Want to keep your backyard from looking like a barren wasteland? Grow a garden. Don’t want to put in the effort to create and maintain one? Fine, just buy some outdoor furniture to make it feel dynamic. A large table and some lawn chairs not enough to give the backyard the character you want? Try putting in this Smokestack Fireplace and Grill.
Designed by Amsterdam-based Frederik Roijé, it’s a fire-burning vessel that’s clad in the familiar shape of classic factory chimneys. You know, the kind of facility that old factory in town used to billow smoke into the air, which you found unsightly and complained about to the city council, who then forced the factory to invest in expensive anti-pollution measures. Except, it’s cheaper to just move the factory to another country, so the factory left and now, you miss seeing that chimney send black smoke into the air. Well, this fireplace lets you enjoy that same industrial factory aesthetic right in your backyard.
The Smokestack Fireplace and Grill is a tall chimney-style fire-burning vessel, with a cannon barrel shape that’s wider at the bottom and narrower at the top. At the lower section sits an enclosed chamber that serves as the actual fire pit, which you can use to burn logs, fallen leaves, and all the personal items your ex-girlfriend left in your house after you broke up. Yeah, since you can’t seem to dump it in the trash like you’ve been planning all this time, might as well just throw them in the fire with the rest of your fuel. And yes, it works much like a regular fire place, so all the smoke will come out through the top, instead of spreading all over the backyard.
It’s freestanding, so you can place it anywhere in the backyard where you can use some extra warmth during the colder nights of the year. Do note, it’s quite the hefty fixture and tips the scales at 132 pounds, so make sure you find a good spot the first time, as this can be quite cumbersome to move.
The Smokestack Fireplace and Grill is made from Corten steel, whose rusty brown color makes it look like a heavily-used smokestack at a bustling factory right at the edge of town, along with stainless steel rings at various sections throughout its length. The material is weather-resistant, so it can stay permanently out in the backyard, although it is expected to corrode over time, completing the worn-out, old-time industrial chimney aesthetic. It measures 78 inches tall and 20 inches in diameter at the base.
Aside from serving as a fire pit to keep things toasty during chilly nights at home, the fireplace comes with an optional grill insert for using it to cook dinner on an open fire. The insert comes shaped like a pizza peel, albeit with grates on the surface for laying food on top and four legs, so it can stand over a pile of burning charcoal all on its own.
The Smokestack Fireplace and Grill is available now, priced starting at $1,890.