Better to Light a Single Lantern Than Curse the Dark

The increasing popularity of outdoor fire features, such as fireplaces, fire pits, and chimineas, is extending the enjoyment of outdoor living spaces year-round. These additions are becoming integral to luxury home design and outdoor entertaining, allowing individuals to utilize their yards earlier in the spring and later into the fall. Tim Dewson of Dewson Construction Company notes that people are consistently seeking ways to enjoy their outdoor environments, and fire features provide an excellent incentive. Carol Christensen, a casual furniture buyer for Waterloo Gardens, observes that nearly all high-end hardscaping projects now incorporate a fire element. Gathering around a fire pit has evolved into a social event, facilitating casual drinks among adults and offering a fun activity like making s'mores for families. Traditionally, outdoor fireplaces were constructed from masonry. However, recent innovations include prefabricated stainless steel fireboxes, which serve as a durable base for both wood-burning and gas fireplaces, costing approximately $1,500. Homeowners can then customize the surround with materials such as stone, brick, or stucco. Another modern option is "crystal fire," a circular marble-top cocktail table that can transform into either a wine cooler or a natural/propane gas-fueled fire pit. This unit, priced around $1,500, features multi-colored glass that glows when lit, offering a visually stunning effect and versatility for outdoor comfort. Selecting an appropriate fire feature involves balancing aesthetics, practicality, and safety, often guided by local ordinances. The scale of the property and personal entertaining style are key considerations. Fireplaces emit significant heat and are ideal for creating outdoor rooms, while fire pits are more suited for communal activities like toasting marshmallows. Both can be equipped with cast-iron racks for cooking, though grease splatter can stain stonework. Dewson has designed free-standing fireplaces for elaborate outdoor rooms, complete with built-in seating, wood storage, and pergolas. These often match the home's existing stone or brick, with complementary or contrasting hardscaping. Zach Davis of Davis Young Associates highlights details like chimneypots that mirror the main house and raised hearths for better flame visibility and easier maintenance, as seen in a project combining a fieldstone fireplace with a bluestone patio. Less expensive alternatives include clay chimineas, typically under $500, which are portable and evoke a Southwestern aesthetic. However, they require logs to be cut to size and need to be stored indoors in cold weather to prevent cracking. Cast-iron chimineas are more durable but less mobile. Like fireplaces and fire pits, chimineas can also be gas-fueled, offering convenience and vent-free operation for both indoor and outdoor use. Safety is a critical concern, with wood-burning units requiring placement on stone surfaces, while gas units can be safely integrated into wood decks. Gas options eliminate the need for log splitting, kindling, or ash shoveling, making them suitable for urban settings or areas with close neighbors, as they produce less smoke. While gas offers convenience, many still prefer wood-fueled fires for their primal appeal, crackle, and distinct smell. Flammable gel packs provide a third alternative, with the amount of gel depending on the unit's size. Professionally designed and installed masonry fire pits can cost upwards of $10,000, and comprehensive outdoor entertaining areas with fireplaces, pergolas, and patios can reach $50,000. More budget-friendly options are available from retailers like Target, offering models from $49 portable fireplaces to $600 stone tables with copper fire pit inserts. Home Depot sells a $3,400 stand-alone outdoor wood-burning fireplace convertible to gas. Crucial safety tips include never using wood-burning units in enclosed spaces due to carbon monoxide risk, insulating metal or clay chiminea bowls, building small initial fires in clay units, avoiding placement near flammable materials, and never burning chemically treated wood or using gasoline to start fires. Fires should never be left unattended, and units should not be moved for at least 24 hours after use due to retained heat. Always check local ordinances regarding outdoor fire units. #OutdoorLiving #Fireplaces #FirePits #Chimineas #HomeDesign #OutdoorEntertaining #Hardscaping #PatioDesign #LuxuryHomes

Billy Hoff, a master craftsman and painter based in West Tisbury, Martha's Vineyard, is dedicated to preserving the historical art of handmade lamps and lanterns through his business, Lamplighter Corner Inc. He inherited the business, originally established by Hollis W. Fisher, an electrical contractor who began restoring and reproducing classic 19th-century lanterns after an accident in 1967. Hoff, who moved to the Vineyard in 2001 and acquired Lamplighter Corner in 2007, operates his workshop out of Middletown Nursery, owned by his brother John. His main focus is crafting nine distinct styles of street, ship, barn, and tavern lanterns from copper or brass, with prices ranging from $800 to $1,600. Each lantern requires one to two days of work, with the triangular tavern lantern, based on a design found by Fisher in Pennsylvania and historically used along the eastern seaboard, being the most time-intensive. Hoff’s business thrives purely on word-of-mouth referrals, largely from renowned builders and architects such as Robert A. M. Stern and Patrick Ahearn. He has completed significant commissions, including twenty-three identical exterior lights for a Stern client in the Hamptons, totaling $33,000. Architects like Ahearn find Hoff’s fixtures to be a fitting complement to their homes, particularly within the Edgartown Historic District. Hoff’s craft involves transforming sheets of copper through traditional methods like cutting, scoring, folding, crimping, soldering, and riveting, using tools inherited from Fisher’s workshop. His only modern equipment includes a soldering iron and a drill press. Beyond traditional lanterns, Hoff also designs and creates unique lighting fixtures using sculptural found objects, ranging from doorknobs to his first car’s silver nameplate. Notably, he was commissioned by interior designer Michael S. Smith to create a hoop chandelier for State Road Restaurant in West Tisbury, incorporating a John Deere tractor rim to align with the restaurant’s locally sourced food concept. Currently, he is crafting eight contemporary exterior lights for a home in Menemsha. Hoff acknowledges the niche nature of his profession, noting that only about five American makers still hand-craft lamps and lanterns. Despite the craft being considered “a decidedly marginal occupation” in modern times, Hoff expresses deep satisfaction in creating high-quality, durable products by hand in an era dominated by mass-produced, disposable goods. In addition to his lampmaking, Hoff is an accomplished oil painter. His works, described by one art critic as “inscrutable images, ambiguous, dreamlike,” have been exhibited at the A Gallery and the Martha’s Vineyard Playhouse. Three large five-by-seven-foot paintings, including one he started in graduate school, adorn his workshop walls. Hoff, who holds a bachelor of fine arts from Ithaca College and a master of fine arts from the Art Institute of Chicago, reflects on his artistic journey, humorously remarking, “It’s the journey, man.” At fifty-five, Hoff is uncertain about the future of Lamplighter Corner, as his daughters, Chloe and Hannah, are unlikely to take over the business. He speculates that his brother's sons might eventually develop an interest in continuing the craft. #Lampmaking #HandmadeLanterns #ArtisanCraftsmanship #Martha'sVineyard #HistoricPreservation #CopperCrafts #ArchitecturalLighting #CustomLighting #TraditionalCrafts