, and have brought it with us each time. It’s small and portable, but this thing puts out a lot of heat! And it’s covered by a lifetime guarantee, so if anything happens to it (that’s not caused by misuse), they will send a replacement.

Read my official review of the Solo Stove bonfire fire pit.

 

And here’s one more: Is the Solo Stove bonfire worth it?