A fireplace with a seating wall that doubles as a hearth

This project is built around three pieces that only work as a set: a custom fireplace, a seating wall and the paver patio holding them together.

The idea

A fireplace on its own gives you somewhere to look. It does not give you anywhere to sit. Running a seating wall out from the firebox solves both at once, because the wall acts as a hearth and adds room to relax with friends and family without filling the patio with furniture.

Materials

Natural stone veneer covers the wall and the fireplace, so the two read as one structure rather than a chimney with a bench next to it. We matched that against a dark grey paver for the patio, which keeps the stonework as the thing your eye goes to.

How it turned out

The seating wall carries the extra guests, and the fireplace pushes the usable season on the patio well into autumn.