Do it yourself

Creating the perfect backyard campfire area

Every year around this time we usually pick a few things we want to do with the exterior of our property.

This year we decided to put in a few raised vegetable boxes and focus on finishing the area around our fire pit. When the weather is warm, we love to spend the majority of our time together outside, and a lot of the time summer nights spent by the campfire with our neighbourhood friends is always a fun time!

This year has been a good opportunity for us to focus on a few small outdoor and budget friendly projects that we can involve the kids with.

Kassandra DeKoning

Lifestyle blogger

Building the fire pit

I did a little bit of research on what type of fire pit style I wanted to achieve. From there I watched a few DIY YouTube videos which gave me lots of confidence that it was something the kids and I could build together.

For the fire pit, we ordered the Pleasant Hearth Fire Ring which is an insert for your firepit that also helps contain the fire. I also love the classic minimal appearance of the black steel hearth that tends to blend graciously with the rest of our backyard and house finishes.

Next up we used 36 of the Decor Precast Garden Wall Stones to build around the surrounding of the hearth fire ring. I love these stones because they have a rough organic stone like feel, dark grey blended hues and are suitable for making straight, concave, or curved surfaces. The boys loved helping me arrange them around the hearth ring!

Staining the picnic table

The last little project that I was pleasantly surprised with is the Pine Picnic Table that we ordered online.

It probably sounds weird that we went with an outdoor picnic table, but the kids LOVE making s’mores around the campfire. The table we purchased doesn’t take up a large amount of space— while offering seating and a surface to place food and drinks, especially with having kids around the fire. It’s totally the gathering place next to the fire itself!

I wanted to give this picnic table a little customized look, something that fit into our exterior aesthetic, so I decided to stain the picnic table with a Wood Exterior Stain by SICO. Since I knew I wanted the stain a solid finish in a black hue, I didn’t need to look at any paint samples prior.

The boys were really into helping me paint the picnic table. We started painting it outside but it ended up being too windy and a little too cool so we moved the picnic table into the garage with a heater and went to town with the paint brushes.

We did a total of two coats and by the next day we were sitting at the picnic table and enjoying some delicious s’mores by the campfire!

Kassandra DeKoning

Lifestyle blogger

With a love for the outdoors, Kass, her husband, and their 3 children live in their dreamlike contemporary farmhouse in a calm neighbourhood in Ontario. On her blog, you can find her latest DIY projects, home design inspo, and the adventures of motherhood. @kassandradekoning

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Creating the perfect backyard campfire area

Building the fire pit

Staining the picnic table

Suggested products

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