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A couple
named Rick and Susan Ashcroft contacted Exterior Worlds back in
the spring of 2000. They told us that they had always wanted a
fireplace, but knew the winters in Houston were too mild to
justify having one installed indoors. They asked us if we could
build them an outdoor fireplace and a patio adjacent to their
living room. The intent was to create a virtual extension of the
living room centered on a warm element that would make chilly
nights in the early spring, late autumn, and winter both
comfortable and pleasant for gatherings and conversation.
We agreed
with this plan wholeheartedly.
Outdoor fireplaces like this are much more useful in
temperate, humid climates. The warmth of a fire adds relief from
both cold and humidity, and the structure of a fireplace is an
ideal architectural compliment to the styles of many home
builds. To create this type of centerpiece, however, we would
have to build a special patio that would be reminiscent of
interior architecture and also complimentary to outdoor
landscaping. The best way to accomplish this was to place
symmetrically square interlocking pavers in a pattern that
mimicked that of indoor tile. This helped accentuate the feeling
of a virtual living room, and it better blended with the
stonework and vegetation in the surrounding landscape.
We built the
outdoor fireplace completely out of natural stone, fitting each
one together like pieces in a puzzle. The chimney was
approximately 2 ½ times higher than the fireplace interior, and
added a stately touch to the backdrop of the landscape. Two
flanking columns, both slightly higher than the fireplace
interior, were constructed on either side. This added an Old
World sensibility to the structure that naturally drew the eye
toward the logs that burned in its interior on cold nights.
There was one more element, however, that we needed to add in
order to make this elegant feature a truly year-round keynote
and that was the element of concealed lighting. On nights too
warm to light a fire, it was still possible to enjoy the
illusion of fire by using these special luminaires to light the
interior, the stones in the chimney, and the two flanking
columns. This created a sublime interplay of firelight and stone
that rose majestically into the night and provided the ideal
gathering point for a summer dinner party or family gathering.
At the end of
the patio opposite the outdoor fireplace, there was a drop-off
of about 4 feet. Here, we built a stone staircase that connected
the patio to a walkway that ran around the corner of the home to
the
natural swimming pool. Next to the steps, we built a stone
wall that connected on both ends to the patio, giving us ample
room for a planter populated with a number of indigenous plant
species. We completed the project by planting an oak tree within
this enclosure in order to give the patio future shade, and also
to provide a place to mount an outdoor chandelier to fully
magnify the sense of indoor living turned inside out.
If you are interested in any high-quality landscape services,
Exterior Worlds has
been providing the high-end residential landscape services and
garden design services discussed above for the Houston and the
surrounding areas including memorial villages (Piney Point
Village, Bunker Hill Village, Hunter Creek Village), Tanglewood,
River Oaks, West University and the greater Houston (Hou), area
since 1987. Contact us at 713-827-2255
For more the 20 years
Exterior Worlds has specialized in servicing many of Houston's
fine neighborhoods.
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